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A Corner ( or 2) Turned?

Desi Mond 1 Comment

Well that was exciting wasn’t it?

Celtic came from behind to beat Sturm Graz at Celtic Park and the fans certainly left a lot happier than they when they entered the stadium earlier that night.

Most fans had a mixture of concern, fear, confusion, hope, apathy, resignation and a basic “Who knows what to expect?” feeling before the game. Celtic had been rank rotten, actually worse than rank rotten, they hadn’t even shown up at Dundee on the previous Sunday and before that the performances had been terrible and the lack of goal threat getting so beyond surprising it was becoming a trait.

Post the Dundee game, Brendan had came out with the Honda Civic  Vs Ferrari debate that didn’t seem to do anyone any good and many were concerned it would  further damage both players confidence and the relationship between the Team and Manager. In a pre match Press conference, Liam Scales said  the players hadn’t even noticed it. Time would tell soon as kick off came.

There were many calls for personnel and line up changes from fans and Pundits. Brendan said all aspects would be considered. By 7pm we knew the answer. Alasdair Johnston returned at Right back and Benji Nygren moved out wide right to replace Yang and that allowed Arne Engels to move into midfield.

Celtic Park had a decent attendance, despite current fans misgivings with The Board and Sturm Graz had a very healthy and vocal representation.

 

 

After the terrible Europa League tune had finished, it was time for action.
The Champions of Scotland vs current League leaders in Austria.

It was  looking to be a good contest and then 3 minutes in, disaster.

Celtics only recognised striker of quality, Kelechi Iheanacho lay down on the turf and it was clear his game was done before it had even started. The Nigerian hobbled off holding his hamstring and was replaced by Johnny Kenny. The decision to leave Shim Yamada out of the EL squad started to look even more suspect given our current striker injury list with Maeda also out.

The game was getting played at a decent pace and thankfully Celtic were not playing the Horseshoe of Doom. Callum McGregor was trying to advance play much more and Liam Scales was also playing some nice over the top attempts for willing runners. Celtic actually had movement in a game this season, shocker!

Much had been made of a lack of recent wing success. On the right Nygren, supported by Johnston and Engels was trying to beat his man but mostly failing. Nygren however would come to have a major influence on the game. On the left Tounekti was showing some promise with KT and Hatate backing him up well.

While Celtic were trying their hardest to get into some sort of pattern, Sturm Graz were reminding us of their quality. Sturm Graz were clearly a decent footballing side with an added physical presence. They moved the ball well and players movement was also decent. They were finding space and had a few chances but nothing calling on Kaspar to save. The biggest chance actually fell to Johnny Kenny who broke free and saw his shot to go wide of the post.

Just as Celtic fans were feeling more optimistic, Sturm Graz scored the opener. Celtic lost possession in centre circle, 2 passes later saw Tomi Horvat collect the ball and unleash a great shot from a good 25 yards out. Schmeichel had no chance and Celtic fans suddenly wondered if it was a case of ‘Here we go again’.

 


In classic Celtic fashion, Things would get worse before they got better.  Alasdair Johnston hit the deck holding his hamstring and the crowd sighed as one. Having just returned from injury, the Canadian had to go off and Colby Donovan came on as his replacement. Even though Sturm Graz hit the post, Celtic were creating chances, Engels had a chance cleared, and Nygren was finding good positions but just having one of those nights. One attempted header looked more like a clearance and many fans suspected he might need subbed at the break. The half time whistle came and Celtic fans were still left wondering how the game could go.

The 2nd half saw no changes to the Celtic line up. The Hoops took the game to Sturm Graz and Reo almost made it a perfect start when he lifted a pass over a Sturm Graz defenders head and volleyed towards goal only to see his shot go over the bar.

While Sturm Graz had some half chances, they seemed to be sitting a little deeper and seemed a little less energetic with them making more use of the long ball.   Celtic in response didn’t let up and the attacking play was varied and young Donovan was getting up the park, at one point it seemed he was the right winger and Nygren covering at the back. On the left, Tierney was well advanced and linking well with Tounekti and Hatate.

There was a good impetus to the Celtic sides intent and it would paid off just after the hour in the most surprising way, a Celtic corner!

Nygren took a quick corner to Arne Engels who played a great through ball to Donovan who sent a first time ball across the box for Liam Scales to sweep into the bottom corner! – kudos to Gavin Strachan if he thought that one up!

Goals from Celtic corners, they are just like Taxis in the rain. You wait so long and then 2 come along for only 2 minutes later, Celtic would score again, from a corner, again!

This time it would be Engels sending a great ball into the 6 yard box and Nygren rose high and met it flush to send it home. Celtic Park erupted and the joy on Nygrens face was a delight to see!. Great reward for his involvement and such bouncebackability after a few mishaps in the first half.

 

After that, Celtic fans were looking at 30 minutes of “Please god, just let us get this done?”.  That was eased a little when Sturm Graz went down to 10 men after Callum McGregor shows real Captains courage in taking a sore one from Tochi Chukwuani who was sent packing by the ref. Thankfiully Calmac shrugged the booting away with aplomb and rose from the deck to lead the Hoops towards victory.

The rest of the game saw good game control alongside a real attacking threat from Celtic. A few decent chances fell for  Engels, Balikwisha and Kenny and thankfully there was no real danger for Kaspar at the other end. It ended with Celtic clearing the ball away from their own box and the ref blowing the whistle. The fans cheered and left with a big smile on their faces.

  • 3 points won.
  • The highest xG for a Europa League side this season ( one for the Stattos!)
  • First victory in Europe this season.
  • First victory from behind in Europe since Lazio in 2019

After the game, Brendan brought up the Honda Civic remark. The manager conceded while it might not yet be Ferrari levels, it was now worthy of a Range Rover Sport comparison upgrade!

 


Now we go to Tynecastle, hoping the injuries and exertions from Sturm Graz don’t have a dramatic impact. Time will tell but this was certainly a big improvement against a very decent footballing side.

Ratings

Kaspar – Not that much to do but played good sweeper keeper and cajoled his defence all night. 7/10

Tierney – Very much more involved tonight. Not perfect but did well. Lasted full 95 minutes too 7/10

Scales – Got stuck in and not any bomb-scare passes, some lovely lob passes actually! Great finish for the opener. 8/10

CCV – The Rock was back at The Back. A stalwart showing and fought through injury at the end 8/10

Johnston – Sadly maybe too much too soon. Hopefully he gets time to recover well  5/10

Hatate – Ok first half but really came into the game 2nd half and unlucky not to score.  7/10

Calmac – A real Captains showing. Some great forward passing and drive. Led by example 7/10

Engels – Involved in 2 goals. Got involved and he deserves to start in Edinburgh. 8/10

Nygren – A game of 2 halves, Involved but clumsy in 1st. Dynamic and pivotal in 2nd. MOTM for sheer tenacity 9/10

Iheanacho – Straight down the Tunnel, Hopefully not a bad tear. 2/10

Tounekti – Played some nice link up play with Tierney and hopefully he can start getting his shots unleashed  7/10

Subs
Kenny – Made and just missed 2 drives on goal. Got stuck in and made a real effort when called on. 7/10

Donovan – Made his impact and even had an assist for Scales opened. Deserves a start at Tynecastle 7/10

Balikwisha – On late and showed signs he could contribute, linked well with Hatate deserves a start before the year is out. 5/10

 

Manager
Took the flak. Assessed his option. Made the changes he felt were needed and then didnt panic after losing 2 starters and an opening goal.

That takes guts and got his reward when his side drove on to Victory.  This was a coaches win and hopefully the first of many to come 8/10

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Iancelt67
17 days ago

Exactly how I saw it. I think hatate is coming good. Engels athleticism in the absence of maeda makes him a definite starter

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