Supporters may be a little nervous about tonights pitch, the hat, the late kick off time and anything else the press can think of to get the butterflies going, such as Craig Swan in the Record;
Weather conditions, a dreadful playing surface and talented opposition backed by a hostile home support are all factors his troops must overcome to progress to the qualifying play-off.
In fact, it’s going to be nice and warm, the pitch has been made playable, and the opposition might be talented, but in their three competitive games this season they have only scored once. And a hostile crowd ?
Well, it appears the club have even thought of that;
The look of delight on the childrens faces when they realised their gifts were made by New Balance….
A GROUP of Azerbaijani children were given a lasting memory of Celtic’s visit to their country today (Tuesday) after they got a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet some of the Hoops first-team stars and management.
John Collins, John Kennedy, Nadir Ciftci and Craig Gordon visited the residents of the No.4 Zangilan District displacement centre, which acts as an educational and recreational facility for children and families displaced by the Azerbaijan/Armenia conflict of the 1990s.
More than 260 children attend the unit, which provides vital life skills and security to its members, and the school’s football team got the chance to meet the Scottish champions when they paid a special visit to the centre earlier today.
The club provided strips and footballs to the youngsters as a gift and the players and staff got involved in bounce game with the delighted youngsters.
The British Ambassador for the country, Irfan Siddiq, thanked the Celts for the time they took to visit the children and said their time at the centre will have a lasting impact on the group.
He said: “This school was built as part of a broader settlement by the Azerbaijan government to relocate families who were displaced as a result of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the early 1990s.
“There are around 320 families here and it has now become a home for these people who otherwise wouldn’t have one.
“Displacement is a huge issue. Azerbaijan is a country with a population of 9.5million and 1million of those people were displaced from their homeland in the part of the country that is now being occupied by Armenia. So that’s about 10 per cent of the overall population that was displaced.
“In the early 1990s Azerbaijan as a country was very poor and it was a huge challenge for them to try to provide for these people.
“The economic development which has taken place in the last 25 years, a lot of which is down to Scottish people through British Petroleum, has helped with that challenge and this is a real success story for British/Azerbaijani co-operation, in particular Scottish/Azerbaijan cooperation.
“Now we have had a world-famous Scottish football team come to be part of that.”
He added: “Facilities like this are hugely important because these children have had to suffer a huge amount after being displaced from their homes and their families, and some of them have lost their families in the conflict.
“So to have good facilities, a slightly better standard of life and some recreation possibilities and education opportunities is hugely important for their life chances.
“I know this is a really important game for Celtic tomorrow so the fact that the management and the players have taken time out from their busy preparations to come and share their time with these kids who’ve suffered so much is hugely valuable.
“I hope that it will be a sign of not just Celtic’s but the UK’s interest in Azerbaijan and its people, and hopefully it will mean that Celtic also get a brilliant reception at the stadium tomorrow.”
Fuad Heseynov, deputy minister of the State Committee for Affairs of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons for Azerbaijan, was also present for the visit and he told the official Celtic website that the event will live with the children forever.
“First of all I would like to express deep thanks to the management of Celtic Football Club for this initiative,” he said. “It was really great to have them here, especially as it’s the first time the team has been in Azerbaijan.
“Qarabag is a team that was originally from one of the occupied districts and meeting with these children is a big event for them.
“You could see how they enjoyed meeting the players and staff of such a famous team and I think such meetings mean a lot, and I’m sure that these kids will keep it as a memory for the rest of their lives as it was one of the most historic days of their lives.
“We wish all the best to Celtic and we hope that the best team wins tomorrow.”
That’s taken in it’s entirety from the official website. I couldn’t find a comprehensive report on the visit anywhere else.
Thats because the papers are more concerned with poor pitches, bad weather, hostile crowds and selling Virgil van Dijk.
Ronny deila has spoken in the past at his bewilderment with the papers and their reluctance to get behnd a club which is representing Scotland in Europe. This is a good example of what he meant.
Those who organised the visit to the school cannot be praised enough, and the publicity around it can only stand the club in good stead.
Well, publicity outside Scotland, that is.
But manager Ronny Deila appears to be taking everything in his stride.
If he is worried about any potential problems, he’s not letting it show;
‘Since coming to Celtic I have been very impressed with the players and how they handle different situations and it will be no trouble tonight either.
‘Everything has been perfect. The plane journey was shorter than normal, the hotel is fantastic and it will be good that the sun will be away.
‘I think we have done everything we can to put in a good performance.
‘It is not a perfect pitch of course. But it is a pitch and we are used to playing on those types of pitches in Scotland in the winter so we have to make the best of the situation.
‘Again, this is how it is in football, sometimes you have different conditions and you have to handle that.’
As usual the hacks brought up the virgil van Dijk stories, and Ronny slapped them down straight away, denying that any offers have been made. Undeterred, the hacks tried a different line, warning that if Celtic don’t make it through tonight, he could be away in the morning etc;
“I am not even thinking about that.
“We do not need to do anything. I don’t think about failure. I think about how to win. That’s the most
important thing.
“I have been very impressed with Virgil. He has been learning things and has more experience.
“Last season we should have done things differently and this year we have done things differently.
“The two last matches have been among his best as well.
“You could see in our game against Qarabag at home that he is a top international player.
“He has shown that over time. It is good for Celtic and it’s good for him.”
“When £7m was mentioned I said we would not consider it.
“That is not even close and there’s been nothing in terms of offers yet.
“We know what our players are worth and first of all it’s about creating a team and achieving things for Celtic.
“It’s very positive that clubs are interested in our players – that means we are doing something right. But we don’t think about that right now.
“My dream for Virgil and all the other players is to get into the Champions League,play good football there and show they can perform at the highest level.
“Then they can go to the biggest clubs in Europe if they’re going to leave us.
“That is a step up. But the clubs from six downwards in England, like Southampton, are not bigger than us.
“They have more money than us but they’re not bigger clubs.”
Scott Brown reflected the calm;
‘You have to trust in your defence, midfield and strike force and let everyone do their job.
‘We defend well as a team and we can keep a clean sheet and score.’
We have talked about that (the Champions League) over the last season and a half. It’s huge for this club. It’s where we belong, we’re a big club and we need to make sure we produce results now. It’ll be a big step for us if we can win this game.
“They are very technical and they have some skilful players. They try to work as well as they possibly can as a team together but, overall, we are as good as anybody in this competition and this is where we need to go and show it.
“It’s the big stages that we know what we need to do on the day. We’ve been there in the past and we’re going to do it again.”
“I’ve played in conditions like this a couple of times with Scotland, coming up through the youths in the Under 19s and 20s when I went to Macedonia. We’ve played at two o’clock in the afternoon in the heat and it’s not great but we need to manage the conditions and play that way.
“We have to try and control the game, keep the ball and try to play at our tempo as well.”
In fact, if anyone was feeling the pressure , it was Gurban gurbanov, the Qarabag coach;
‘We can’t change the pitch but we will do our best to play at the highest level,’
‘We can’t let Celtic score, that is very important.
‘It will be a hard game, the advantage is with Celtic but we have 90 minutes to change that.’
Team news ?
Celtic will start with eleven players, one of whom will be handed a different coloured shirt and be told he can catch , punch or palm the ball away.
I don’t know, do I ?
Though I would be very surprised if it’s not Gordon; Lustig ,van Dijk, Boyata , Izaguirre, Brown, Biton, Armstrong, Johansen, Mackay Steven and Ciftci.
Commons , Forrest and Griffiths will deputise at some point as long as no-one gets injured.
What i would like to see is a lot more pressure on the keeper from set pieces. Although I didn’t see the first leg, from all acoounts the only time pressure was applied was at the corner when Boyata scored. Griffiths was harassing the keeper. From set pieces, one thing that might bring results is Boyata or van Dijk supporting the attack. With someone doing a Hooper on the keeper.
One nil is not the most comfortable of leads, but it is a lead, and I’d rather be in Celtic’s position than Qarabags. So , too, would the Qarabag coach. They have to score twice without reply, which is twice as many as they have managed in three games to date. One win, one defeat, one draw.
Celtic have four wins from four games. Nine goals, one conceded, and four of them came in the solitary away match to date.
Ronny’s system , and I hope this doesn’t bite me in the arse in the morning, appears to be geared for away matches in Europe. High pressing, quick breakaways with pace, Cifcti holding it up until others get there. Or Griffiths being on the end of the final ball, running at the back line, some of whom would be caught upfield.
This might sound a little more heart than head, but I expect Celtic to win again tonight, and by a greater margin than in Glasgow.
It’s a strange game, because it’s almost as though supporters-alright, mostly me-are a litttle afraid to be too optimistic, but there’s no need not to feel quietly confident.
Away from that, and to take your mind off the nerves, Legia Warsaw have been awarded a 3-0 win over Albanian side Kukkesi after a Legia player was struck by a stone thrown from the crowd , causing the match to be abandoned.
No doubt they will refuse the result, and allow football to be the victor and offer to replay the game.
Hypocrisy was not confined to Europe, as Richard Gough did his best to deflect attention away from another director walking away from Second Rangers, when Douglas Park-the only one with any money-stood down earlier in the week.
Gough, who once said;
Thinks it wasn’t dead after all. In the Ibrox Evening Times, he said;
“That is what I’ve said all along that this club is like a family. It is going to be here for another 143 years. It is not a football club; it’s an institution. An institution that was very close to getting damaged beyond repair.
Close to being damaged beyond repair ? It’s fucking dead. You can’t get more damaged than that.
” Hullo, Mrs Malph ? It’s the hospital here. your husband is dead. “
” Are you sure he isn’t just close to being damaged beyond repair ? “
” Well, we could wait three years and see if anyone’s daft enough to believe it. “
Three fans were jailed ater their part in a spot of trouble in the Grassmarket, Edinburgh when the fooball was on. See if you can spot why the BBC / Ibrox spat may played a part in the wordage of this report, from the Edinburgh Evening News, who you would have thought would have no qualms about telling us who they were supporting.
Three football fans jailed over Grassmarket riot
THREE football fans have been jailed for their part in a mass riot in the Grassmarket, with banning orders of up to ten years handed out.
The trouble flared up between rival fans ahead of the Ramsden’s Cup Final clash between Rangers and Raith Rovers at Easter Road on April 6 last year.
The atmosphere turned ugly about an hour before kick off, leading to police closing the road briefly with 13 people detained.
Witnesses had reported seeing “running battles” between the police and supporters, while pictures appeared to show dozens of officers surrounding, or “kettling” a section of the Rangers support at the West End of the square.
Speaking at the time, one witness said the fighting had spilled out of a Grassmarket bar and said bottles had been thrown by some supporters.
Christopher Kloumann, 41, from Renfrew, was handed a sentence of 160 days imprisonment and a Football Banning Order lasting 10 years.
Greg Buchanan, 41, from Glasgow, was sentenced to 100 days in prison and was banned from football for three years.
Mark John Murray, 24, from Glasgow was also given 100 days imprisonment and a three-year banning order while Alister Galbraith, 29, from Paisley was order to perform 180 hours, to be completed within six months.
A Football Banning Order prevents those under it from attending regulated football matches throughout the whole of the United Kingdom.
Emma White, football liaison prosecutor for the east of Scotland, said: “Prosecutors will continue to work with the police in tackling football-related disorder and offensive behaviour. The rival groups of fans in this case were clearly intent on causing trouble and I hope that the outcome today sends out a strong message that such violent and disorderly conduct is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
Well, who did they support ? It’s a bit of a mystery to me.
Have a look at this front page, from a Celtic View of yesteryear. Who are the two youngsters, and why was it a “family affair ” ?
Actually, the main headline could also apply to todays team.
Paul and Willie
I’m going to go for one each tonight, although I hope it’s Celtic that score first and not a 91st minute breakaway as PB’s ticker might not be able to cope; or mine for that matter.
Agreed on set pieces, Qarabag’s sharpness and attacking ability might be unknown but their height is not for debate. Get VVD, Boyata and Ciftci all over them at any opportunity and I think we’ll get something from a set piece (for a change).
Performance is secondary, let’s get out of there with the job done and look forward to the draw, COYBIG!!
Gerry
Right behind you on the last bit – though you might find that somewhat scary 🙂
H H
Nervously optimistic, I absolutely hate these qualifiers.
Heart says Qarabag 1 Celtic 5 but my head says Qarabag 0 Celtic 3.
Come on the Hoops!
Why are the police getting involved in offensive behaviour? Surely offence is purely subjective and is taken rather than given? I’d have thought that since there is objectively no such thing as offensive behaviour, in and of itself, that it couldn’t be criminalised. Ah well, this is the nanny state in Scotland where the state wants to have someone look over your shoulder to ensure you’re parenting in a way they approve of, where they reduce the drink drive limit with no evidence it has any effect on safety, where adults can’t be shown cigarette brands etc. etc.
The mcluskey brothers !
C,mon you bhoys in green hh
For those who are, like me, unrealistically optimistic, here are the teams that are left in our part of the CL draw along with their current ranking and scorelines in their ties
As I’m predicting a 3-0 scoreline to us, I guess the best draw on Friday would be Skenderbeu in Albania…
COYBIG!
Seeded FC Basel 1893 (SUI) 84.875 3 1
Seeded FC Salzburg (AUT) 43.135 2 0
Seeded FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE) 41.825 2 1
Seeded FC Steaua Bucureşti (ROU) 40.259 1 1
Seeded Celtic FC (SCO) 39.080 1 0
APOEL FC (CYP) 35.460
FC BATE Borisov (BLR) 35.150 1 1
GNK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) 24.700
Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR) 18.200 1 2
KKS Lech Poznań (POL) 17.300 1 3
FK Partizan (SRB) 14.775 1 1
Malmö FF (SWE) 12.545 0 2
Qarabağ FK (AZE) 11.500 0 1
HJK Helsinki (FIN) 11.140 0 0
Videoton FC (HUN) 7.950 1 1
KF Skënderbeu (ALB) 5.575 2 0
FC Astana (KAZ) 3.825 0 0
FC Milsami Orhei (MDA) 3.750 0 2
I’m sticking – somewhat glass half-fullish (or should that be half-foolish?) with my earlier prediction of 1-1 with – controversial?- moi? – Ciftci to score his 1st goal.
I’m sure all fans of the club from the East End Of Glasgow, perhaps even some from The West of Scotland, and certainly those originating in the South Side of Glasgow, currently resident on the South West of the capital of the province of South Holland, not to mention the entire West of Scotland media, will be 100% behind us in hoping we can help ensure European football at the highest possible level on behalf of the whole of Scotland and avoid the national co-efficient dropping below that of San Marino – Otherwise I’m emigrating to East TIMor (as I’ve always liked the sound of it.(
Steady CJB!
🙂
The McStay brothers. There goalkeeper does not like being put under pressure, something we did not capitalise on last week. He is a flapper and we should score from corners. Qarabaq are not a great team, SPL standard.
Wee bit off topic but still, was in the shop waiting on the wife and had a look at the Retard. They have a feature that says it might be a good thing if Aberdeen lose in the Europa league and concentrate on the league instead. Good to see them supporting our teams in Europe, eh.
The more points Aberdeen get the more points Scotland gets, and the closer we get along the long road back to top 12 European leagues, with which comes automatic qualification to Champions League. Think Scotland are currently 20+ or something.
Anyone supporting Scottish football should get behind them(pumping sheep optional) in their qualifiers, I will be. Even Brer Hum dreaming of Warbie’s assault on Europe should think about the road they’ll need to travel.
NB while I accept that a future Sevco might participate in Europe I’ll still not support them, to hell with the coefficient
Paul and Willie McStay the clue is there for all that can read, I guess any Tim would get the answer.
I am a wee bit nervous about tonight, I hope either an early goal, or keep it tight for the first twenty minutes and I think they will start to panic and then we can hit them on the break. No score prediction, but The Famous Glasgow Celtic to progress the the next stage. HH
After last weeks problems with the TV coverage, I was wondering if local Azerbaijan station Idnam TV would be covering the match. I still don’t know, but their current live coverage – doesn’t the pitch look sandy 🙂 ! – should help keep your mind off things until the match finally starts…
http://canlive.net/live/12971/idman-tv.html
still cannot get the collapses against maribor and warsaw out of my mind… however, if ronny is half as good a manager as some of our fans seem to think then he will of learned from last years mistakes and they will not be repeated this evening… think forrest is a must tonight with his pace making the difference hopefully… defeat tonight simply not an option as the crowds will just dwindle away think we should have enough to win the game tonight 2-1
Thanks for that HJB. Looking at who we could draw doesn’t fill me with fear but edgy as fuck!! C’mon the hoops!!!!! Let’s do it!
I’m as nervous as the lot of you. I know we are the better team and can score against this team but we also all know how things can go wrong: injuries, crap refs, hand balls, red cards, etc. I’m thinking a nervous 1-1 tonight which will take us through. I think we’ll score on a set piece. Maybe punting a few long balls on this scorched pitch will find Ciftci’s head? The pressure is also on Qarabang. They’ll be too nervous about allowing a goal to allow us too much space.
By the way,I’m very proud of the Bhoys doing charity work for the locals. Maybe we of Irish descent have this DNA in our blood to help those who are ground down? Win or lose, I’m proud of the Bhoys for staying true to our club’s origins. Well done.
C’mon the Celtic. C’mon the Hoops!
McStay – McStay. We could have done with some Maestro passing last week.
Dare say that you’ve got the team picked there Ralph.
If we have a decent ref, pass better and trouble the keeper a lot more I’ll be a lot happier.
Go on the Glorious Glasgow Celtic. I don’t care if we lose 9-8 – as long as we go through for this one. We should never be playing in Central freekin Asia (Europe my yaz)
Love the fact that the Bhoys took the time to be charitable – that’s what we are all about.
Any variation of result that gets us through to the next round will do nicely. I applaud the no excuses attitude of the management and team leaders. We will have to face pisspoor pitches by design and pisspoor weather as always as other SPL teams try anything they can to upset our game. Good to see the management and team calm, uncomplaining and talking about the right approach to win in the conditions that we face. An early goal would be brilliant and I’ll take 0-0 too. Win this one lads and onto the Champions league!!
Pensionerbhoy
Well, now my stomach is in the Cape Canaveral weightlessness machine. I just hope it comes out with a rare steak and not pork sausages. Amazing how all of us are of the same mind. We SHOULD be good enough but there is that niggling doubt from somewhere – probably a gift from that supportive Scottish media you mention, Ralph. Can I just say, for those that were not here then or those who just might have forgotten, I think we all might have felt like this on 25th May 1967 too.
We shall overcome!
H H
Whaeeeeee!!! Had several strokes but no heart attack!!!!
WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!!!!
I think I am quite pleased 🙂
H H
Well, I got the most important part of my prediction right…I said I just couldn’t see Qarabag scoring and so it was. Maybe we scored our 4 goals in the tunnel!!
I sincerely hope we NEVER EVER EVER get that ref again…he was beyond abysmal.
Now bring on the next two most important games of the season!!! Give us Apoel of Cyprus please. HH
A gritty performance on a bad pitch with another colour of crap referee: anything goes, no fouls, no free kicks, rugby skirmishes and yellow cards for Celtic only.This Celtic team is different. Defending a one goal lead away takes some cojones=Broonie, Johansen, Bitton, the whole lot in fact. We haven’t done that often in the past.
Well done Bhoys! And well done with the charity gigs. Proud of you off and on the pitch.
0-0 I’ll take it – onwards!
Whoop! Whoop!
Yippee Ki Yay Mofo’s, Virgil’s gonna be in Paradise till 2016.
Brilliant performance given the shitty circumstances. Job done. Ok with you lot smsm? Get it roon yees. Hh
I think one of the most important outcomes of tonight’s result is the psychological barrier that has been overcome. It has been quite some time since we played these sort of “dodgy” matches without doing something quite stupid to shoot ourselves in the foot e.g. early goals gifted or a sending off just to make a hard task impossible. That has created a massive barrier in my opinion for both the players and the support. I think that may have unconsciously played a big part in our nervous predictions of this game which, in normal circumstances, would have been a foregone conclusion. I think a great big barrier has been bulldozed to one side now and there is every chance we will approach CL games with a little more confidence in our ability to concentrate, to simply not do the silly and to perform to our real capabilities. Tonight for me was a double success.
I am a sad b***** and have only heard the game on CTV. I know I should be brave and use one of those “links” I keep hearing about but to be honest I am not sure I know how. Anyway, even in audio it was obvious the referee was, if not a “homer”, certainly not an “awayer”. This seems to have become our norm at every level or maybe it always was and just did not notice. One final observation is our lack of goals once again. I understand we had two excellent chances which were spurned once again. This is a major problem now and I do not think it is answered by playing someone whop has and does not appear ever will score goals. Ciftci is a dud and always was. I have been a Ronny fan since year dot but I definitely think he got it all wrong on this one. Of course, you all know I am not keen on Woody Forrest. I am led to believe he passed the buck instead of having a go with one of the best chances in the whole match for either side. When I criticise him, it is not because he can not do anything. He can be speedy – at times, but I have seen him caught very easily too – and can get past a man – sometimes when his ball control does not let him down – but at the end of the day, players like Forrest should be making scoring opportunities or taking them on a regular basis not muffing them or squandering them. Perhaps a weekend watching B. Lennox for one, would do a lot to help his weaknesses.
Not a night to be negative. Well done everybody even the lumberjacks.
H H
PB. Give James a chance this season. A run of games now that he appears to be injury free. He turned the cup final on its head and tonight when he ran past the Defence and beat 3 men he made the correct choice in trying to square the ball for a tap in. He’s the only one that can run past players with ease in that team. But great professional performance overall let’s hope we get an ok draw and progress
Been brought up above but I have to say I think we might have ourselves a Celtic side who can grind out a result when not having a good night.
Glorious failures may be heroic and exhilarating but the bottom line is they end in failure.
Milan last Season for example.
This side has real grit about them,even though they struggled to cope with the heat,pitch and useless prick reffing the game they stuck to the task at hand and worked well as a unit.
Apart that is for would be gansta Johansen who for me at least had a game to forget first half.
Constant needless fouls,whinging non stop and then putting the whole effort at risk by acting the part time hard man and in my opinion lucky not to be sent packing for a completely pointless faux head butt towards his opposing player.
I hope to fuck Boonie had a word because he was a liability first half.
Thankfully the real Johansen came back out for a decent go at it after the break.
Ciftci did fine on another night he would have picked up a few more free kicks in decent areas same for GM-S.
Service was poor to him though and seldom any good for attack.
All in all we deserved the win we kept a decent side at bay over both legs limiting them to shots from distance whilst creating enough over both legs to win both.
Good sides win games 1-0 when not at their best I think we have the makings of a good side in Europe a tough side to beat.
Interesting to note the fitness levels over both legs in all conditions Ronny Deila has to be congratulated for installing this at Celtic it’s now paying off.
wE SHOULD NOT FEA
Weshould fear no one in the draw.
Hopefully being seeded we play the second leg at home.
ya dancer ):
Paul macstay carried the whole club on his back for seasons.he should have left but didn’t my favourite ever Celt ( only just ahead of Danny MAgrain.
Good result, never looked in any danger, I thought Broonie and Biton were outstanding. Only two negative points for Mr was Ciftci looks like he needs to be put on a serious fitness regime and I disagree with Bgbhoy about Forrest, after his mazy run he should have taken the shot on, instead as usual, he bottled it.
The referee got several decisions wrong in my opinion, but it may have ended up doing us a favour in the long run as a card happy official would have dealt out several more cards to both teams, with Johansen in particular living on the edge!!