2009-07-26: Celtic 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur, Wembley Cup

Match Pictures | Matches: 2009 – 2010 | 2009-2010 Pictures

Trivia

• Wembley Cup competition
• Celtic win the trophy, and become the winners of the inaugural annual competition.
• Celtic win trophy at the revamped Wembley stadium.
• Barcelona won the other game 4-1 v Al Ahly, but we still won trophy as Barca drew their first game with Spurs.

Review

Surprise outcome in this tournament as against all the judgements, Celtic came on top of all to win in this small little competition. In all honesty, Barcelona played a second string and Celtic played with a second string in this match (second of the tournament) whilst Spurs themselves did not fully play a full strength side.

However, we still came out well. We had less first team players than Spurs and we beat them very convincingly 2-0. Great goals by both the reinvigorated Killen and Samaras gave us sufficient advantage, and whilst Spurs came back into it in the second half, the scoreline was still a fair enough reflection.

Add in the great numbers of Celtic fans who travelled to watch our heroes (25-30k) and there is a lot to be proud. It maybe a silly little tournament, but after the travails of last season this is a nice little pick-me-up.

Onwards and upwards, especially after some fine performances most notably Paddy McCourt (smashing player at times today.)

Teams

Celtic (4-4-2)
Zaluska;
Caddis, Loovens (Caldwell 46), O’Dea, Fox (Conroy 46);
Mizuno (McGinn 66), Crosas, Flood, McCourt (Ferry 66);
Killen, Samaras (McGowan 66).
Subs: Boruc, Hinkel, Naylor, NGuemo, McDonald, Fortune, Maloney, Donati, McGeady.
Goals: Killen ( ), Samaras ( )

Tottenham Hotspurs (4-4-2)
Gomes (Cudicini 46); Hutton (Naughton 46), Assou-Ekotto (Corluka 46), Dervite (Modric 46), Chimbonda; Lennon (Rose 46), Huddlestone (Bostock 76), Palacios (Livermore 46), O’Hara (Obika 82); Keane (Pavlyuchenko 46), Bent (Defoe 46).

Referee: Whiley

Attendance: 64,562

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Pictures

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First-half goals from Chris Killen and Georgios Samaras saw Celtic beat Tottenham 2-0 and claim the inaugural Wembley Cup.
Killen put the Hoops ahead on nine minutes, heading home after a great cross from the right from Paul Caddis.
Celtic keeper Lukasz Zaluska had to make good saves from Darren Bent and Tom Huddlestone before Samaras sealed the victory with a fine individual effort five minutes before the interval.
He collected the ball in his own half, went around Dorian Dervite and then ran virtually the full length of Spurs' half before blasting home.
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp rung the changes at half-time, but Darren O'Dea cleared substitute Luka Modric's shot off the line in the 53rd minute to keep the Hoops' advantage.
Victory means Tony Mowbray's men won the friendly tournament ahead of Wednesday's UEFA Champions League qualifier clash against Dinamo Moscow and they have still not conceded a goal in four pre-season matches.Major worriesSpurs boss Redknapp, who has watched his side getting outplayed by two reserve sides during the tournament, has major worries at the heart of his defence as Ledley King, Jonathan Woodgate and Michael Dawson are sidelined, leaving no recognised centre-back.
The trouble for Redknapp was that Pascal Chimbonda looked uncomfortable moving in from right-back and youngster Dervite appeared well off the pace.
It only took Celtic nine minutes to expose Spurs' fragile defence. Caddis shifted past Benoit Assou-Ekotto on the right and whipped in a cross, with Killen getting in front of Chimbonda to plant his header past Heurelho Gomes.
Frenchman Dervite was fault for the second goal, courtesy of Samaras five minutes before the break.
Samaras was in his own half when he poked the ball past the 21-year-old and there was plenty of time to catch the Greece international, who was hardly known for his pace while at Manchester City for two years.
Instead, Samaras carried the ball into the penalty area and executed a precise finish across Gomes.
At the other end of the pitch for Spurs, Redknapp wants to bring Peter Crouch in from Portsmouth, which could pave the way for Darren Bent to leave for Sunderland.Missed opportunitiesBent was Spurs' top goalscorer last season but was out of favour at times, and against Celtic he missed three opportunities to prove to Redknapp he is worthy of keeping.
The first came when Robbie Keane sent him through for a one-on-one chance but his finish was saved by Zaluska. He then headed straight at Zaluska and fired a volley wildly over the crossbar from another cross.
Bent was one of eight changes Redknapp made at the break, with Modric and Jermain Defoe given a run out.
Spurs could have fallen further behind though when Paddy McCourt drove past five defenders but went wide with his finish.
O'Dea denied Spurs a way back into the game when he blocked Defoe going for a dangerous cross, then got onto his feet to clear Modric's finish off the line, with Jamie O'Hara going over with the rebound.
Danny Fox made his first start for Celtic following his move from Coventry, but Mowbray opted to rest his first-choice players with the Dinamo match in mind.