Much of our Champions League history was on show last night, apart from the fragility which has accompanied Celtic so often on the road. The game was immeasurably more difficult than any challenge we face in domestic football. The opening minutes were so stressful, otherwise composed players were spooked, but winning is all about how you react when you are spooked. Do you crumble and concede an early goal?
With less than three minutes on the clock, and Spartak about to take their third corner kick, how many of us thought back to early goals lost in the opening minutes of recent European adventures?
Not for this team, who reacted to being spooked by scoring a genuinely top class goal.
It wasn’t until Spartak went down to 10 men that we made them look like Motherwell (the similarity in possession, passing, composure last night and on Saturday are remarkable) but, Spartak going down to 10 men was not the deciding factor in the outcome of the game. Kris Commons should have won a penalty when Celtic were 0-1 up and Gary Hooper was clean through on the goalkeeper at the incident which led to the red card.
Once level, with 20 minutes remaining, the stage was Celtic’s, but a more illustrious (i.e. expensive and feted) Celtic team had the same stage against a weaker opponent in Anderlecht in 2003 but ended up losing the game. Last night Hooper, Izaguirre, Samaras, Forrest and Brown went about their business in a steady and unspectacular fashion, exuding the confidence you need to win at this level.
No result is achieved in this competition without an enormous performance; just ask those who lost in Belgium nine years ago, including the proudest man in Europe last night.
Bring on the Salt ‘n’ Sauce Rangers.
The next issue of CQN Magazine is in the planning. If you would like to contribute an article, or advertise, let me know, articles@cqnmagazine.co.uk.
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saltires en sevilla
They must think the rest of us are as thick as the Zombie FC supporters ( undertakers more like )
The happiest of days…..thank you Celtic…
HH to all the Celtic family and enjoy our day!!
kitalba from prev thread…
11:15 on
3 October, 2012
For feek sake don’t let the bold Tommy in on that info…LOL
The confidence our young side must have gained from last nights victory will be huge.We will only get better as a team from these experiences and some of our young players will become worth a lot of money if they continue this improvement and if we sell one top player a season as long as we have a replacement Celtics future will be secure for years to come.The S.S.M. and his team are doing a great job in taking a solvent Celtic back to the top table in Europe they deserve our praise.H.H.
So proud of the Bhoys last night.
Looks like we have given ourselves a more than decent chance of European football after Christmas.
Great to see that our recent batch of injuries is clearing up. The squad of players that we have at the moment is the best I can remember for a long time.
The good news is that Lenny is making good use of it: we rarely field the same team two games running, and more often than not his use of the subs available is excellent.
The future looks bright…
Has anyone read what the MSM has to say about last night ?
Does anyone care ?
EXACTLY !!!
Good job done Paul67
HH
As far as i can see theres only one drawback in all this, theyre gonna stop underestimating us now.
Happiest of days to be a Celt…
HH
The msm will struggle to deflect this achievement but they ll try..
Paul, you make well the point that a more illustrious (i.e. expensive and feted) Celtic team had the same opportunity against a weaker opponent in Anderlecht in 2003 but ended up losing the game.
I think NL did something insightful and brave that neither MON or GS would have done: when things were going relatively well he brought on Forrest for Wanyama. It seems obvious now but to take off a player of such strength when we had done enough and were doing enough to believe we would get something out of the game is pretty ballsy.
I loved MON and respected GS but MON would, as he often did with success, have stuck with his preferred team but probably till it was too late. I don’t know what GS would have done but I suspect he would have started with Forrest and so any impact would have been lessened.
Anyway it’s all a long way for all of us, especially NL, from half time at Rugby park almost a year ago!
AWE NAW ——–
I read some .
I noted that the Nigerian MSM gets its news from Shortbread Sportscone or maybe it’s the other way round.?
So O G has another “scoop”? Did he ever spill the last “scoop”?
What a wonderful night last night. Watching game in Manchester bar with mate Shuggy.
Only the two of us cheering the Bhoys on. Shuggy has a dislike of certain players and Big Sammi is one of them.
Every time he criticises him Sammi comes up with the goods. Next time I watch with him I am betting on Sammi to score. Ledley too if he is playing.
Any way we are two big smiling taxi drivers here in Manchester today.
Missed the first 5 minutes of the game last night. 3 penalties? No wonder the bhoys were spooked.
Thought our passing was rather dreadful in the 1st half, with the ball returned to Spartak without pressure time and again. To come out in the second half after the jitteriness of the 1st half, promptly lose a goal from nothing, and then collectively change the nature of the match indicates that we are watching a talented team – players and coaches – emerge into the bright sunlight of Euope’s top clubs.
Huge respect for what Lenny is doing with this group of ingenues. Progress with every step. This could be special.
Oh dear…..
From STV website….
The lawyers of former Rangers owner Craig Whyte have moved to have him declared bankrupt.
Harper Macleod has raised the sequestration order against Mr Whyte at Inverness Sheriff Court on Wednesday.
(Sorry if already posted)
mncelt
11:52 on
3 October, 2012
Your right mate the guy who squared the ball for spartaks second was a yard offside, said this too my bhoy at the time. The ref was shocking last night it was a stonewaller for Commons foul in the box, no where near the ball. Provan says the defender made a good challenge, dear god and dreadful commentator.
This is a young team on the up, they can grow up in this competition.
Onward and upward.
God bless Neil Lennon.
O.G.Rafferty
Can we assume therefore that it’s not the usual suspects?
SOT
Confess not to being near them today.
Ronnie Esplin must be the most published fanzine writer in the world ;-)
HH
How ineffectual was Aiden last night? A poor shadow of the player who left us, I can only imagine the game being against Celtic fazed him. Can you imagine how he must have felt as he looked out the window of the stadium at the end of the night and watched the Celtic players board the bus on the way back to Glasgow.
Declared Bankrupt ?
What happened to the Motherwell Born Billionaire’s Off The Radar Wealth ?
I see another ex Celt is interested in the Blackburn job. Or as the Daily Mirror puts it,
Keane Keen On Keane Job
Leave Paul67 alone. We all make mistakes.
It could have been worse Paul67 could have been reffing.
Thought wee Aiden was very ineffectual last night.
allyhuntersgloves
Great minds think alike ………
thought wee lenny was superb last night
he got the subs spot on.so many times in the past we have left on guys with a yellow and paid the price.
also how often in the past have we played against ten men and not changed our attacking options .
well done NFL
it was a nervy start but you could see as the game went on that everyone started to believe . and for once their management team looked more worried than ours.
also cant remember who posted at half time last night night to turn the volume off on that fud provan. took your advice mate and the second half was a lot more enjoyable for it. Cheers
HH.
Have oldco/newco/sevco got something on the msm?
Do oldco/newco/sevco know something we don’t?
Something the msm would be horrified if it was made public?
Why would the msm continue to be so compliant?
It must be more than succulent lamb?
Shurely.
They can’t all be hun members of the goat people, can they?
TBB
I felt quite positive about the first half with us hitting the back of the net twice and Kris being denied a definite penalty. There 1st was sublime 2nd offside. It was a definite tactic that was paying off imho …Sounds like you were feeling guilty for being late ;-))
HH
Penalties, corners, what’s the difference, apart from the fact that we score from more corners? You’re all very funny.
starry plough, yes, we can look forward to it now.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP, yes, agree. It was 17-yr-old Kompany who was left on, he didn’t walk.
KevJungle, God Bless you too.
Awe_Naw, they all have their sell by date, they all have a moment when value to the team dips below perceived value. Trick is to sell them a month before this. All of them.
picinisco, yes, I hope to write about substitutions later today.
googybhoy ♥ Celtic
Like you I live in England, about a dozen of us watched the game in a boozer, lots of bemused looks every time we scored. After the game about half of us departed to another Pub where we treated them to a full repertoire of Celtic songs, even more bemused looks, they seemed to enjoy it though! HH
jude2005, 12:06
No, as the Youtube Gold was always promised for next week and it still is – though it’s more entertaining than long-lasting. This new story may end up overtaking it
OG
would your surprise of those involved include our supposedly impartial arbiters?
OG
Past and present
Philbhoy – It’s just the beginning!, 12:08
You may well have heard of them…
picinisco @ 12:05
I thought at the time of the substitution that it was a shrewd gamble (what with Victor already on a card) and might be a very good sign that Lenny is growing in confidence in his own judgement ….
FF
the hooped crusader 12:08
Whilst showing the replay of the penalty incident ( slow motion showing a stone waller and no contact with the ball )
Davie Provan had the opportunity to revisit his previous assertion ( we all make mistakes)
Instead of getting himself out of the corner that he had painted himself into ,he chose to give it another coat of gloss by stating that
“the defender got plenty of the ball”.
Wake up Davie
The Onlooker
AHG
I hope it was the bus back to the airport!
;0)
dessybhoy 12:16
Different story
Paul67
If you put the players on 4 week contracts they will be on CQN the whole day ;-)
Many players have a significant value to the club over the years. We need to cut costs but still look after the Celtic stalwarts. If we dont we dilute our history in the pursuit of profit.
HH
OG
That is not a denial that they have not been involved in what has been happening just not relevant to your recent info. Do you agree?
We’ve all heard of teams making special pre-match preparations to cope with wee Lionel Messi, but this was definitely taking things too far.
And it didn’t work.
Down with this sort of thing.
http://www.mundodeportivo.com/20121002/fc-barcelona/vudu-a-messi-el-plan-del-benfica-para-ganar-al-barca_54352174267.html