Canadians in Europe: Johnston, Celtic win the league
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Alistair Johnston and Celtic clinched the Scottish Premiership and remain on course for a treble. Plus, Liam Fraser and Crawley Town faced relegation valiantly, while Scott Arfield and Falkirk's promotion bid hit a bump in the road.
Here's a look at Canadians in Europe over the weekend.
Alistair Johnston, Celtic
Winning trophies has become old hat for Alistair Johnston with Celtic, but that doesn't mean he wants them to stop coming. The Bhoys were crowned champions of Scotland for a fourth straight season on Saturday with a 5-0 demolition of Dundee United. Celtic only needed a point to claim the title with four matches remaining on the schedule. The title is also Celtic's 13th in 14 seasons and 55th overall, bringing them level for most all-time with archrivals Rangers. Remarkably, Celtic and Rangers have accounted for 85.2 per cent of all Scottish league titles. For the 26-year-old right-back from Vancouver, the league title is his third in his three seasons at Parkhead to go along with to Scottish Cups and two League Cups. Celtic takes on Aberdeen on May 24 in the Scottish Cup Final where a victory would give Celtic a record ninth domestic treble. As for Saturday's match, the game was put to bed by the half. The hosts started brightly, but Celtic grew into the game and were rewarded at the half-hour mark. From a corner, Ryan Strain's tight marking of Jota at the far post led to the ball going in off of the Dundee right-back to make it 1-0 in the 30th. The Hoops would make it 2-0 in the 38th. Breaking forward, Daizen Maeda spotted the streaking Nicolas Kuhn headed towards the far post. The Japan forward's cross was picture-perfect and Kuhn fired home with aplomb. Maeda and Kuhn would hook up again once more before the break. Though his name won't appear on the scoresheet, Adam Idah had a big hand in the goal, as well. Much like the second goal, the third started with Maeda marauding down the wing. This time, his cross was towards the penalty spot and appeared primed for Idah, but the Ireland forward acted as a dummy and the ball came to the completely unmarked Kuhn to make it 3-0 in the third minute of first half stoppage. The Hoops didn't take their foot off the gas coming out of the break and Johnston got involved in the fourth goal. In the 47th, Kuhn played a ball down the right that Johnston did well to chase down and pull back before it went out. His lofted a cross towards the front of goal where Idah headed home to make it 4-0. It was Johnston's ninth assist on the season, four more than his previous career-high set last campaign. Idah would score another in the 58th to put a bow on the title. Next up for Johnston and the Bhoys is trying to claim that treble. “They have that understanding of when it gets to the crunch time of the season, they know what it means and what you have to do to dial it up and get through that finish line," Johnston told the official Celtic podcast of his teammates. "We are in a great position, and it’s been an unbelievable season – it is time for us to go and earn our money.”
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Liam Fraser, Crawley Town
With only one matchday remaining on the League One schedule, there isn't much left to play for for the league's 24 sides. Birmingham City rampaged to the league title with a three-loss campaign. Wrexham, owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, claimed the other automatic promotion spot in second, earning a third straight promotion in three seasons. Brummie and Wrexham will both play Championship football next season. They will be joined by the winner of the playoffs. Stockport, Wycombe and Charlton Athletic have already claimed their places. The only thing left to play for is the final spot. Leyton Orient and Reading are both level on 75 points, but the former owns a +8 goal differential. A win by the O's away to Huddersfield Town will earn the spot. Reading needs Leyton Orient to fail to win and then better their result against Barnsley to jump ahead of them. Our attention now turns to the bottom of the table where Shrewsbury Town and Cambridge United have already been relegated. Barring the wildest of finishes on the final matchday, they will be joined by both Bristol Rovers and Crawley Town in League Two next season. It's the latter of the two teams with the Canadian connection as Toronto's Liam Fraser has plied his trade with the Red Devils since joining the team in February after his contract had expired with FC Dallas. Crawley Town sits on 43 points with one match remaining, level with Bristol Rovers, and can still catch Burton Albion on 46 points in the final safe spot. But mathematically, their survival is practically impossible. The Brewers hold a +12 goal differential over Crawley Town, as well as a match in hand. Burton Albion needs just a single point from its last games against Wigan Athletic and Charlton to ensure survival. But the dire straits haven't stopped the Red Devils from fighting. They produced a spirited display this past Saturday in their final home fixture of the season and Fraser played his part in the victory over Northampton Town. In the 39th, the hosts got on the board, taking advantage of some unsteady defending from the Cobblers. Panutche Camara sent a ball on the right into the area for Rushian Hepburn-Murphy to beat Lee Burge to make it 1-0. A little under a half-hour later, the hosts would double their lead. Gavan Holohan spotted the run of Jeremy Kelly, who was robbed earlier in the half by a goal-line clearance, to slot past Burge to make it 2-0 in the 66th. The points were wrapped up in the 88th and Fraser had a hand in the proceedings. With the Cobblers appearing to have had dealt with the Red Devils' move forward, Fraser collected the ball, turned around and fired a fine pass into the area for Kamari Doyle, who had a jump on the backline. Doyle's low drive cut inside the far post to make it 3-0. For Fraser, it was his second assist in 15 appearances on the season. Having signed a short-term deal with the Red Devils, what comes next for Fraser remains to be seen.
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Scott Arfield, Falkirk
Scott Arfield's return to Falkirk after a 15-year absence has been nothing but a rousing success for the former Canada midfielder, but as the Scottish Championship heads into its final matchday, it's been a nervy few weeks for the Bairns. From February 8 to Mar 22, the team went on an eight-match unbeaten run to make promotion look like a foregone conclusion. Since then, though, things have gotten significantly rockier. Heading into this past Friday's match with Partick Thistle, the Bairns had won only once in their past four matches and that's opened the door for Livingston, who have only lost once in 14. Still, destiny remains in the Bairns' own hands and a win in Glasgow would have wrapped up the title. Friday's match at Thistle was a wild one. It was the hosts who struck first after some brutal defending from Falkirk. Tom Lang coughed the ball up only yards away from his own goal, allowing for the Championship's leading scorer, Brian Graham, to beat Nicky Hogarth with a low drive to make it 1-0 in the only the sixth minute. Then in the 27th, Stuart Bannigan caught Calvin Miller with a hard, studs-up challenge. The Falkirk players wanted a straight red, but the referee took his time on his ruling and issued a yellow. Brannigan wouldn't be so lucky only minutes later. Already sitting on a booking, Brannigan foolishly lunged at Dylan Tait to impede a Falkirk break and was shown a second yellow in the 35th. Brannigan didn't even bother pleading his case and simply headed to the bench. The visitors would quickly make the numerical advantage work in their favour and even things up before the break. In the 39th, the hosts were having all kinds of trouble with the Falkirk attack as the ball ricocheted around the box. The ball came out to Leon McCann who immediately put it back in the area where Ross MacIver chested it down for Arfield to fire a bouncing ball past David Mitchell to make it 1-1 in the 39th. It was Arfield's ninth goal in 12 matches since his return. The visitors spent most of the second half searching for a winner, but the match would once again be turned on its ear in the 83rd. As Alfredo Agyeman attempted to cut inside the Thistle area, he lost control of the ball and attempted to regain possession with a wild lunge that caught Robbie Crawford in the ankle. A disbelieving Agyeman was shown a straight red, but if he saw a replay, he could hardly complain. With each side on 10 men, Thistle would grab a dramatic winner. From a free kick in the seventh minute of stoppage, Daniel O'Reilly headed the ball over the Bairns' backline where Terry Ablade managed to stay onside and did well to head the ball over the line to give the hosts a stunning 2-1 win. Coupled with Livi's 3-0 win over Hamilton Academical on Saturday, the Bairns and Livi now both sit on 70 points with the final matchday remaining. Because of Falkirk's +7 goal differential, they still hold the cards. A victory over Hamilton on Friday will ensure Falkirk's return to the top flight for the first time since 2010.