SHUNSUKE Nakamura was the hero as Celtic retained their Scottish League title thanks to his last gasp winner from a 25 yard injury time free-kick at Kilmarnock on Sunday.

The Japanese midfielder had double cause for celebration later that night when he was named Scotland’s player of the year by his fellow professionals just hours after his latest magic from a dead ball situation.

Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink had headed the Celts into a first half lead at Rugby Park, and Colin Nish equalized on 50 minutes before Nakamura’s late striker that sparked frantic emotions from the player and the traveling fans.

Celtic looked doomed to another week long wait in their quest for back to back titles and manager Gordon Strachan admitted, “I thought it was going to be another long week but I am lucky that we have a genius on board.

“When we got the free-kick, I thought, ‘No, he can’t do it again, you are asking too much for the same guy to keep doing this.’ But he did it. He got knocked over a couple of times and gave the ball away but he never stopped showing.

“He’s played more minutes than anybody else and he covers more ground than any other player so for him to keep going was fantastic.”

Nakamura said, “I had to score to make up for my mistakes, I misjudged a few things in the second half. That goal and the goal I scored against Manchester United in the Champions League have been my most important goals for Celtic this season.

“I’ve never celebrated like that before, but it’s something that I always wanted to do. But I won’t be having a drink to celebrate. I will leave that to the end of the season.”

As for his award Nakamura said, “I’m very pleased but this isn’t something you can get on your own it’s down to the whole team and also the supporters.

“All the players deserved to get this award. For example, a player like Neil Lennon is not really in the limelight but he is so important in the background, and without players like him we wouldn’t have our style of play.”

Nakamura also won goal of the season for his cheeky lob against Dundee United on St. Stephen’s Day which earned Celtic a 2-2 draw.

He added, “I remember we were 2-1 down at the time and it was a very hard game. I’m pleased to get the award but every goal is the same to me; they are all important.”

Manager Strachan was also quick to praise comeback hero John Kennedy after he started his first game since an horrific knee injury picked up on his Scotland debut against Romania three years ago.

Strachan said, “You are not going to believe this, but my over-riding emotions are about a man who can come back and play like that after being out for three years.

“I never spoke to him before the game, I just named the team but I just couldn’t stop speaking to him afterwards. I said to him, ‘In all your dreams, I bet you never imagined this.’

“Obviously celebrating with the fans at the end was fantastic but I just can’t get John Kennedy out of my head. I remember on a wet horrible day about 16 months ago when John went down on the training pitch and we thought, ‘That’s it, he’s not going to come back from this.’ But he did, so excuse me if I haven’t got anything better to say.”

Kennedy said, “I went through every emotion in the book. I was only told I was playing a couple of hours before the game so I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it.

“There was nervousness and excitement but the adrenalin carried me through the game and it was great to be involved. I’m just delighted to be part of the winning side.

“I dreamt about coming back and playing at Celtic Park but to come back in when Celtic won the league, it’s massive lift. It’s another step up the ladder for me. It’s been a long, hard road but this is the stage I’ve always dreamed of getting to.”

The Celtic fans finally saluted Strachan in song on Sunday as he emulated Martin O’Neill’s achievement in winning successive titles in his first two seasons with the club.

“I did enjoy it. It’s great to be appreciated,” added Strachan. “I also took some kids from the crowd on to the park to meet their heroes. I love being manager here, I don’t think I can say any more than that.”

Strachan was named manager of the year at Sunday night’s awards ceremony, while Ireland and Celtic winger Aiden McGeady was pipped to the young player of the year gong by Kilmarnock striker Steven Naismith.

Captain Lennon has yet to sort out his future with the club as his contract nears and said, “I don’t want to be the old player that hangs around clapping the boys off.”

Toronto, managed by former Celt Mo Johnston, are interested in the former Northern Ireland captain, who believes he has another year to offer the Parkhead outfit.

Heartbreaker

BIRMINGHAM City goalkeeper Colin Doyle broke Mick McCarthy’s heart with a last minute penalty save from Wolves midfielder Michael McIndoe as the Blues moved to the top of the Championship with a 3-2 win at Molinieux on Sunday.

The win propelled Birmingham above Roy Keane’s Sunderland, beaten 3-1 at Colchester on Saturday, and dented Wolves’ hopes of a playoff spot after a controversial game.

McCarthy was fuming when the referee failed to award an earlier penalty when his side were 2-1 up before Doyle ended up as the Brummie hero on a day he was linked with Premiership giants Arsenal in several newspaper reports.

Birmingham boss Steve Bruce wants to keep the Cork-born keeper on a new contract and said, “Doyle was our most outstanding player at Wolves. He has come in quickly and quietly and been very good, you must be good to keep out Maik Taylor.

“He’s got a good future and if Arsenal want him that’s fantastic for him. I’ll swap him for Nicolas Bendtner and Fabrice Muamba, but that’s just newspaper flannel.

“Doylie’s kind of sneaked into the team in a way, a lot of people hadn’t really noticed that we’d changed goalkeeper. They’re aware of him now though. He’s done that sort of thing for us before, he can make a crucial save, if you know what I mean.

“He has got a bright future ahead of him and there is no doubt that we want to keep him here. Although we need to know what division we are in before we start discussing contracts in detail, we will be sitting down with him that’s for sure.”

Sunderland in Ireland

SUNDERLAND have confirmed that they will play Galway United, Bohemians and Cork City on an pre-season tour of Ireland sponsored by Aer Arann at the end of July.

Chairman Niall Quinn said, “We are very honored to bring Sunderland on this summer tour of Ireland, courtesy of Aer Arann. There’s a marvelous feeling of goodwill between Sunderland and the Irish public and this trip will complement the progress at the club since Drumaville’s takeover last summer.

“We’re sure the tour will be fantastic for the club and its supporters and there has already been tremendous amount of interest from Sunderland fans wishing to make the journey to Ireland with us.”

Meanwhile, Sunderland’s Irish midfielder Graham Kavanagh will be out for the rest of the promotion push with the knee injury that has sidelined him all year.

Manager Roy Keane said, “It was touch and go whether he would have got involved anyway but he won’t now. It’s a blow to the lad because he has worked extremely hard to get back.

“You are going to get injuries, especially when you tackle like Kav does. We’ll just make sure he’s ready for next season.”

Soccer Shorts

STEPHEN Staunton’s Ireland have jumped up the FIFA rankings from 51st to 31st on the back of their European Champion-ship wins over Wales and Slovakia at Croke Park, with Northern Ireland now in 33rd.

CELTIC pair Darren O’Dea and Aiden McGeady will miss the Irish team’s U.S. Tour next month as their club is involved in the Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline or Hearts on May 26.

LIMERICK-based midfielder Robbie Kelleher has quit Shamrock Rovers as the demands of traveling to Dublin for training and matches became too much.

LEEDS United boss Dennis Wise has confirmed that Irish defender Gary Kelly won’t play for the club again before his contract expires in the summer.

ATTENDANCES at eircom League of Ireland games are up 3% already, this season according to figures released by the FAI.

IRELAND’S under-21 side will play Germany in a friendly in Furth on Tuesday, August 21.

Athlete Retires

WORLD silver medalist walker Gillian O’Sullivan has announced her retirement from competitive athletics at the age of 30 after failing to overcome long term injury problems.

The Kerry native is the current world record holder in the 5000 meters, a record she set in Santry in 2002 at the Irish National Championships and is also the Irish record holder in the 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters on the track and holds the 10k and 20k Irish road records.

O’Sullivan took second in the 20km walk at the 2003 World Champion-ships in Paris and also had a fourth place finish at the 2002 European Championships and was 10th at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 in the same event.

“To retire from competing was always going to be a huge decision for me but I have put a lot of thought into it and I feel now is the best time to move on,” said O’Sullivan.