Celtic came from behind to beat Rennes in the Europa League tonight with two goals from Anthony Stokes and a late finish from Gary Hooper. Rennes took the lead after 85 seconds when Kader Mangane converted a corner with a fine header.
Rennes pushed forward from kick-off and Julien Feret’s bullet corner kick evaded Victor Wanyama. This in turn deceived Daniel Majstorovic allowing Mangane to meet the ball and redirect it into the top corner of the goal.
Losing the early goal direct from a corner, for the second time in four Europa League games, seemed to sap Celtic’s confidence as Rennes pushed forward with confidence in the opening 30 minutes. During this period Rennes goalkeeper, Benoit Costil, touched the ball only once, to cut out a cross from James Forrest. Celtic were disjointed and no one seemed keen to receive or hold the ball.
Celtic needed a break and it came from James Forrest, not for the first time this season. The Celtic midfielder evaded two challenges and created space for a shot 25 yards out on the corner of the box. Costil, who had perhaps lost concentration during his long period as a spectator, stopped the shot but allowed it to rebound back into play, instead of turning it around the post. Anthony Stokes was on hand to pounce and turn the ball into the empty net.
Two minutes from half time Celtic took the lead when Georgios Samaras flicked on a Fraser Forster clearance which was missed by Mangane. Stokes collected outside the box and finished confidently with his left foot into the corner of the net.
Having dominated most of the first half Rennes would have wondered how they were behind at half time but the second half was a different game. Celtic came out with more fight than finesse but as the half progressed they played some of their best football of the season.
Neil Lennon’s injury problems were compounded when Glenn Loovens failed to return for the second half but the manager will be delighted by the debut of 17-year-old central defender Marcus Fraser, who threw himself into the game like an experienced professional.
Adam Matthews, Celtic’s other teenage defender, typified the home teams’ resurgence. He managed to maintain his cool under pressure with 28,000 fans nervously looking on.
Gary Hooper replaced the tiring James Forrest and wrapped things up for Celtic on 82 minutes. The striker collected a clearance under pressure in the centre circle and found Samaras in space on the left wing. Memories fleetingly flashed to mind of a similar break against Udinese when Samaras passed up a chance to make a decisive break but today the Greek was not to be denied. He played an inch-perfect pass into the path of the onrushing Hooper who met it 13 yards from goal, controlled and knocked it past Costil.
On 66 minutes Kris Commons replaced Paddy McCourt, who struggled to get into the game. Yann M’Vila, distributed the ball with great effect for Rennes and mopped up lots in central midfield but he failed to take account for ‘Tenacious C’, Commons, and collected his second yellow in the final minutes as the Celtic midfielder nipped the ball away from him.
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I think Peter Lawwell should take a bow this morning. After all he doesn’t half get it in the neck when we stumble. Or maybe the new Chairman is the difference – ‘There’s only one Ian Bankier, one Ian Bankier…..’ – I knew things would change once that nasty John Reid departed the scene; or maybe somewhere in Ireland a moustacheoed tight-wad allowed his cheque-book to see the light of day; just think of how good we could be if he actually opened the bleedin thing? Or maybe we were inspired by Hearts going to court, by the ring-fencing of Rangers accounts, by the cheesy embarrassment of Craig Whyte and his shady past, or by the polis actions or even the SNP and their malicious attempt to turn modern day Scotland into the mirror image of the third reich?
Or was there another simpler reason?….:-)
Hail hail
Zonal marking ditch it or persist with it ?
Mickbhoy1888
Yes.
hail hail
Estadio
Good performance last night. Just shows you what you can do if 11 players are all fighting and not carrying any passengers. Some players didnt play great but they put a shift in. Big Sammi frustrates the life out of me, but what do you do about him. I think we should just call him the new Frank Mcgarvey and love him for his failings as much as his undoubted ability. Finally can we just leave Ki on the bench, he doesnt have the heart and he does hide.
And what about that Glen Daly impersonator at 1/2 Time…………….
Was that Shane McGowan with a sare throat………………
50 years I’ve been listening to Glen giving it laldy and last night was ehhh something else!!!
Paddy T………who thought Big Dan was superb last night.
Well played big Daniel last night. Have been calling for his head for a while, but he stepped up to the plate last night (after his gaff for their goal!).
Looked every inch the experienced centre half we thought we were getting.
Sammy was great.
For me Kayal was trying the hardest of all our players. It wasn’t coming off for him all the time, but he never gave up. That for me was heartening.
Adam Mathews MOM. Unbelievable performance from him. Although, he did have me watching the game through my fingers when he got involved in a Benny Hill chase scene in his own box!
BOOM! Keep it up Bhoys!
Absolutely delighted with the result and perfromance last night, midfield was superb, Wanyama has to be a must ever game, this fella is gonnae be a beast of a player, what a tower of strength and over time the few mis placed passes will go away.
Only negative for me is the clown a few rows in front of me in the Jock Stein Lower, giving Anthony Stokes a torrent of abuse after only 20 seconds, stay at home ya muppet, your a disgrace!!!!!
Good Morning from a drizzly Chilterns.
Great result from the bhoys last night, the potential in this team is huge and in all honesty from time to time Lenny has perplexed me since becoming Manager but he certainly has an eye for a footballer – if he makes a player out of our Greek Enigma I’d be very impressed. If he gets the Academy working even better.
Just a wee observation – I was watching the BBC news this morning, they had a piece on Sir Alex Ferguson’s 25th Anniversary @ Man Utd.
Their morning wee smug sports presenter was introducing some footage from when Mr Ferguson first took over the reins and was asked if he had made the correct decision leaving Aberdeen for Man Utd – There was a huge smirk in his face as if Sir Alex was some Scottish yokel that didn’t know what favour was bestowed upon him.
Sad fact is in England it is long forgotten that since Busby’s last success some twenty years previous Man Utd had won very little a few F.A. Cups and a Division 2 Championship.
Im dem days England’s mediocre teams were no match for Scotland’s best.
In the previous seasons Aberdeen had won the SPL twice and beaten Bayern Munich in a European Cup final. Alex Ferguson left that success to take over a club that was in danger of once again being relegated to the English second division.
It would just be great if (just like Sir Alex) Lenny gets over his shaky start and unleashes the potential of this squad and wipes a few smirks of some English faces as so many Celtic teams have done in the past.
Congratulations Alex Ferguson.
McCourtfor7 1053
Benny Hill chase-brilliant!
That’s EXACTLY what it looked like. But give him his dues,he didn’t panic.
That was left for us in the stands to do….
Fantastic performance last night. True grit, sweat, balls, passion, toughness etc. It all shone through very brightly and for once this season the whole team had a real sense of togetherness and passion for the shirt and for the clubs support.
Samaras for me last night was brilliant and I do honestly believe he really loves Celtic. He should be deployed in a system whereby he can collect the ball further out and run at defences. The biggest problem with Samaras is that he loses heart and I feel the same with Hooper. It can be clearly seen that Samaras’ best performances usually come in European games and for his country! Why? Because he is not being pulled up constantly for fouls. In a sense, in the SPL, he is not allowed to A. jump for a header and B. use his weight. The same goes for Hooper. Nowadays he is constantly deemed to be fouling anytime he uses his weight and strength. On the other hand Jelavic and Laughable are allowed to kick, pull and bully other SPL defences and have been doing so for a long time. I always say to people about Kris Boyd when he was playing for rangers. Look at the goals he scored! Why did he get so many? Simple really, A. he got penalties that never were, B. he was allowed to foul the defenders constantly and C. he was allowed to be offside many times.
If Samaras or Hooper for that matter played for Rangers they would probably be challenging young Messi for the Golden Boot. In fact that kinda goes for all Celtic strikers
When Kayal plays at that pace closing down players,the whole team grow with it.Keep it up,Wanyama is a player,Matthews and Forrest down right side please,Samaras outstanding,pleased for the guy.Win the battle on Sunday and our superior players will take over.
Adam Matthews looks a great singing. When we get Izaguirre back and move young Adam to his favoured side we will have a fine pair of attacking full backs
What’s happenin bhoys?
I come on here for my daily infusion of Rangers Tax Case information and all youse are talking about is….Celtic ,,,,and football.
So boring. I’m off to the pub.
Hail hail
Estadio
Afternoon bhoys,wet warm hun free.
Aye what a difference a referee makes
Well Done Neil and the management team, the players and the fans. I only got to see 60 minutes of the game last night because I had to go to work but this has not been too bad a Euro campaign IMO and we are in with a good shout of getting through.
I think what happened to Naismith was a pivotal moment in the League and it will be most pleasing if Rangers drop points in the first game after it happened. I am hoping that this time the Bhoys can go on a long run of SPL victories to get back to where we should be, Top of the Table.
I hope Motherwell never want to play us again after Sunday, we owe that mob a big defeat and I hope it is this time especially as they are being hyped up.
Play the 5 in the middle and take them apart systematically.
Snake Plissken says:
4 November, 2011 at 10:31
“Scum,” is the mildest epithet that is applicable to the people behind that website. Apart from the shocking stuff they post on there, they have a penchant for threatening physical violence on anyone unfortunate enough to come to their attention on the web. They’ll think nothing of posting your personal details online, and threatening you and your family.
A couple of them even made veiled threats to Speirs on twitter yesterday.
Chairbhoy -and before Matt Busby came in late 1945 to what was [literally] all that was left of Old Trafford Man Utd had not won a trophy since 1911.
So a great Club, with a great history, and 90% of it down to just two men.
TET
The REF???? He was terrible, a disgrace, an abomination.
Seriously, I know it doesn’t fit in with the Zeitgeist and demeanour of the blog but Scottish Refs are far better.
Hail Hail
Estadio
St MichaelsBhoy2
Point taken but I certainly will never engage with them. I’d feel dirty even visiting that site.
4-5-1 against Motherwell
They key to our recovery, I hope NL realises it.
The SNP and “Anti Sectarian Bill” – How can the club help the support, when our behaviour in recent years with regards to “Sectarianism” has been exemplary?
Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha
Estadio
I would get down to Sharkeys PDQ, you are in need of a drop of reality juice :>)
Thanks Mr Winklepickers.
I was watching it via a dodgy sausage in my flat on the outskirts of Oslo. Wishing I was down the Oslo CSC, but had a little’un to mind.
I was waving my fist and quietly screaming obscenities at (Burley) the Telly when Kayal was brought down on his way into their box. But, he did make me laugh when he intimated some people wanted to knock his teeth out.
Paul The Spark @ 10.52
That kind of comment about Ki is too prevalent on the blog. A few weeks ago everyone was down on Kayal and wanted Ki in the team. No it’s suddenly the reverse.
We badly missed Ki’s ability to retain possession in the second half last night. That’s not taking anything away from those who played.
All the injuries are showing that we need a lot of players. Ki is an important member of the squad.
Anyone like mind that DM vastly improved 2nd half performance was a result of him having to be the leader with the young lad next to him?
Just a thought.
takereponsiblityCSC
James Forrest is developing into a smashing young player. One little thing that annoys me is he doesn’t play to the whistle. After losing the ball he will stop, throw his arms up in the air and claim a foul, as the opposition player jogs away with the ball. C’mon wee man chase them and never rely on help from the effin ref’s.
Dontbrattbakkinanger says:
4 November, 2011 at 11:03
Chairbhoy -and before Matt Busby came in late 1945 to what was [literally] all that was left of Old Trafford Man Utd had not won a trophy since 1911.
So a great Club, with a great history, and 90% of it down to just two men.
………………………………………………
If we are being totally honest Man U are only the club they are because of a tragic event in 1958.
79caps @ 11.12
Keeping possession is all well and good when it is effective possession. Passing the ball backwards or side to side is whats put us in the position we are in. I like Ki but he never imposes himself when he has the ball and doesnt have the heart when we dont. Will be a good player in a better team and league, but not the player we need to help us fight and scrap out of the hole we are in. Probably says more about Scottish football but its the league we play in.
Estadio says:
4 November, 2011 at 10:49
I think Peter Lawwell should take a bow this morning. After all he doesn’t half get it in the neck when we stumble. Or maybe the new Chairman is the difference – ‘There’s only one Ian Bankier, one Ian Bankier…..’ – I knew things would change once that nasty John Reid departed the scene; or maybe somewhere in Ireland a moustacheoed tight-wad allowed his cheque-book to see the light of day; just think of how good we could be if he actually opened the bleedin thing? Or maybe we were inspired by Hearts going to court, by the ring-fencing of Rangers accounts, by the cheesy embarrassment of Craig Whyte and his shady past, or by the polis actions or even the SNP and their malicious attempt to turn modern day Scotland into the mirror image of the third reich?
Or was there another simpler reason?….:-)
_____________________________________
Timing?
Timing and Touch?
Timing and touch and attitude?
But timing and touch can affect attitude. The following theory comes from personal experience but I wonder if any other posters who played the game at a higher level than amateur might have their experience to offer.
Way back in 1967 as a 21 year old my form went ooot the windae. My touch had been good but someone did a metaphorical elephants foot transplant and my touch and timing went.
It got so poor that I was dropped from the office first team, then the other Saturday morning team where I had been a regular and then the office second team. Every attempt at controlling tha ball was a pass or a tackle and I could do nothing about it.
As we moved into the season I was at best a sub for the second team who were pretty poor. Then we had a game at Anniesland, Temple I think. It was mid winter and the black ash surface was frozen solid, so the ref called the game off.
Being daft both teams agreed to play a “friendly” (as if a broken leg or ankle would be less painful or serious if broken in a friendly game.) Some guys were not so keen and I got a start.
Sometime during the game our keeper cleared and our inside man nodded the ball down on the hard surface in my direction. Despite it coming up at an odd angle and fast I cushioned it on my left foot and switched to my right and had a shot. It hit the post but I was not bothered. “Where the f have you been?” was my thinking.
Got back into the first team who won a cup and won the office 5 a sides in the summer. Never played in a losing side since the ball hit the dirt and ricocheted at me.
With touch and timing back I wanted the ball, in fact my team mates wanted it too, but after my touch and timing famine, I was a right wee greedy bassa.
Touch/timing/attitude = form. The problem is that when it goes, have we the patience as a support to wait for it to return or do we always want it now for fear of THEM?
I saw some poor touches last night but also good ones under pressure, so here’s hoping my history repeats itself.
No0t the most sophisticated, but the showed an awful lot of fight.
79caps says:
4 November, 2011 at 11:12
No doubt Ki is a player. The problem Lennon has is that he has a young squad and they are more prone to peaks and troughs in the their performances. He needs to keep a close eye on them in training and in games and rest them when necessary.
Forrest could definitely do with a couple of games on the bench. He has been outstanding, but it’s a long season and I hope he has the juice to be there at the business end of it.
Also, I thought it was encouraging to hear Lennon say he didn’t want to break up the midfield/pattern by bringing Wanyama back into centre defence. No more square pegs in round holes. Trust in the squad and the Academy!
DBBIA @ 11:03,
Too true two golden periods doesn’t make you the best team in the world – Maybe we should tell them what happened to SAB without Alex.
Once tried explaining to a West Indian pal-o-mine that Bob Marley got his rhythm from his Scottish genes – didn’t go down well.
Hail! Hail!
What other teams play zone, I’d like to have a look at a team using it successfully.
I watch american football and they use zonal marking (coverage) in that game a lot.
Now there the defenders pick up whoever enters their zone. The zones can cover a wide area and the defender has to move to close him down. He is watching the player and looking for the ball at the same time.
Just from memory (I haven’t analysed or watched it back). What we seem to do is have three guys on the six yard box area (front, middle, back), watching the ball, whose ‘zone’ is basically the width of their body and if someone gets in the space in between them and the delivery is good he has a free header.
Is that how other teams do it?
greenjedi says:
4 November, 2011 at 11:16
I can’t believe you said that. There are a lot of factors to Man United’s success. Good managers being one of them but it’s not what happened in 1958. It put them back 10 years! They had a team that would have dominated Europe for a decade.
LB
Good morning Bhoys,
Can anyone post the ages of the players involved last night. Must be one of the youngest ever average age teams at Celtic.
SAB = SAHB Been in England tooo long dropping my Haatches now.
bournesouprecipe says:
4 November, 2011 at 11:07
Yup
A lot of our problems stem from the ball not sticking up front. Sammy has a physical presence that Stokes and Hooper lack. He migh not score goals but if he is unsettling the opposition defense physically he is doing a job that neither Stokes or Hooper can do.
Paul The Spark @ 11.18
Well he did score a vital goal against Aberdeen the other week and has scored a few more too. I think you need different types of player to complement one another. But you must have players with good technique and passing ability. Otherwise we’ll never make progress in Europe.