The juices are flowing ahead of tonight’s crucial third round Champions League qualifier against HJK Helsinki at Celtic Park. Not only is it the first competitive game Celtic have had something to play for since winning the league at Rugby Park almost four months ago, it will be one of our most important games of the season.
The Finnish champions are midseason and have already negotiated an earlier qualifying round. After recent August disappointments against Sion, Braga (how little we knew about them at the time) and Utrecht, Neil Lennon will know only too well the pitfalls of summer football.
It will be a long and tiring 90 minutes for the players but a special Celtic Park atmosphere should see them through.
Best wishes to Morten Rasmussen, who joined FC Midtylland yesterday, or to tell the fuller story, was removed from the Celtic payroll with around £250k in compensation heading our way. Morten arrived in January 2010, shortly before Robbie Keane and a host of other loan signing pitched up at Celtic and squeezed his chances of first team football.
Tony Mowbray was replaced by Neil Lennon two months later and Morten was clearly not in the new manager’s plans. It all looked promising for him when he came on as a substitute, scored a goal and turned the game against Hamilton Accies in his first week at the club, but it was pretty much downhill from there.
Lesson here: for several years we signed too many players.
Enjoy the game!
Remember our raffle. All proceeds go to the good causes; The Haven, Cancer Respite Centre, Blantyre, Oscar Knox Neuroblastoma Appeal, Martin Chambers Ecuador Trust and Aberdour Primary School Parents Association.
For the price of a £1 ticket you can win:
A celebrating Henrik Larsson painting.
A painting of Scott Brown in classic pose.
A Neil Lennon print.
Check them out and buy a ticket!
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Apologies to anyone using this for updates as my stram is buffering a bit just now feck!
Turning into a real cup tie now end to end
HOOOPPPEEERRR 1-1
Samaras on the left sent in low across area hooper at back stick bangs it away
Celts on attack again
Corner easily taken by Hjk keeper
Atmosphere now is jumping
Again lost ball in midfield matthews makes another good tackle
58 mins 1-1
Shot for a pen on hopper not given
Free kick
GOAL!!!
Charlie mil grew at back post
Now the place is rockin
62 mins 2-1
63 mins good move on the left commons from 18 yrd just by the post
64 mins
Good cross from ozzy commons from 18 yards good header just past
Commons off for stokes 65 mins still 2-1
Celtic moving the ball much better now sammi linking up well
67 mins still 2-1
Kiss of death sammi gives away a shocking pass
Danger cleared by big vic
Celtic attacking again stokes with a weak attempt
Still 2-1 70 mins
Sammi yellow cared
Daft IMO not for foul but verbals
Pace of match just dipped a little
Not surprising
But Celtic still pushing forward
Sammi unlucky at near post ball got caught under his feet
Celtic playing mainly in Hjk half
Matthews with good cross but well cleared stokes unlucky not to reach it
Varayen off for Hjk subbed for somebody else in a yellow short lol I didn’t catch his name but it was worth a lot of points at scrabble
Matthews getting a lot of the ball
Squares to broony but goes wide
76 mins gone
Still 2-1
Stokes as izzy linking well on the left ball cleared for a Celtic corner
Hooper unlucky not to reach corner
Celtic switching play from left to right Hjk looking a bit ragged at the back
Still Celtic push on mulgrew from 25 yards just past near post
79 mins still 2-1 mostly Celtic in attack
Free to Celtic 25yrds oot mulgrew sends it broony but low cross is cut out before Matthews reaches it
Hjk look like they are happy to try and hold what they have
Still Celtic push on down the flanks but final ball is not quite good enough
Hjk sub number 16 aff number 20 on
Big vic has a dog from distance well wide 85 mins still 2-1
Forrest on a good run but we get in each others way in the box and it’s cleared
Broony smashes one keeper tips it by the post
Corner
Hooper aff sammi aff
Lustig on mc court on
88 mins still 2-1
Mc courts first touch and he forces a corner
Headed clear but Celtic still pushing Hjk all but one behind the ball
90 mins still 2-1
3 mins to be added big vic with another good tackle
Broony looks tired
Long ball over the top and Forrest unlucky not to reach it keeper was lucky92 mins 2-1
Corner cleared
FULL TIME 2-1
Unlucky with goal we lost we coulda had five but good keeping and bad luck kept it to 2-1
IMO I Fancy is for at least a draw over there we finished the far stronger and you wouldn’t have guessed who was half way through their season on the last half hour they looked shattered and we dominated
Just a pity we didn’t sneak anther couple of goals
Right ma finger are sore fae typing on this bloody I-phone gonna get my sel a beer lol
Hail hail
Mhark 67 your commentary was new media first class material mate
A well deserved beer is due
Hail Hail
I thought we were poor, less effort tonight than against inter.
Just in from CP. Overall a reasonable performance, good in patches but still a lot of improvement required. We are forunate they are poor as any half decent team would have beaten us. Still think we’ll progress next week.
MOTM for me was Ledley with Brown and Mulgrew not far behind. Both full backs were poor, especially Izzy. Victor is a central midfielder, playing centre half like a central midfielder. Too many heart in mouh moments.
Our attacking 4 all did well in patches but not over a sustained period, and rarely at the same time (first goal being the moment of exception).
Kilmarnock chairman Michael Johnston believes the Scottish Premier League’s new broadcasting deal with Sky will bring “some commercial stability”.
With Rangers no longer in the SPL, there had been concern about the top flight’s future income streams.
“The financial fall-out from that won’t be nearly as great as it might have been,” said Johnston, who is now on the league’s board.
—
Was this not the man who said yes
He is now on the SPL board
Worked alright for him in the end after all
Heads you win tails you win
Another snake in the grass
The football has started and you can’t take your eye of the ball but it’s the games we can’t see we need to watch
Johnston (new SPL board member) will be no doubt have newcos ear he is after all a yes man. I expect such a line of communication will supply newco the jump on SPL board discussions and decisions
Looks like the play is being set to get them back to the SPL as soons as.
We know newco are not physically in the SPL but they have allies in positions of power who you could say are as compromised as Ogilvie
One goes another fills his shoes
I think fans power will be needed again to halt any complacency or should we say taking your eye of the ball
Happy-Celts-Victory.csc
One criticism of last night (was working so no time to phone NL lol) was no inclusion of youth in the squad i.e. Twardzic or even Tony Watt as I feel Watts energy levels would have really made an impact in the last 25 mins or so but hey what do I know…