Celtic and Benfica fought out a tight, chess-like, game in their opening Champions League group stage encounter. Celtic had the best of the opening 15 minutes as Benfica seemed to spooked by the occasion. Kris Commons, in particular, made good on his pre-match promise to make the most of his Champions League stage, but once Benfica settled action inside the penalty boxes was limited.
Emilio Izaguirre picked up an early booking, the result of poor positioning and a mistimed tackle, and thereafter was subject to continual pressing from Benfica as they sought-out a weak point. He was replaced after 65 minutes; part of a change of formation which benefited Celtic.
Neither team had a chance worthy of the name but both had good claims for a penalty. Rodrigo raced after an immaculately times forward ball and collided with the impregnable Fraser Forster. The Italian referee waved play on. Five minutes from time James Forrest at last got space to exploit inside the box but Garay caught him mid-flight. Forrest fell, to no avail.
Kelvin Wilson gave his best performance in a Celtic shirt alongside his initial central defensive partner, Mikael Lustig, then alongside Thomas Rogne, when Lustig retired injured shortly after the hour. As Benfica pressed Wilson and Charlie Mulgrew always tried to hold the ball and make a pass. Benfica were strong on the wings and Adam Matthews returned to his best defensive duties to counter.
Victor Wanyama, who also collected an early booking, struggled with concentration throughout the game but Scott Brown put in a tireless shift alongside him.
The change in formation after 65 minutes, when Gary Hooper replaced Izaguirre, improved Celtic enormously. Hooper used his strength effectively to lead the line, whereas Miku looked a forlorn figure until then. The 4-4-2 Celtic now deployed also gave Forrest space to exploit for the first time.
Wilson and Brown both played very well but Kris Commons was easily man of the match. There seemed no part of the field he was not prepared and able to launch an attempt at goal from. Late in the first half, when Benfica were enjoying their best spell, Commons twice in quick succession used his remarkable understanding of the game by successfully tempting an opponent to foul him. Pressure was released and Celtic gained a territorial advance.
Celtic never looked to be in any real danger of losing a goal and the vocal crowd believed a glimpse of daylight inside the Benfica box could deliver all three points but the opportunity never arrived.
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275 Comments- Pages:
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David Prowse
I was pleased with Miku, IMO guy worked his socks off, i seen some promise in him which i hope is developed as he gets more games
Izzy continues to struggle finding last seasons POTY form
Team carried Forrest and Hooper, poor work rate and desire from both players
Scott and Victor both superb tonight especially last 20 mins when at times we played a 4-2-4
EDB,
KW beat 4 then gave it away, theres something there, he’s just got to stop panicing, problem being, can we afford to wait, Kebin son, either take control or forever doubt your ability, you are no a wee bhoy.
Lustig was immense in central defence, also out biggest goal threat recently :o)
Another point in Champions League competition, that must already improve Scotlands coefficient :oD))))
after Saturday, I’m satisfied almost happy
night night n
hail hail
Neil canamalar
I think tonight had Joe been available then Charlie would have replaced Kelvin.
Efe will likely be a first pick alongside Charlie with Kelvin trailing behind Thomas and whatever Lustig’s Christian name is:o)
No complaints whatsoever.
Don’t want to say that i am proud(pride is a negative emotion) of our wee team,our manager or our support…or our GREAT club in general,but i am more than content with that result,and their display earlier.
Some folk,myself included have questioned the heart,fight and resolve of the team in weeks gone by…but tonight our players answered all the questions – Young Wanyama,wee Matthews,Chuck,and…Broony,must of all – power play,against one of European football’s quality teams.
All that i see,and all that i have seen is this – progress.
Pity big Samaras was injured,we would have won that game,had he taken part.
But sure…
And don’t forget – it always takes us a wee while to get into our stride…last season we really only began to play football in nov/dec,don’t forget.
We can defeat that shower of Catalan debt mongers,home and away,i reckon,plus those mercenaries from the Gangster State shall crumble like a house of cards when our wee honest team de-constructs those retrospective showers of degenerate lowlifes that represent all that is wrong with the once beautiful game.
Here we go again…we’re on the road again!!
.
Attention BhoysOfOz..
Courtesy KDS..
Apologies in advance if this is the wrong place to post this, but I just wanted the Bhoys and Ghirls Down Under to know that there appears to be a legititimate way to watch the Benfica game live tomorrow morning (and possibly all other future Champions League games) if you are a Foxtel or Austar customer. It doesn’t seem to be common knowledge with Tims Down Under so I thought I’d post it here so at least some people are aware of it and spread the word.
I don’t have Foxtel anymore since I subscribed to Celtic TV at the start of the season so I can’t guarantee it will work, but I’ll try to explain what people need to do.
It seems ESPN Australia have rights to show ALL of the Champions League games in Australia, and those that are not shown on their two cable channels appear to be available using their online channel called ESPN3.com.
To get things up and running go to the following:
http://www.foxtel.com.au/espn3/default.htm
Click on the ‘Watch ESPN3.com now’ icon.
Log in to the next page using your Foxtel Username and Password, and I think it automatically registers you for ESPN3 if you haven’t already. The next time you log in to the above link then you can watch ESPN on your computer, smartphone or iPad.
I just got a mate at work to log in to ESPN3 and when he clicks on the ‘Upcoming’ tab it shows every Champions League game being shown live tomorrow morning on ESPN3 starting at 4.30am, including Celtic v Benfica.
Lastly, according to the Terms & Conditions at the bottom of the page it says the following “ESPN3.com is available for up to two users per FOXTEL subscription household” so you are allowed 2 simultaneous connections to ESPN3.com for every Foxtel account login. If you wanted to, you could do the Celtic-thing and help out some Tims in Australia who don’t have or can’t afford Foxtel by sharing your Username and Password for a morning (It’s OK, you can change it later)
Hopefully it works for everyone. I’m relying on my workmate doing me a favour and letting me “borrow” his login credentials for a day, otherwise I’ll be depending on some dodgy, low quality internet stream to catch whatever of the game I can.
Good luck and Hail Hail fae down here in Melbourne
Summa
Apropos of nothing really. I just got James Herbert’s new novel. It’s set in Culzean Castle…well as near as. That’s the setting he’s used, though he thinks he’s keepin’ it all secret like.
Anyway…it’s going for 20p if you’ve got a kindle device. What’s not to like?
Unless,of course, Herbert’s not yer cuppa.
Celtic youth side lost 2-1 to Aston Villa in the NextGen series.
Two many Fs in deFence?
CELTIC: Fasan; Fisher, Fraser, Findlay, Chalmers; Irvine, Lindsay, Kidd (Johnstone); Herron (Henderson), Atajic, McGregor
It’s funny how we all see games differently.
I felt Wilson was a mistake waiting to happen. Always taking that moment to long or touch too many coming out of defense.
Commons, although covering ground aplenty was the same in midfield and his crosses from corners and free kicks was poor. His passing was poor at times also. Nowhere near a Man of the Match performance.
I though out whole side looked fearful in possession and lacked any composure on the ball.
At this level players sometimes have to be able to play one touch football with a fair bit of pace and movement to create any level of opportunity. Having a group of players who in the main require 2 touches to control the ball will give experienced UCL teams like Benfica every opportunity to close you down and force your play back the way.
All that said. Without creating any clear cut chances we managed to compete again, on our home soil, with high quality European opposition.
I do believe though that we are capable of playing better and feel if we could get rid of some of the slack lazy passing which provided Benfica most of their breaks and attacks we could do so much better.
I also thought Miku looked a touch of class. Always able to control the ball with back to goal and always finding a Celtic player with a pass.
Lots to learn for a group of players playing their first UCL game. I have no great expectation for them in this seasons campaign except to say that nothing would surprise me from them in that last nights experience, and the confidence taken from competing with Benfica, just might spur them onto better in the reaming 5 ties. I also feel that the confidence taken from being able to compete at UCL level will begin to show in the SPL just as the confidence taken from last seasons Europa Cup sparked us into life in our quest for the title. Hopefully!
MWD
Moonbeams WD. Kano 1000 \o/ Supporting Neil Lennon 100%. Champions. C’mon Wee Oscar.
04:43 on 20 September, 2012
______________________________________________
and ye wonder why everybody’s away to bed :o)))
Away back to mine – ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz
laters….
BTW 53,000 my arse.
Great performance from the Bhoys in the stands. I could not hear a note of ‘ ‘The Champions’ (adaption of Zadok the Priest by Handle). And what a lift our young inexperienced team must have taken from the noise as they went into and came out of their huddle. What a racket we can create from the stands when we want to. Makes a pleasant change from the hand sitting (oh the GB will do it) normal Saturday afternoon.
MWD
Agree with most of Paul67’s post – except that I thought Scott Brown was easily man of the match – thought he had a fantastic match.
Internecine.
Now there is a word.
Paul67 used that word in a headline article a few months ago,and that one simple word brought back bad memories to me.
I have seen the word “fearless” used to describe many a man,but is any man really without fear?
There are plenty,that i have known,that do not care about themselves,that have no fear of dying – and it is said that a person whom does not fear death is a dangerous man indeed.And we all must,genuinely admire another human being that is not afraid to die,surely?
But what if the said “fearless” man/woman/person has relatives or loved ones that they care deeply about? What if that person does not fear death,but fears the thought of death,or harm occurring to persons/people that they care about?
Is that not fear?
Now,going back to that word,”Internecine” – to me that word means feud,plain and simple.
“Internecine warfare” – That has always been a big thing in Ireland,before an Englishman,Dane,or Viking ever set foot on this land…the Irish were wielding the axe upon one another – and it is still happening,from the ancient Kings to the clans and chiefs,to the Irish Civil War,right through the troubles,and still now it continues – splinter groups,factions,blah,blah,blah.There is no more bitter dispute than when Irish people fall out.
My own personal fear/experience of “Internecine” feuding? – 1987,and i will never forget it – The INLA and the IPLO splinter group had a disagreement of sorts,and then decided to wage war upon one another.
The state police and the British used to saturate these streets,all day,every day…but when Republicans were at war with each other,they disappeared,and understandably so imo,and let the warring factions annihilate themselves.
They stalked one another,on the streets and alleyways of this estate – and this one day,me and my ma left the house,she was driving me up to school for basketball practice(of all things),i was wearing my wee hooded Celtic top,shorts and guddies…i was about 9 or 10 years of age – as we walked down the path,straight across the street,there was 3 or 4 fellas,combat coats,rifles…peering up and down the street – me and my ma just got into the car – and i was shaking like a leaf,in fear…not afraid for myself – i knew nobody would want to kill a child – but i was afraid for my da – he was out at work,and i know that he wasn’t involved in anything,but these gunmen were directly across the street from my house,and for some reason i thought that they were waiting to shoot my da dead.
I couldn’t concentrate on basketball practise.My ma picked me up,and the first thing i asked was my da ok,and she said yes.
Anyway,later on that night,just around the corner from my house,Gerard Steenson(RIP) and another fella were shot to death,we heard the automatic gunfire,then the sirens from our house.
I will never forget the face of the one that seemed to be in command that day,and i am 90% sure that if he survived that particular feud,then he didn’t survive the feuds that followed,he has got to be dead now..the mad,crazy cant.
They were all afraid of these renegades,even the Ra,the British,the Loyalists in particular were petrified of them.But they kept falling out and killing each other,the rockets.
We have to desist from this petty fighting and arguing Bhoys and Ghirls,and stand united behind this great club that we have.
The MSM and the establishment only sit back and laugh at us,just like the cops and British army did with the INLA/IPLO when they shot themselves to pieces.
Apologies for the rant.
Peace to the Celtic nation.
Golgotha.
Some tale.
Some lesson for you and for us.
Thanks for sharing.
I love the sound of this:
“We have to desist from this petty fighting and arguing Bhoys and Ghirls,and stand united behind this great club that we have.”
Hail Hail
I’m happy with that performance, I thought the atmosphere was absolutely electric and it was a great night with some superb football. Benfica had that instant thought process in midfield to front that made them very tricky to handle but we did handle them very well and didn’t give away too many chances.
I thought Scott Brown was incredible, especially off the ball, the work he put in was unbelievable and the Benfica players would have been highly impressed by him, a true Captain’s performance.
It is early days in Miku’s Celtic career but he is going to be a belter of a player for Celtic. I really liked what I saw of him last night.
Time for work, I wonder if any Sevcovians watched the game last night to see real football. ;)
Petec
Sevconians have enough on their plates worrying about holding onto their playoff spot in 4th tier football to take an interest in what the big Bhoys are doing.
MWD
Just read through all the replies on this thread, lot’s of very different views so here goes with mine…
When Kelvin Wilson tries to dribble around the 18 yard box or play a diagonal pass to a player that’s about to be hounded by 2 strikers I get a bit twitchy. He should have no part in the champion’s league, he is a liability.
Celtic are toothless up front and we could have played all night and not scored. I don’t think any of our striking options are up to much, and bringing on an un fit Hooper was a mistake. He has had a poor start to the season as it is. Why bring him on when he is obviously not fit enough. Watt would have been a better option.
I don’t think either penalty claim was a penalty.
On the plus side our team is the most inexperienced team we have ever put out in the Champs league, and I think they dealt well with a far more experienced team. Broon and Victor were immense in the middle of the park.
Good morning CQN from a very wet Clydebank
I thought it was a good team performance from a young team
Think they will improve as the competition goes on and we get the likes of big
G S back
Keep the Faith
Hail Hail
Summa of Sammi….
03:21 on 20 September, 2012
Attention BhoysOfOz..
Courtesy KDS..
Good call that one! I followed your tips and am now watching the replay.
Well done that man in Melbourne…:-)
Dissapointer with James FOrrest last night,seemed to be hiding and moving into positions where he could t receive the ball
They pressed up whilst we allowed them too much time. Not too disappointed overall,
Still took nearly two hours to get home. Celtic really need to speak to the police about lack of points men on duty.
BT
There were very few police on duty at all, both in and around ground last night. Out in force pre game to catch the silly Bhoy drinkers (I wonder if they get a % of the £20 fine.
Morning frae Eberdeen where it is dry and promising to be a nice day.
Rucyl
Ulrcy
Did you make it down for game?
MWD
Good morning friends from EK where we have the obligatory heavy rain and grey skies
Good morning.
MWD 4:43
Agree with you but there was enormeous psycho preasure on our young side when playing 1st game in ucl 4 all of them ever against v decent eu side in front of own people. Apart from izzy & jf the rest was ok. Re wilson i was close 2 heart attack when he started to drible as last man between 2 benfica guys in 1st half. Miku and Sami can be interesting combo up front imo. Know they r similar but they can understand each other. In Moscow we will be better.
Why does CQN always crash when you really need it?
estorilbhoy
Sorry you are very much mistaken, just callling it as I see it.
MWD –
Naw. Nae leave left, and with planned house improvements coming up, it is not an option (in the eyes of she-who-must-be-obeyed) even for polite consideration!
Problem is that I need to take the afternoon off to get down there, an am not home before 02:00. As I am up at 05:00 for work, it doesn’t leave me much time for beauty sleep, therefore need to take another 1/2 day.
So pretty gutted, but hoping we can continue our run into the New Year, new leave year, and can therefore take the time off to head down. Same holds for any SC or LC midweek games.
Not very well organised is me, eh?
Cannot get down this Saturday either, so basically means, heading into October, and my Season Book has seen me at the Aberdeen game alone.
Ho hum,
Ulryc
* it is not an option to take unpaid leave*
Oops
Yurcl
I think Izzy needs an extra yard of sharpness. We are most likely to lose a goal through him right now.
I was disappointed in Forrest. Their left-back was very good – almost as quick as Forrest and clearly well briefed to stick to him like glue. Yet it seemed to take him 80 mins to realise he would have to start cutting in rather than clipping it outside and charging into a second defender. Just a bit too predictable last night.
Morning all. Very pleased with the performance last night, as most of the team played very well, and top performers in my opinion were Brown, Wanyama and Commons, with only Emilio and James struggling a bit.
I think Kelvin Wilson continues to suffer from being played out of position (out of necessity last night), as he is is an an out and out right centre back, and the vast majority of his Celtic appearances have been on the left side of cental defence.
Lastly, with the benefit of upteen TV replays last night, I didn’t think either penalty claim was valid, and the ref got it right on both occasions.
Scott Brown was immense last night, MOTM by a street. Commons also played well along with all 3 central defenders used. Izzy continues to be the weak link and Forrest needs to get back to basics, use his pace to go outside the full back and get the cross in. Miku would have been as well sitting in the stand for all his involvement, partly due to lack of service. Overall a draw a fair result.
We competed well and were well organised but we lacked creativity in midfield. Commons was our only creative player last night due to Forrest’s poor performance, but even with him we are all sweat and effort with little attacking flair.
Decent result, decent performance.
Izy is proof that when you’re out of form bad luck follows.
A couple of time re received passes he didn’t want as he was covered and was dispossessed.
We are sometimes guilty of dropping the ball out wide to the full backs who are isolated and with no easy pass on either have to try and take a man on in a dangerous position or lump it forward.
It’s not always down to the player who loses the ball, sometimes they are passed the buck.
Goog morning CQNers,
There is no doubting this is a Neil Lennon team and their play is reminiscent of him in his playing days, ponderous, lacking pace but solid.
Overall I’d say I was happy with the result but our ball retention was a worry, last night we got away with it but I don’t think we’ll be so fortunate if we continue to give the ball away so cheaply in the future European ventures.
This is totally off topic, but I thought it was funny. From John Prescott via Twitter…
John Prescott @johnprescott
Want to see Nick Clegg SING sorry to you? This is remarkable via @ThePoke #cleggsongs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUDjRZ30SNo&feature=youtube_gdata_player …