Do anything nice last night? The consequences of what took place at Celtic Park are profound, but there will be plenty of time to discuss them later. For now, let’s concentrate on the small matter of how this result was achieved.
The record books will show 5-0, but there was more to this game than the thumping it turned into. For the first 30 minutes, Astana pressed Celtic high, unsettling our natural game, while forcing the occasional error. We didn’t have the luxury of time and space normally afforded us in domestic football.
This was a worrying period, although there were promising glimpses. Scott Sinclair latched into a loose ball seven yards from goal 3 minutes into the game, but could not find the target. Moments later James Forrest pitched a perfect cross for Leigh Griffiths. Celtic Park stood ready to celebrate, but again, the target was missed.
Those moments aside, the early flow of a game was not going to plan, but Celtic continued to pass the ball with precision, switching play , looking for space. Tom Rogic’s trademark surging run provided the breakthrough. His cross-cum-shot would have gone narrowly wide, but for the intervention of a disorientated defender, who turned the ball into his net.
This goal encapsulated the real chasm between the teams. Astana were good in possession and looked fitter in the opening period, but Celtic had no real weaknesses. A poorly marked corner one minute after the opening goal was the only genuine chance the visitors had all evening. Whereas Celtic probed for, and found, many vulnerabilities in their opponents.
Forrest foraged on the right, Sinclair was scintillating on the left. Ntcham’s neat passing swung the pendulum Celtic’s way, as Griffiths grew into the game through the middle, while Brown bossed proceedings in the no. 6 role.
Olivier Ntcham is still finding his feet in Glasgow, but he will be difficult to dislodge as Scott Brown’s central-mid partner. He’s a different player than Victor Wanyama, but Victor wasn’t as effective, this early, in his Celtic career.
Remember, Olivier has played very little senior football, only 37 games before his summer transfer. Practically everything he does right now is new. Wait until he realises he’s good enough to own the pitch.
Last night’s highlights…
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Happy Birthday to the Bould Lennybhoy:))
HH
Fantastic Result for Celtic against Astana .
My only concern about the return leg is that the Astana player decide to be extremely industrial in their play knowing that they have no chance of going through. Celtic will have to keep their discipline.
On another matter Richard Gordon of Sportsound mentioned on Wednesday night after the game that qualification for next year’s group stages will not be as straight forward for Celtic as EUFA have changed the rules , namely that the champions and non-champions route has been abolished and basically all teams will be put in a hat for the play offs and so Celtic could draw anyone.
Having checked UEFA website I could see no reference to this so I e-mailed Bert Kassies who is the fount of all knowledge in regards to European completion.
Just got his reply. Richard Gordon is talking pish.
Berts reply is
Hi Dave,
The format will be changed in the 2018-21 period. See this new access list: https://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/AccessList2018.html
But the champions and non-champions route will remain.
Regards,
Bert
LENNYBHOY.
Happy birthday to you, bound to be getting near thirty years old now.
Excellent performance on Wednesday and great atmosphere. Before the game, the crowd was predicted at 53,000 but, apart from small areas behind pillars and the front rows, it appeared to be pretty full to me. Must have been in excess of 57,000 in the ground.
Pass marks to every player and I though Olivier Ntcham was exceptional and, at his age, he can only get better. Kouassi and Benyu also look good as well as Ajer showing up well in games this season.
We can discuss about extra centre backs/forwards but we only have 2 goalkeepers , one of whom has not covered himself in glory in the past. This position is my biggest concern should injury strike.
———–
Sadly, the behaviour of Hajduk Split fans last night at Everton re-emphasizes why i don’t follow one of the bigger teams in Croatia. There is a bad undercurrent amongst Split/Zagreb fans and Hajduk has suffered the same fate as Espanyol in being a powerful force which has been marginalised, partly due to their own financial mis-management, whilst Zagreb has built up their club on a sound financial base of rearing their own players and re-investing sales proceeds in the next generation with a strong academy approach.
This article explains
http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=cro/news/newsid=2242959.html
Hajduk is in a bad place and their fans’ behaviour will only worsen their attractiveness to the football and sponsorship communities.
Deep in my conscience, I have a vague feeling that something like this is happening in Glasgow but, for the life of me, I cannot think of the club concerned. Bear with me, it will come back to me sometime.
STARRY PLOUGH on 18TH AUGUST 2017 9:03 AM
Thanks mate…:)
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
OLDTIM67 on 18TH AUGUST 2017 9:07 AM
Thanks D…lol, your too kind nearer double the thirty years now…:)
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Right off for breakfast, hopefully lunch in the Number 7 if it is open but definitely the Stadium Tour.
Until we meet again…
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Enjoy your day lenny
Four qualifying rounds next year if we win the league? FFS
HH
TRADITIONALIST88
I was thinking the other day why do the Swiss Champions get a straight in but we don’t??
Swiss fitbaw is about the same level as ours is it to do with the national teams co-efficient??
Four qualis, the BP medication will be getting hammered next season..
starry plough on 18th August 2017 9:27 am
Apparently next season Swiss and Dutch champions will not qualify automatically. We also might not be seeded in final round depending on how we fare this season.
Getting harder and harder.
HH
Morning all…Starry Plough…perhaps if UEFA headquarters were in Scotland we would go straight into group stage…
TRADITIONALIST88
The SFA with their “one club one different set of rules” policy have overseen a decline in football in Scotland in the last 20 years which in my opinion will never be reversed.
The Swiss on the other hand 20 years ago invested at a grass roots level and with the advent of the “secondo” generation of Kosovans and Croatians etc have seen their national team consistently qualify for major tournaments.
Meanwhile back at the Blue Blazer Ranch it was all about Rangers to the complete detriment of our national game.
Someone much smarter than me said years ago the team that would suffer most from the huns going bust would be us and in a way that’s true, here we are with a great manager and a great squad finding it even harder to get to Europe’s most prestigious competition and what have our national association done for us.
Nothing absolutely nothing, you only need to look at our next game against Astana to see how their federation viewed their participation in Europe and here they’re trying to find ways to handicap us even further:((
Celtic are trying to build a European future and the SFA they’re just in the road, time for a complete overhaul of the Scottish game otherwise we are looking at becoming even more irrelevant than we are already as a league.
Celtic flying the flag alone as ever..
WEEBOBBYCOLLINS
Aye there is that too but you can’t deny their national teams growth over the last ten years:((
FC Basel had some good runs in Europe, EL semis if I remember correctly..
But aye UEFA being here would help there league I guess.
Can you imagine UEFA being in Scotland, the huns would be in every tournament going with boys and referees paid to ensure their “triumph” :)))
Re CL changes granting automatic entry to the top four teams in the five big leagues.
I can see the competition losing it’s appeal due to the repetitiveness of fixtures it will undoubtedly bring. A big part of the allure of European football for me is seeing my team play teams we don’t get to play often and sometimes it’s our first meeting.That unknown element of the style/quality of the opposition adds extra excitement to the ties.
HH
SMSM
Rangers- Buying in lots of foreign players at the expense of home grown talent, winning the league and getting into Europe- Good for Scottish football
Celtic- Bringing through lots of Scottish players winning the league and getting into Europe- Bad for Scottish football… (whilst paying our taxes)
Go Figure
Looking back to Wednesday,Astana had done their homework.Come out quick,press really high,dont let us build from the back.During the 1st 25 mins,it worked to the extent that we were not just as smooth as normal.But that was it.We remained calm,kept passing the ball welland limited them to no chances.After the initial burst,you could see they could not keep it up.By the second half they were run ragged.This Celtic team are supremely fit,and filled with self belief.The incredible amount of passes we make in games is Barcaesque.65% possession against a team who would try to slow it down,pass it about the back,all the usual stuff is fantastic stats.
Cant stop raving about how well Ntcham has settled,and how superb a technician he is with the ball.
DBHOY on 18TH AUGUST 2017 9:46 AM
I think it’s already happening and it will get worse if teams are almost guaranteed to get in. I do think it will become almost a closed shop to those teams outside Spain Germany England and Italy, with PSG and a couple of others making up the numbers.
Good read from etims today
http://etims.net/?p=11854
LENNYBHOY
Have a great day Buddy!
HH
quantum
Yes, a number of “journalists” had been spouting that rubbish. It’s amazing what a bit of research can do. Bert Kassies is an amazing source of info for this stuff.
Traditionalist88
Yep, four qualifiers meaning that we will likely start our season in June. It might be a good idea to not be in the Scottish Cup Final this season… ;)
I really do think we should be doing our pre-season training in Scandanavia playing bounce matches against clubs already half way through their season.
As far as I was aware,the Champions route is staying open.I am sure this was one of the concessions PL and his allies gained .What I read was that when the changes are to be made,it will then go with individual co_efficients,not National,which would help Celtic.
Happy Birthday Lennybhoy just a mere whippersnapper at 55 :)
Weet weet weet
Thanks for that link to Big Mikael’s photo. Brilliant. I love the ghuy and thought he was brilliant against Astana. Top player.
I was also delighted for Wee Jamesie and Nir Bitton who were both excellent as well. I’ve always rated both these ghuys and it was great to see them both play so well on a night when everyone in the team was a hero.
Our players deserve their success for the hard work they have put in. They’ve made the Celtic support throughout the world very happy and everyone’s right behind them.
https://twitter.com/scotlandsky/status/898470023068622849
SA signs
Stuart Armstrong
Signs 2 year contract .
Stuart Armstrong signs new 2 year contract…..fishal!!
The quiff has landed.
Good choice by SA
Quizzie:(sourced from old Celtic View)
Former Celtic captain played 538 games never scored.
Played under Maley,McStay and McGrory.
538 games no goal scored could be UK record writes the View.
Glad Stuart Armstrong has committed but the 2 year deal to me means he will definitely go next close season.
Essentially in March / April next year we are back in the same stand off position as we have for the last 6 months.
Be interesting to see Broony lying deep, strolling. Olivier stringing passes all over, keeping the team ticking, and Stuart making those runs into the box:)
Magic.
Cmon the quiff of legend:)
HH
Has anyone else heard the “rumour” that Armstrong would re-sign today (tick) but be off to Swansea on Monday?
Maybe Snodgrass being available might change things.
TURKEYBHOY
That rings a bell!
I also thought Celtic would benefit under the new system as previous WINNERS.
C’MON THE CELTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy birthday Lennybhoy.
so SA agrees to a 1year extension to his current contract.
Friday 18 August 2017 10.15CETUEFA
The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) has announced the following decisions:
Match: UEFA Europa League third qualifying round second leg match between Apollon Limassol FC and Aberdeen FC (2-0), played on 3 August in Cyprus.
Charges against Aberdeen FC:
• Crowd disturbances – Art.16 (2) DR
• No stewards travelling with supporters – Art.24 (2) of the UEFA Safety and Security Regulations
Decision: The CEDB has decided to fine Aberdeen FC €10,000. The Scottish club has also received a warning with regard to the lack of stewards.
Charges against Apollon Limassol FC:
• Setting off of fireworks – Art. 16 (2) of the Disciplinary Regulations (DR)
• Throwing of objects – Art. 16 (2) DR
• Improper conduct of the team – Art. 15 (4) DR
Decision: The CEDB has decided to fine Apollon Limassol FC €27,500.
Stuart.
On board with winners.
About time , son.
Good news on SA..