| Match Pictures | Matches: 1999 – 2000 | 1999-2000 Pictures |
Trivia
- The gap between this game and the previous was due to international matches for Euro 2000 qualifying.
- The draw for the next round of the UEFA Cup was made and paired Celtic against Olympique Lyonnais – Lyon – with the first leg away to Lyon. Lyon had been on a signing spending spree of their own lashing out roughly £23million on Sonny Anderson (£16mill) from Barcelona, and Tony Vairelles from Lens (£7mill).
- The AGM took place on 4/10/09. Allan MacDonald announced turnover up by 21% but profits were down to £550k from a previous £7.1million. MacDonald warned that profit margins in the future would continue to be thin but that the club would re-invest further in players and wages for the next five years. He also revealed the club's ambitions to be involved in a new European league for countries with strong, well-supported clubs but with small television audience. This was the proposed Atlantic League – and MacDonald’s views caused more flutters than might be imagined. The SFA and the SPL were outrage and indignancy personified, whilst UEFA had yet to take a stance on the proposal. The Scottish media generally took a pretty parochial view of the proposal and managed to get the usual digs in about Celtic and MacDonald being too big for their boots. Kenny Dalglish went as far as to say that in his view Celtic would be out of Scottish football within five years. The details of Fergus’ share selling were publicised.
- The AGM also passed a resolution giving the Board the power to raise more cash through a further share issue. This would be used to raise money for the new Academy.
- MacDonald gave an extensive interview to Paul Sinclair of the Daily Record to discuss the proposal under the Atlantic League and where the club wanted to be. He also stated that appointing John Barnes was a high risk. He came out also with the clear conviction that a new Academy would be in place within four or five years and that Kenny Dalglish was actively pushing ahead with these plans.
- On 6/10/99 Paul Lambert signed a two year extension to his contract keeping him at the club until July 2003
- Celtic played a closed door Friendly against Falkirk on 6/10/09. Stewart Kerr made his comeback from injury and Mark Viduka scored all six goals in a 6-3 win. Kerr then managed to get himself arrested after an incident at a Hamilton nightclub on 8/10.
- Wolves were again seeking the availability of Harald Brattbakk after watching him in the closed door Friendly. Motherwell as well as Hibs were chasing Tosh Mckinlay.
- Barnes appeared to say that Burley was in his plans for the team and future – and then confused everyone by saying that when a better player came along Burley would not be in his plans but for the time being, he was (in his plans…so to speak…OK?)
- Celtic beamed the game back for a beamback at Celtic Park using there own in-house Celtic TV technicians and cameras.
- Barnes had gone to France the night before to watch UEFA opponents Lyon beat Nantes 2-0 at home.
- Larsson, Berkovic, Lambert and Petrov were rested. Mjallby, Burchill and Blinker started.
Review
Distinctly tougher than the scoreline appear to say. Ayr never gave up but kept plugging away.
Teams
Ayr: Nelson, Robertson, Rogers, Duffy, Campbell, Craig (Teale 73), Hurst, Davies, Shepherd, Jemson (Reynolds 55), Wilson.
Non Used Subs: Bowman.
Celtic: Gould, Riseth, Mjallby, McNamara, Tebily, Stubbs, Burchill, Burley (Wieghorst 72), Blinker, Moravcik (Petta 72), Viduka.
Non Used Subs: Kharine.
Goals: Viduka 59, Blinker 65, Mjallby 72, Petta 88.
Bookings: Rogers, Reynolds (Ayr Utd)
Referee: John Rowbotham (Scotland).
Attendance: 8,421.
Articles
- Match Report
FOOTBALL: SHOW OF AYR POWER
Daily Record 14/10/1999
DAVID McCARTHY
AYR UNITED 0 CELTIC 4
CELTIC made it a clean sweep for the SPL by brushing aside Ayr's spirited resistance to book a place in the quarter-finals of the CIS Insurance Cup.
Seven top-flight teams made it through on Tuesday and although the Somerset Park side gave as good as they got for almost an hour, as soon as Celtic nosed in front it was always going to be eight out of eight.
Mark Viduka's lofted opener sapped Ayr's will and further goals from Regi Blinker and Johan Mjallby allowed Celtic to relax in the closing stages.
Victory came at a price, however. In the closing minutes a lunging challenge by Ayr sub Mickey Reynolds earned a yellow card and left Olivier Tebily writhing in agony.
The defender was stretchered off and Celtic, who had already committed their two outfield subs, played out the game with 10 men.
They still had enough in the tank to add a fourth, however, in the 88th minute. Blinker threaded a lovely ball into Bobby Petta's path and the sub clipped home his first competitive goal for the club.
John Barnes might not turn his nose up at this competition in a Lorenzo Amoruso-like manner but the Celtic coach still took the opportunity to field a less than full-strength team.
Henrik Larsson and Paul Lambert were among the fans who squeezed into Somerset's ramshackle main stand to watch their mates try to secure a place in the quarter-finals. Eyal Berkovic was also rested.
The Swede's absence gave Mark Burchill a starting slot alongside Mark Viduka in what was still a strong side.
Ayr started well and within a minute, Nigel Jemson had thudded a shot into Jonathan Gould's chest and it was a signal of serious intent from the First Division side.
Their stadium might be a dive but the playing surface is divine.
That should have helped Celtic but United continued to make the better progress and only a fine reaction stop from Gould in the seventh minute kept the scoreline blank.
The keeper would have been pleased with the save but he was raging that the head of Vidar Riseth forced him to make it.
The Norwegian had all the time in the world to clear a Jemson cross but picked the postage-stamp corner.
Gould gave Riseth a rollicking for that and was forced into further action from the corner. John Robertson pounced on a knockdown and the keeper dived to smother his shot.
Celtic, at this stage, had done nothing but they burst into life in the 10th minute and almost scored.
Viduka nudged the ball into Burchill's path and the kid's turn and shot was heading for the bottom corner before Nelson intervened.
Riseth got another earful from his keeper after taking two attempts to clear a cross to the back post, but the left-back actually did well as Hurst was loitering with intent behind him.
It was now a pulsating contest and another Viduka-Burchill combination gave the teenager an opening. He switched the ball from his right to his left foot and sent in a stinging shot that Nelson palmed away at full stretch.
As the tempo increased, the tempers rose and Johan Mjallby and John Davies crunched into each other in a manner that forced John Rowbotham to dive in between them in case there were any afters.
The referee only administered a finger-wagging but in the 32nd minute he was forced to book Dave Rogers for a scything tackle from behind on Burchill.
Celtic looked dangerous on the break but Ayr were still pressing more frequently and eight minutes from the break Gould saved from Hurst.
Celtic's response was a shot from the edge of the box by Lubo Moravcik. Nelson dealt with it, but not very comfortably.
The little Slovakian followed that up with a curling, dipping effort that only just missed the target.
When the teams reappeared, Celtic laid seige to the Ayr goal.
They would have taken the lead in the 50th minute but for a sensational save by Nelson. A Moravcik corner seemed to find the head of defender David Craig and the ball was heading for the roof of the net until the keeper's left arm shot up to knock it over the bar.
Viduka and Burchill set up another chance in 54 minutes, which Riseth could not convert, but at this stage the writing was on the wall for Ayr.
Sure enough, the goal came in the 58th minute and the finish from Viduka was pure quality.
Moravcik sent the ball into the box, Burchill got a flick that just eluded Craig Burley and the Aussie nipped in behind him to control the ball on his chest and delicately float it over the advancing Nelson.
Viduka almost doubled his team's tally in the 64th minute after good work from Burchill but the keeper got his angles right to make a fine stop.
He shouldn't have bothered. The resultant corner kick found its way to Blinker some 25 yards out and the Dutchman smashed an unstoppable low shot into the bottom corner.
Nelson couldn't move and such was the accuracy of the shot that it wouldn't have mattered if he had.
Ayr's resistance had been broken and Celtic scored a simple third goal in the 72nd minute.
Jackie McNamara was given time and space on the right to deliver a low cross into the box and although the area was busy, nobody was within two yards of Mjallby who had time to slide home from 12 yards.
Barnes then replaced Burley and Moravcik with Petta and Wieghorst, while Ayr, who had earlier sent on Mickey Reynolds for Jemson, threw on Gary Teale for Craig.
However, the dream for Ayr was well and truly over and Petta rubbed it in with goal No.4.
- Manager Interview
John Barnes post match
"I was disappointed with the first-half performance, but all credit to Ayr for making it that way. They were a handful in attack."
Pictures
Stats
| Ayr Utd | Celtic | |
| Bookings | 2 | 0 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
| Fouls | 8 | 11 |
| Shots on Target | 7 | 12 |
| Corners | 7 | 8 |
| Offside | 0 | 7 |