#Delboy Sport Celtic 0-0 Dukla Prague: Efe Ambrose in the frame for Champions League qualifier, says Ronny Deila as Bhoys close Austrian tour Deila believes Ambrose is more than capable of playing in Celtics opening Champions League qualifier Celtic take on KR Reykjavik in the first leg in Iceland on Tuesday Ambrose has reported back to Glasgow after playing for Nigeria at the World Cup finals in Brazil Celtic closed their Austrian tour with a goalless draw in Freistadt England goalkeeper Fraser Forster came through his first 90 minutes of pre-season action Ronny Deila is ready to pitch Efe Ambrose into Champions League action alongside his fellow World Cup Celts next Tuesday night as the club begin their bid to land a £15million group stage bounty. The Parkhead manager watched Fraser Forster and Emilio Izaguirre come through their first 90 minutes of pre-season as his side closed their Austrian tour with a stalemate against Dukla Prague in Freistadt. Centre-back Ambrose has yet to play under Deila after he reported directly back to Glasgow following Nigeria’s second-round exit in Brazil. In charge: Celtic manager Ronny Deila (left) stands alongside assistant John Collins in the dugout +15 In charge: Celtic manager Ronny Deila (left) stands alongside assistant John Collins in the dugout Back from Brazil: Efe Ambrose (right) has returned to Glasgow following Nigerias World Cup last-16 exit +15 Back from Brazil: Efe Ambrose (right) has returned to Glasgow following Nigerias World Cup last-16 exit HOW CELTIC LINED UP Celtic (4-2-3-1): Forster; Matthews, Van Dijk, O’Connell, Izaguirre; Kayal (Biton 70), Mulgrew, Boerrigter (McGregor 70), Commons, Johansen; Stokes (Watt 77). Substitutes: Zaluska, Waters, Findlay, Twardzik, McGeouch. His condition will be assessed at Lennoxtown tomorrow but Deila believes he is more than capable of being involved in the first leg of their opening qualifier against KR Reykjavik in Iceland. Forster has been attracting interest from Benfica and Southampton, but the Norwegian manager reported no news in terms of ins or outs from his squad. ‘Fraser and Emilio are quality players, you can see it,’ said Deila, as he reflected on the Dukla friendly before Celtic fly back to Scotland. ‘This was a good match for both of them. I can understand that Fraser is an attractive goalkeeper. He made saves and he played well with his feet as well today. It was good to see. Of course, he can give the team a lift. We need all our quality players. ‘This 90 minutes has to be enough for them ahead of Reykjavik. That’s how it is. ‘For Emilio it won’t be a problem because he played in the World Cup. It was important that Fraser played in this game but he has been training well and I think he is ready. ‘Efe will join up with the squad on Sunday and we will see how he is but he will be in the squad for the game against Reykjavik. ‘He also played four matches in the World Cup and that is important. I would have no hesitation about throwing him in. He is a quality player and we need all the quality we have.’ Celtic departed Austria with two wins and two draws from their four run-outs, but the real value for Deila was in building a relationship with his players at their training base in Bad Leonfelden. He is confident the fruits of that labour will be seen in Reykjavik. I think we have prepared for the qualifiers as well as we could do,’ he said. ‘We have not had that many days together, but this training camp was very important. I got to know the players and they got to know me. We will have a good team on Tuesday. ‘The game against Dukla was one against a good opponent. I think the performance was one step forward from Rapid Vienna last Sunday. ‘Of course, there is still a long way to go but we finished this game strongly and that was a positive for us. ‘We have to be ready for the European matches. I’m looking forward to the game against Reykjavik.’Celtic famously defeated Dukla in the European Cup semi-final en route to their 1967 glory in Lisbon, but this reunion was a distinctly forgettable affair. Sport Celtic 0-0 Dukla Prague: Efe Ambrose in the frame for Champions League qualifier, says Ronny Deila as Bhoys close Austrian tour Deila believes Ambrose is more than capable of playing in Celtics opening Champions League qualifier Celtic take on KR Reykjavik in the first leg in Iceland on Tuesday Ambrose has reported back to Glasgow after playing for Nigeria at the World Cup finals in Brazil Celtic closed their Austrian tour with a goalless draw in Freistadt England goalkeeper Fraser Forster came through his first 90 minutes of pre-season action Ronny Deila is ready to pitch Efe Ambrose into Champions League action alongside his fellow World Cup Celts next Tuesday night as the club begin their bid to land a £15million group stage bounty. The Parkhead manager watched Fraser Forster and Emilio Izaguirre come through their first 90 minutes of pre-season as his side closed their Austrian tour with a stalemate against Dukla Prague in Freistadt. Centre-back Ambrose has yet to play under Deila after he reported directly back to Glasgow following Nigeria’s second-round exit in Brazil. In charge: Celtic manager Ronny Deila (left) stands alongside assistant John Collins in the dugout +15 In charge: Celtic manager Ronny Deila (left) stands alongside assistant John Collins in the dugout Back from Brazil: Efe Ambrose (right) has returned to Glasgow following Nigerias World Cup last-16 exit +15 Back from Brazil: Efe Ambrose (right) has returned to Glasgow following Nigerias World Cup last-16 exit HOW CELTIC LINED UP Celtic (4-2-3-1): Forster; Matthews, Van Dijk, O’Connell, Izaguirre; Kayal (Biton 70), Mulgrew, Boerrigter (McGregor 70), Commons, Johansen; Stokes (Watt 77). Substitutes: Zaluska, Waters, Findlay, Twardzik, McGeouch. His condition will be assessed at Lennoxtown tomorrow but Deila believes he is more than capable of being involved in the first leg of their opening qualifier against KR Reykjavik in Iceland. Forster has been attracting interest from Benfica and Southampton, but the Norwegian manager reported no news in terms of ins or outs from his squad. ‘Fraser and Emilio are quality players, you can see it,’ said Deila, as he reflected on the Dukla friendly before Celtic fly back to Scotland. ‘This was a good match for both of them. I can understand that Fraser is an attractive goalkeeper. He made saves and he played well with his feet as well today. It was good to see. On the ball: Celtics Anthony Stokes (left) is closed down by Dukla Pragues Patrik Gedeon +15 On the ball: Celtics Anthony Stokes (left) is closed down by Dukla Pragues Patrik Gedeon Not letting go: Celtics Derk Boerrigter finds himself under pressure from Matej Hanousek (right) +15 Not letting go: Celtics Derk Boerrigter finds himself under pressure from Matej Hanousek (right) Daugava Riga 0-3 Aberdeen: Adam Rooney smashes hat-trick as Dons cruise through Kris Commons set for contract talks as Celtic keen to tie goal machine to new deal Adam Matthews calls on Celtic to reach Champions League for crocked Scott Brown Celtic captain Scott Brown ruled out for up to three months after tearing his hamstring Lask Linz 2-5 Celtic: Teemu Pukki stakes claim for starting spot with brilliant hat-trick ‘Of course, he can give the team a lift. We need all our quality players. ‘This 90 minutes has to be enough for them ahead of Reykjavik. That’s how it is. ‘For Emilio it won’t be a problem because he played in the World Cup. It was important that Fraser played in this game but he has been training well and I think he is ready. ‘Efe will join up with the squad on Sunday and we will see how he is but he will be in the squad for the game against Reykjavik. ‘He also played four matches in the World Cup and that is important. I would have no hesitation about throwing him in. He is a quality player and we need all the quality we have.’ Celtic departed Austria with two wins and two draws from their four run-outs, but the real value for Deila was in building a relationship with his players at their training base in Bad Leonfelden. He is confident the fruits of that labour will be seen in Reykjavik. Strike: Celtics Emilio Izaguirre sees his effort on goal saved by the Dukla Prague goalkeeper +15 Strike: Celtics Emilio Izaguirre sees his effort on goal saved by the Dukla Prague goalkeeper Snap happy: Izaguirre poses for a photo with a young Celtic fan at full-time +15 Snap happy: Izaguirre poses for a photo with a young Celtic fan at full-time ‘I think we have prepared for the qualifiers as well as we could do,’ he said. ‘We have not had that many days together, but this training camp was very important. I got to know the players and they got to know me. We will have a good team on Tuesday. ‘The game against Dukla was one against a good opponent. I think the performance was one step forward from Rapid Vienna last Sunday. ‘Of course, there is still a long way to go but we finished this game strongly and that was a positive for us. ‘We have to be ready for the European matches. I’m looking forward to the game against Reykjavik.’Celtic famously defeated Dukla in the European Cup semi-final en route to their 1967 glory in Lisbon, but this reunion was a distinctly forgettable affair. Back to business: Celtics Fraser Forster makes his first appearance since returning from the World Cup +15 Back to business: Celtics Fraser Forster makes his first appearance since returning from the World Cup Miss: Celtics Callum McGregor has his shot easily saved during the 0-0 draw in Austria +15 Miss: Celtics Callum McGregor has his shot easily saved during the 0-0 draw in Austria Deila’s side wove some pretty passing patterns in the first half but too often the little triangles were in front of a defence which was quite happy to sit in. The greater attacking threat came from the Czechs when they broke forward. Forster had already saved from Tomas Berger when a loose touch from Kris Commons in central midfeld suddenly left his defence exposed. Michael Krmencik was played through but couldn’t get his drive on target. Shortly afterwards, Forster did well to spread himself in front of the same player as he tried to dink a shot into the net. The lack of wide options available to Deila was underlined by Stefan Johansen being shifted to a left wing role, with Derk Boerrigter operating on the right. Getting in behind Dukla was proving decidedly tricky, but an overlapping Izaguirre managed to do so before drilling in a low cross that was only half-cleared. Anthony Stokes seized upon the loose ball but his strike was directly at goalkeeper Filip Rada. The format remained largely the same after the break, albeit that Celtic were less troubled defensively. A breakthrough very nearly arrived when young centre-back Eoghan O’Connell picked out Stokes with a lob forward. The Irish striker’s control was good but Rada reacted well to parry away the angled shot.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 06:17:15 +0000
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