Although Celtic created the overwhelming majority of chances last night, they were punished for unforced errors. This is why Malmo are still in the tie.
Lots of positives were evident. Malmo could only foul James Forrest. He is fit and simply unstoppable. Celtic’s least effective periods of the game coincided with when they failed to get James on the ball. When he did get the ball, he often attracted three defenders, which curtailed his options but opened up space for others.
Next week James should find more space. Malmo’s main concern for the return leg will be how to cope with him.
Leigh Griffiths is on fire. He had no right to score his second goal, it was never his ball. The timing of his leap, combined with his reach and finish, were first class. He’ll fancy himself for a goal out there.
Our passing early on was as good as it has been all season but something went wrong, I think Scott Brown and Stefan Johansen’s roles changed. Scott bossed the opening 20 minutes but towards the end of the first half, a tension had crept in.
When our defenders had the ball at their feet, the options they had earlier simply weren’t there. Think back to the early moments when Scott dropped deeper than the two central defenders to give them options in possession. There was one occasion when Brown dropped to collect a forward pass from Boyata, before passing onto Forrest and then Armstrong, who carved an opening, all achieved without resistance. Our movement made Malmo look pedestrian. We lost our way when those options dried up.
We know what we will get from Forrest and Griffiths but the key three Celtic players next week will be Brown, Bitton and Johansen. Hareide criticised Celtic’s fitness, it’s certainly clear that the early pace we set was not maintained, although it could be argued that pace was impossible to maintain. If Brown, Bitton and Johansen have the stamina to cover the acreage they did for parts of the game last night, we will be comfortable in Sweden.
The major concern is the likely absence of Mikael Lustig. Efe and Dedryck both need immediately-available options in possession. It will be absolutely critical that they are not left to play long clearing balls forward. If this happens, we will invariably lose possession and Malmo will be able to build sustained attacks.
Ronny may decide to deploy Saidy Janko instead of Efe. Efe got the nod for the bench last night as we needed cover for both central defence and right back (he’s also convered left on occasion). None of us have enough information on Saidy to offer an informed opinion on this option yet, but he may be asked to step forward.
Malmo got as much out of last night’s game as was possible. They scored two goals and didn’t pass up a good chance. We have the lead and there’s nothing too worrying in what we saw from the visitors. They will play a different game at home, have more possession and create more chances, but Celtic will create lots of chances of their own.
There’s a hard 90 minutes ahead, but it’s in our own hands, and Ronny’s right, we can win out there. This tie has a Blackburn feel about it.
One for the golfers…….
Taggsybhoy is raffling a Round of Golf for 4 at the magnificent Aberdour Golf Course, where our annual CQN Golf Open takes place, to support his Great Scottish Run campaign in aid of the Celtic Foundation. The auction ends next week and you can bid on it here on ebay. Check it out, and check out what YOUR Foundation does as well.
This is a brilliant way to get involved and achieve something significant, well done to Taggsy for taking the initiative.
Thanks to everyone who donated as part of yesterday’s competition to win a Celtic Euro shirt, courtesy of Magners. Special thanks to the winner, Glasgowdave, for allowing us to auction the shirt at a later date. You’re not a bad lot.
646 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- »
I should add that it took me a while to get used to BT. I have changed how I watch TV. Loads of streaming Not so much real time tv….
A big day in the DELANEYSDUNKY household as he uses a technicality to get out of going commando.
My very best wishes for the future of his daughter and her husband-to-be.
I hope they have a very HOOOOOOPY marriage(!) which lasts and lasts!
Delaney’s Dunky, I hope your daughter and family have a great day and stays dry, on the weather front.
Delaney’s Dunky
All the very best to you and your family on this momentous day:)
SP
DD
Have a wonderful day and best wishes to the happy couple
Goooood morning CQN
A couple of points missed yesterday
KevJ, great to see you popping in, then back oot yesterday :-)
DD dress fitting ? Thought you said it was a kilt for you :-)
Hope your daughter and her man, have a fantastic day to remember for the rest of their lives together, and her Auld Dha and the rest of the family enjoy :-)
SFTB – your post at 11.44, I intended posting that exact team today for our game tomorrow – agreement – yippee
Hail Hail
Have Malmo subsumed some Hunnish tendencies by Osmosis?
Oh DD, close your ears for best man speech
Boy from my work got married last month
Best man gets up and congratulates the couple, wishing them all the best for the next few days whilst honeymooning in Wales
We’re not going to Wales was response
Best man – oh, I thought you said you were going to Bangor for the next 3 days :-)
Hail Hail
D D
All the best for the big day.
H.H.
Thanks for the support and kind wishes everyone. Truly a momentous day in my life. The first of my four children to marry. Please raise a glass to Julie and John the fenian. :)))
Morning all.
Best wishes to DELANEYSDUNKY and family on this special day.
HH!!
Delaneys Dunky – Hope you, your daughter and all your family have a great day and night in the grand old Clydebank Town Hall. My sister’s reception was in there 25 years ago, it’s got a great wooden floor that bounces when you get a good sing song going! If you know what I mean.
From Bella Caledonia – anyone think Police Scotland Focus division will step in ? No, me either
Rangers supporters representative Craig Houston has been caught posting homophobic abuse at former Hibernian midfielder Scott Allan after the youngster signed for city rivals Celtic.
Sons of Struth founder Houston was so incensed by the news of Allan’s decision to sign for Celtic, that he posted video tweets with homophobic comments, labelling him as a ‘gay’ and calling him a ‘poofter’ while honouring Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday – who is close friends with Allan.
Boyhood Rangers fan Allan had been the subject of three failed bids from the Ibrox side, with Hibernian refusing to sell to their championship rivals. This led to Allan handing in a transfer request to force a move to Ibrox, but again this was rejected.
Houston had lauded the potential arrival of Allan at Rangers calling him a talented midfielder, and claiming to his followers that his agent would do everything in his power to make sure he would sign a pre-contract agreement for Rangers in January.
The Rangers fan had also criticised Hibernian fans for posting abusive comments about the midfielder just days before Celtic signed the youngster for £275,000.
When confronted online by the BBC’s Tom English over his ‘homophobic moment’, Houston [who had labelled the Irishman as anti-Rangers during a previous BBC Sportsound show] claimed that the Irishman was pandering to Celtic fans.
Houston said: “Someone seems to be playing to their target audience. Again.”
Houston, who hails from Linwood, co-founded Sons of Struth with convicted drug dealer, football hooligan and former BNP supporter Sandy Chugg – who is up in court in December after being arrested following Rangers’ League Cup semi final 2-0 defeat to Celtic in February.
The salesman for drinks firm Vodquila, has been used by a number of media outlets in Scotland over the past year, including BBC, STV, the Evening Times and the Daily Record during the Rangers fans’ boycott of the club when controlled by the previous board under the Easdale brothers.
There is no news if these same media outlets will continue to use Houston’s services following his homophobic comments.
This latest Rangers fan rep scandal comes months after Chris Graham of the Rangers Supporters Trust, had to resign from the Rangers board after just two days as a director following a racist tweet posted to a Muslim cleric depicting the Prophet Mohammed engaged in a sex act in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo terror attack.
Houston was unavailable for comment.
Share
DD: Have a great day today and get her to the church on time! Remember to put the veil back down after one of your ciggies before you take her down the aisle(that’s your daughter’s not yours,tho you better check your kilt isnae caught up in your boxers!).
I see the meeja are hyping up the battle of words between sevco and Hibernian before Sunday ….. another pathetic / disgusting attempt to unsettle the Hibs players………. Can sevco not just go out and play their rivals ? Does their loaf need to stir it up to try to gain some sort of underhand advantage …..you’re not in the Stock Exchange now, crusty, bless ye…..
COSYCORNERBHOY
That’s not one of DD’s Jamaican Special Blend fags,it’s the incense in the church-honest!
(There you go,DD-excuse set up for you,gratis)
Morning all.
Wild, wet and windy down here once again. Heard a bit on the radio earlier that this has been the warmest year ever. No here, by the way. Climate change is having the opposite effect in this part of the world.
Any word about Lustig? I hope Fisher gets a game tomorrow. Clean sheet against Dundee Und may give our players a wee bit of extra confidence in facing Malmo.
COWIEBHOY
There’s simply something not right about people like that. It’s too late to educate it out of them,it’s in their blood and bone.
What’s worse is that there are thousands out there like him. And thousands more who make him sound like the soul of discretion.
Malmo fans seem a charming bunch.
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/celtic/13617996.Ex_Celtic_star_Henrik_Larsson_s_son_Jordan_backed_by_Helsingborgs_after_vile_abuse/
GG on 21ST AUGUST 2015 12:32 AMBADA BING!! on 20TH AUGUST 2015 10:40 PM Reports are reaching us that Boeriggter was reading CQN this evening and stumbled on reading the post from Bada Bing selecting him for Saturday. He will undergo a fitness test at 2PM on the day of the match.- See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/result-but-with-a-few-unforced-errors/comment-page-11/#comment-2658037
he will fail it no doubt..
John the Fenian will be a true tim after today
All the best G
God bless the happy couple
Bmcuw
Remind me to tell you a story about the former car salesman who is Struth bam at the hootenanny
Good luck and best wishes to DD and his family for today , especially his daughter and her husband to be .
HH
Delaneys
Enjoy your day
Best wishes to your daughter and John the fenian.
A little bird tells me that a few shillings each way on max dynamite in the 230 at York might help pay for some champagne, and of course a glass of orange squash for your prospective son in law
Congratulations to Delaney’s and his family. Enjoy the day and night and don’t forget that it’s an early kick off tomorrow, so in bed before midnight, ;-)
Hail! Hail! PMTYH
While there’s a bit if a debate on how strong a side to put out for tomorrow, there may be little choice but to play a weaker side than we would like, given the injury situation and the need to give some players a chance to restore energy levels before Tuesday.
There’s also the ‘protection’ issue. Who can we not afford to be without on Tuesday?
Certainly none of the 3 subs who appeared v Malmo come into that category, so they should play, especially with 2 of them knowing our opponents so well, where depending on who else is available.
Interesting, maybe vital, call for Ronny.
Hail Hail!
‘of’ not ‘ if’.
Cowiebhoy- i wonder what that clown Houston’s employers think of his homophobic jibes?
I could be way off here, but I have a funny feeling the Huns have high jacked an extreme Malmo web sight and are fuelling the fires with there bile.
Because this s…. Has came out of nowhere, it has Hun paws marks all over it, may be even level 5 #stenographers, and I wouldent rule them out.
As I said yesterday trash talk means they are nervous, just be there next Tuesday, because trust me we will, lurking Huns pass this on, oh! And also GIRFUYs
DD
Best wishes to you and your family today!
Don’t forget the hankies!
DD,
Have great day.
Kevj
Good to see you back, also have a great day.
Think I’d prefer to see the bhoy Ficher replace Lustig, Bhoyata’s mistakes seem to be more common when Janko is playing, they don’t seem to be assured with each other yet.
DD..
Have a grand time on your daughters special day.
Mind, wherever ye may be,
Let the wee man swing free:)
All the best to the happy couple. HH
The more game time Bhoyota and VVD get right now the better, it doesent happen overnight, these things take time, RD knows that, the back four have been changed almost nearly every game they need time and support from us as well as each other, we’ve all started new jobs at one time or another, this is no difference.
And if it doesent pan out, welllllllll, we all just blame PL and the board :)
TD67- Agree,but the Laptop Loyal couldn’t resist the banner headlines with ‘Celtic ‘ and ‘pigs’,jumping out the front and back pages.Subliminal messaging,it’s what they do
Well, if the Malmo goalie’s comments have the same galvanising effect on our players as Paul67’s Abba slur had on Malmo’s, we should sail through!
Don’t think it matters if VvD and Bhoyata hit it off, VvD is for the offski again, it’s no like Celtic is about team building eh, as long as Bhoyata does what he’s told for the qualifier it doesn’t matter if they strike up any kind of partnership.
Beatbhoy
We’d be well advised not to field Cifti at the weekend. He’s suspended!! Till Easter, 2018 …..
HH jamesgang
We must wrap the players in cotton wool. Particularly-
Brown
Forrest
Bitton
VVD
Griffiths
Don’t want any of the above to play tomorrow.
Further, VVD has been for the off for a long time. One would have hoped that replacements would have been well advanced, however it would not be the first time if we let a player go without adequate coverage.
Izzy and Ambrose, if we qualify, would be the weakest full back combination in the Champions League.
Janko must be in the frame for tomorrow. Looks a player to me. Charlie at LB us a better option thatln Izzy, whose confidence is shot.
Pretty unforgivable if we go out over two legs to Malmo. They are not a great side, but neither are we.