CELTIC 1 VfB STUTTGART 4
IT WASN’T the way Martin O’Neill had hoped to celebrate his 1,000th game in football management.
Celtic are now hurtling out of the Europa League after a dreadful all-round performance against a VfB Stuttgart side who were worthy winners at Parkhead tonight.
On this showing, next week’s second leg in Germany is a mere formality.
The Hoops disintegrated in an error-strewn performance where Kasper Schmeichel will have to hold his hands up for two of the goals, but the men in front of him didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory in a night to forget.
The defence wobbled, the midfield malfunctioned and the attack was non-existent.
O’Neill looked on in dismay from the touchline and he now has the unenviable task of working on the confidence levels of his players before the must-win Premiership encounter with Hibs at the same venue on Sunday.
DRIVEN TO DRINK…Martin O’Neill had a 1,000th anniversary to forget.
The hosts just couldn’t get to grips with the rhythm of the game as they continually conceded possession with wayward passes that were mainly overhit with Tomas Cvancara doing his best to chase them down.
The game was held up for four minutes following a fans’ protest after only 15 seconds. When it got underway, the Germans took advantage of some sloppy play to take the lead in the 14th minute.
The strike came exactly FORTY SECONDS after comeback Bhoy Paulo Bernardo fluffed a left-wing corner-kick.
The Portuguese midfielder failed to get his deadball effort past the first defender and the Bundesliga side counter-attacked at pace.
The move broke down, but the visitors quickly regained possession after a high ball out from Schmeichel was headed back into the danger zone with Sebastian Tounekti not even getting off the ground.
It was worked to Bilal El Khannouss, on loan from Leicester City, and he swivelled on the edge of the box to hit a low drive past the Hoops keeper who looked slow to respond as the ball swept past him to his left.
Seven minutes later, Celtic were level and this time it was the opponents who were guilty of gifting the goal.
ON TARGET AGAIN…17-goal man Benjamin Nygren.
Netminder Alexander Nubel passed the ball out and was then left stranded when his team-mate knocked the ball across the box in a move anticipated by Benjamin Nygren.
The Swede raced onto the pass, danced past the floundering Nubel and nonchalantly rolled the ball into the inviting net for his 17th goal of the campaign.
Unfortunately, the German side went back in front in the 28th minute and once again the Hoops rearguard was all too easily undone.
Following a period of possession, they slung a diagonal ball into the net. It took a touch off Bernardo and was diverted perfectly to El Khannouss who was completely unmarked only six yards from goal.
He stooped forward to make perfect contact with his head and on this occasion Schmeichel had absolutely no chance as the ball swept low into the net at his left-hand corner.
And the veteran shotstopper was retrieving the ball from the back of his net again 12 minutes after the interval – and once again Celtic shot themselves in the foot.
Kieran Tierney was short with a throw-in on the left that was intercepted and worked forward before a pass across the area found Jamie Leweling with the freedom of the city to thump a 25-yard drive low to Schmeichel’s right.
It looked as though the Danish legend was going to shovel it behind for a corner-kick, but his timing was out and the ball evaded his grasping fingers for a third time.
Schmeichel will cop the flak, but the guys in front of him weren’t giving him too much cover.
OFF NIGHT…Kasper Schmeichel was culpable at two of the Stuttgart goals.
Inside two minutes, Eremedin Demirovic had the ball in the net again, but was adjudged offside.
In the 62nd minute, O’Neill threw on Reo Hatate and Yang Hyun-jun for the totally ineffective pair of Bernardo and Daizen Maeda.
Ten minutes later, Luke McCowan and Kelechi Iheanacho joined the action as Nygren and Cvancara made way and seven minutes after that Marcelo Saracchi replaced Tierney.
Three minutes into stoppage-time, it was all over when Tiago Tomas walloped in No.4 after the Hoops defence had failed to deal with a long kick-out from Nubel.
That just about summed up a sad story on a night where it all went wrong.
TEAM: Schmeichel; Araujo, Trusty, Scales, Tierney (sub: Saracchi 79); Nygren (sub: McCowan 72), McGregor, Bernardo (sub: Hatate 62); Tounekti, Cvancara (sub: Iheanacho 72), Maeda (sub: Yang 62).
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