Celtic went out of the Champions League to a Midtjylland team that found it difficult to keep the ball and struggled to create chances. What they were was more clinical than Celtic up front and sufficiently more secure at the back. The contrast with our experience last night was stark.
For much of the game there was little between Celtic and AZ Alkmaar. The visitors enjoyed the slight majority of possession, completed more passes, came within inches of opening the scoring and really should have narrowed Celtic’s two goal margin with a shot from six yards.
As we found out to our cost in Denmark, all that counts for nought. Football is about two things: putting the ball in the net and stopping your opponents from doing the same. Celtic’s upgrade between the posts, in defence and attack, since facing Midtylland last month, makes them a potent opponent.
After having a shaky start to both halves, Stephen Welsh made it his mission to win every ball in the air. As AZ tried to find a way back into the game, Stephen’s timing and lift repeatedly blocked their progress. Anthony Ralston appeared to arrive from nowhere to clear decisively inside his own six-yard box, then, in the closing moments, humbled his opponent to win a corner kick. Both defenders performed above expectation.
Yet another European qualifier, yet another goal from James Forrest. His deflected shot tilted the balance in Celtic’s favour. Even before Celtic’s 12th minute opener, Joe Hart demonstrated why Celtic agreed to his spectacular wages by extending a foot to turn a shot against the inside of the post. At the time, it felt like a crucial moment in the tie.
I expected AZ to tire going into the latter stages but with around 20 minutes to go they clearly had the upper hand, pressing Celtic back into a tight defensive formation. Having already introduced Odsonne Edouard, Ange Postecoglou introduced Adam Montgomery and James McCarthy to close the game out.
Not only did this work, but it resulted in a chance that really should have put the tie to bed. Another Ralston rake down the right saw Edouard lunge to head a loose ball that was cleared off the line by a defender, only as far as Montgomery, who also saw his header cleared off the line.
A 3-0 margin would have flattered Celtic but not their new idol. Kyogo Furuhashi’s opening goal could not have been scored by any other player at the club. His speed, flight and control made an already good cross from Tom Rogic into a spectacular goal. Three weeks after his arrival, Kyogo looks like the deal of the decade.
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I guess that it was a full house in that all possible seats were sold. Not the 60,000 in pre-covid times.
Josip and scales both start tonight for their current clubs – risky business!
Georgios scores all sorts of goals – unlike Edward, he enjoys heading from crosses left and right – could be a mix of Hooper, Sutton and Edward with his qualities and can get better!
lot of possibles which are taking too much time to get over the line – not enough center back links, although I suspect we will go for a late loan deal for that position.
Shamrock Rovers trailing 0-2 after 30 minutes in Tallin.
West Craig’s at 4.26. Well said. Thank you.
Rovers pulled one back. HT 2-1 Flora Tallin.
HT Qarabag 1-0 Aberdeen
saint stivs
Thanks for that link. Great angle!
Had Eddie’s first, right footed, effort went in it would almost have been a replica of Gerd Muller’s brilliant (winning) goal against another Dutch team back in 1974.
RIP Der Bomber
ifyouknowthehistorycsc
The 2nd attempt with the header, i cant quite decide if it was over the line, if i was in my normal croner fla seat I would have known.
saint stivs
One thing is for sure Saint the goalkeeper for the first header, and the defender for the second were both well behind the line!
Nicked from twitter …
For those worried about Starfelt.
He’s had 5 games to bed in. Give him 5 years & he could be the next Tony Ralston.
It’s a high bar, but……😜
I buy into JH
stupid hun խաբել s
Ange on STV News:
Anthony Ralston is amazing. At the end he’s running on empty cos he’s played every bloody game.
Georgios bid accepted?
St Johnstone 1up against Linz . Premier sports.
very odd logic – headline
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58261406
Juranovic scores for Legia…
Scales scores for Shamrock Rovers
<a href="https://twitter.com/lewisfarmer67/status/1428411598562017282?s=08"Juranovic just scored a cracker
MM@JHB🤷🏻♂️
Why does anyone bother
https://twitter.com/lilze_7/status/1428411544187162629?s=24
Juranovic boom…
https://twitter.com/AnthonyRJoseph/status/1428414314726273027?s=19
Scales goal
TONYROME
enjoy Dublin in the green 👍🍀
‘Celtic have agreed an initial fee of €2.5million for Greek international Georgios Giakoumakis, the Eredivisie’s leading scorer last seasons’.
I’m sorry if this seems cynical, but there’s something about this statement that seems too good to be true. If somethings too good to be true, it usually is.
Can anyone enlighten me as to why a good player from a decent league can be bought so cheaply?
JVR on 19TH AUGUST 2021 5:40 PM
Hello there and good to see you on.funnily enough thought of you at cqn corner last night as Danny McGrain came out the pools office.After last night a hero of hours would say there is a buzz about the place.
HH
Boring maybe but revealing to me anyways.
In a wee meander into the family tree, I discovered a potential Prison Record that is very likely to be my Great Great Grandfather, who is newly arrived in Port Glasgow around 1880 (first son born in Port 1882).
So, I got the record sent to me, and when we talk about “confirmation bias” I cant help but feel my own.
The page for the record is just a list of names intered in Greenock jail over a few days in september 1882,
All the judges are males, with fine updatanding staunch Scottish establishment monikkers.
There are 32 imprisonments, 18 women (majortiy for Drunkeness serving 30 days) and 14 men.
My bias – 24 have what I would say are Irish surnames, with sainted first and second names.
McGarrigles, Higgins, O’Brian, O’Grady, and others,
The 24 are all living in Greenock and Port Glasgow. With one from Dumbarton,
The rest are from Argyll, 1 from Uist One from Colonsay and a couple of randoms Liverpool and Isle of Man (sailors maybe)
Further of the 24 secondary evidence is place of Birth for 15 of them. – Derry, Donegal, Wexford, Tyrone,
Drunkenness, Breach (i am guessing songs of old ireland), asault, begging (1), a lassie gets 30 days for stealing 14lbs of potatoes.
Sadder still there is a mother and daughter pair, same names and aliases. Drunken Common Affray.
All the port yins their names can still be recognised in the port today, all big extended families.
The person who I think is mines gets 60 days for Assualt by Stabbing , let off lightly ? or no case to answer ?
He had a young family on the way, was there any sympathy for his plight ? Oh he is only one on the page with Hard Labour
The other interesting thing for him is a comment “Can read a little English, but cant read, there is a column English or Gaelic, marked G. ” Desribed as a labourer, we know his father was a tailor in Coalisland with his own business, so his skills were not used, when getting to the port.
He dies in 1928. His wife in 1943 a victim of the Blitz.
One little funny on the page one fella was charged with “drunk in charge of a horse”
I asked a good friend who’s a Venlo fan about Giakoumakis. He said he’s similar to Ivan Toney but better.
Stolen from Twitter
Big Tom Rogic would find space in a single bed with Gemma Collins
The prisoners are also measured, the great granda was 5ft 2 and 8 and a half stone.
The tallest person is 5 ft 7. The men are averaging 5ft 2.
Only one woman is 5ft, rest are 4ft 10 ish.
Thats poverty right there.
I ruined it with “friend” didn’t I
He did have a great scoring record last season – 29 from 33 in all competitions in Netherlandish football isn’t too shabby at all.
saint stivs
Re the fella charged with “drunk in charge of a horse”
Question. Did Big Jimmy’s grandad have a few quid on him?
The Ange affect at work on players before they’ve even signed
It sounds a bit far fetched I know, but Tony Ralston
Has there been a bigger swing in fortunes for a Celtic player in such a short time? Even There’s only one Bobby Peta (he was sheidt but now he’s better) had shown some genuine first team ability before MON took him to task and made him class
I’d be locked up under those criteria saints stivs
Jablonec 4 nil up on zilina at half time
THE BLOGGER FORMERLY KNOWN AS GM on 19TH AUGUST 2021 7:01 PM
His team have just been relegated, his contract runs out in 12 months time and before the season just gone his scoring record was poor
The price for Dutch-based assassins has dropped since the days of van Wolfswinkel, especially now that teams all over Europe are skint
When I was a young fella, would have been about 15 ish, this bloke who owned a hotel in Stonehaven, can’t recall his name but he was one of the biggest bullshitters around apparently, anyways, got done for drunk driving, very very rare in those days, so he decided to get a horse for his transport, used to tie it up outside the hotel, anyways he obvious peed off one of the local constb and he was done one day for being drunk in charge of a horse, 100% true story
Watching the Hun game, you would think they would get bored singing bigoted songs but nope, there they go again