CELTIC 1 SALZBURG 3 RONNY DEILA is becoming an expert in producing unexpected victories from the debris of defeat. He managed it again at Celtic Park tonight after a home defeat against the Austrian champions. In the end , the result meant little with Astra winning 1-0 at home against Dinamo Zagreb to send the Hoops through to the knock-out stages of the Europa League. Deila, following the re-instatement to Europe after the Legia Warsaw fiasco earlier in the season, really should make sure he buys a Lotto ticket for the weekend. Celtic got out of jail against Salzburg - thanks to results elsewhere. This is the third time Celtic have lost on Scottish soil in European competition this season following the nosedives against Legia in Edinburgh and NK Moribor. Salzburg are the first Austrian team to beat Celtic in Glasgow or indeed win in a Scotland. Deila left out Kris Commons and James Forrest from the starting line-up and went with Callum McGregor on the right. The youngster is clearly lacking in confidence and it showed throughout the 67 minutes he was on the pitch before being hooked for Forrest. Anthony Stokes went at the same time and that was no surprise, either. The Irishman put in a lot of endeavour, but his final touch was often wayward. Leigh Griffiths led the line for his first start since late August and he tried hard, too, but his killer touch were missing. That was highlighted in the 77th minute when he should have claimed the equaliser. Emilio Izaguirre, who surrendered possession far too often for comfort, picked him out with a curling cross from the left. Griffiths, unmarked inside the six-yard box, had the opportunity to bury the ball in the inviting net, but allowed the keeper to scramble it to safety. It should have been a goal. Celtic didnt help their cause by gifting the visitors a two-goal lead inside 13 minutes. The first blow arrived in only eight minutes when Charlie Mulgrew deflected into the air. Virgil Van Dijk and Efe Ambrose, in for the injured Jason Denayer, were both asleep as the ball dropped to Alan who first-timed a close-range drive beyond Craig Gordon. Shortly afterwards, the keeper was fishing the ball out of the net again when the rearguard failed to clear a right-wing corner-kick. The ball was flicked on to the back post and Alan was in the clear again to send en effort past the keeper who might have been excused for wondering if his defenders were taking this game seriously. Soriano sent a free-kick soaring past Gordon in the 21st minute to the horror of the 32,404 fans but, thankfully, it was ruled out because the ref had signalled for an indirect free-kick. Stefan Johansen threw his team-mates a lifeline on the half-hour mark when he volleyed an Izaguirre cross low into the keepers right hand corner of the net. Celtic took the game to the Austrians after the break and hoped for added impetus when Commons and Forrest replaced the ineffectual McGregor and Stokes. Aleks Tonev came on for the toiling Mulgrew in the 74th minute as Deilas men threw caution to the wind as they attempted to get an equaliser. The curtain came down on another miserable European evening when Salzburg scored in added-on time when Gordon could only push an effort into the air and substitute Naby Keita gleefully headed the ball into the net. Celtic are through to the knock-out stages, but it was hardly achieved with any real style or flourish. The management and supporters can only be thankful John Guidetti will be able to play in the tournament once next months meaningless game against Dinamo Zagreb is out of the way. TEAM: Gordon; Matthews, Ambrose, Van Dijk, Izaguirre; Brown, Mulgrew (sub: Tonev 74); McGregor (sub: Forrest 67), Johansen; Stokes (sub: Commons 67); Griffiths.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 23:08:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015