7
mins
Celtic pushed Kilmarnock back and equalised through Daryl Murphy, who calmly converted a 41st-minute penalty.
Anthony Stokes' first Celtic goal, a close-range effort, won the game.
Prior to the match Celtic manager Neil Lennon said that games such as this would determine his team's season.
His players' ability to fight back from a goal down and, in doing so, play attractive football will offer him encouragement.
Kilmarnock were minus the talents of defender Mohamadou Sissoko and midfielders James Dayton and David Silva, yet there was nothing under-strength about the start they made to the match.
Within the first minute, Harry Forrester had sped down the right and curled in an inviting cross for Sammon, who was denied a goal by a timely intervention by Glenn Loovens.
The Dutchman was engaged in the play moments later, when he steamed in to the back of Alexei Eremenko in midfield, and was booked by Craig Thomson.
In
any case, Eremenko dusted himself down, flashed a
low free-kick across to Craig Bryson, whose powerful
shot from 25 yards was not too far away from
Forster's right-hand post.
Kilmarnock took the lead on seven minutes when the Finn Eremenko swept the ball to Sammon, who rushed in from the left, nicked ahead of Loovens and curled a confident low shot into the corner of the net. (right).
For the visitors, Paddy McCourt posed an early threat with mazy runs and the Israeli Beram Kayal showed glimpses of his talents with his prompting.
Yet for all Celtic had begun to find the pace of the match, they could have been two goals down when Jamie Hamill spliced the ball through the retreating defence for Bryson to chase.
Forster, however, was sharply off his line to clear the ball, but only as far as Eremenko whose attempted long-range lob at an empty goal was a few yards too high.
Killie's Frazer Wright was booked for scything down Shaun Maloney on the right wing in the 19th minute when Celtic threatened, the former Scottish player of the year having switched from the left wing where his deliveries from free-kicks and corners occasionally promised to produce a chance.
McCourt had made a rare start for Lennon's side but injured his shoulder midway through the half and was replaced by Stokes.
Celtic had plenty of attacking options, with striker Murphy, midfielder Kayal and defender Emilio Izaguirre striving for the equaliser.
But the Ayrshiremen defended stoutly, with Tim Clancy, Wright, Garry Hay and Manuel Pascali heading, blocking and clearing their way through the half.
Celtic drew level from Murphy's cool penalty in the 41st minute, after Wright had bundled Stokes to the ground in the box.
Before the half-time whistle, Cha Du-Ri made a magnificent saving challenge to halt Forrester's great run to the Celtic 18-yard line, then Majstorovic headed a fraction over the bar from a Maloney corner.
Efrain Juarez replaced Scott Brown for the second half, the Celtic captain having failed to recover from twisting his ankle.
Celtic began the second half as Killie had the first. Stokes tried his luck with a dipping shot from 25 yards which Cameron Bell smothered, and in 52 minutes he scored his first goal for the club since his move from Hibernian.
The creator was the athletic Izaguirre, who raced into the box and crossed sharply for the Irishman to side-foot home from four yards.
Just 90 seconds later, Stokes lunged at Hamill, his studs landing on the Killie midfielder's shin. Thomson's issuing of only a yellow card was lenient.
Celtic enjoyed the lion's share of possession, with Maloney and the Honduran Izaguirre combining well, and Kilmarnock reliant on rare counter-attacks to try to forge the equaliser.
Mixu Paatelainen sent on Danny Invincibile and Rui Miguel for Forrester and Hay, then Liam Kelly for Clancy as Killie chased the game.
Stokes had a few attempts at goal, cutting in from the left and blasting at Bell with his right, while at the other end, Majstorovic challenged Sammon strongly just as he teed up a shot from 10 yards.
With nine minutes to go, Maloney showed a glimpse of the glorious free-kicks he used to score when his dipping 25-yard shot tested Bell's athleticism.
Izaguirre, in a move similar to that which created the winning goal, crossed from the left-hand side of the box, but Stokes was a fraction away from connecting for a tap-in.
Sandy's Match Pic's are HERE
