Match Pictures | Matches: 2021 – 2022
Trivia
- UEFA Cup play-offs, 2nd leg KO: 7.15pm
- Game on Premier TV.
- Celtic go through to the group stages with agg 3-2 win, two nil win first leg. Away goals don’t count anymore also.
- AZ Alkmaar are from the Netherlands, finished third in the Dutch league, 1pst behind PSV but way behind Ajax.
- Four Scottish teams competing to make the group stages today: Celtic, Sevco, Aberdeen, St Johnstone. Aberdeen and St Johnstone lose so are out. Celtic were the only Scottish team to score in Europe tonight. Sevco drew nil nil and went thru
- Reports: Sevco investigating after a video on social media showed Sevco supporters chanting a racist song about Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi.
- Terry McDermott, who was he Celtic assistant coach under John Barnes, has sadly been diagnosed with dementia. Wish him & his family all the strength in the world. YNWA
- Fears Kieran Tierney could be out of Scotland’s forthcoming international triple-header after the defender limped out of Arsenal’s defeat to Chelsea on Sunday evening.
- Internationals in the next week! Annoyingly. BUT Scotland manager Steve Clarke deservedly offered and then accepted a contract extension for his role. Congrats.
- FK Jablonec: The foolishness of a tiny few has unfortunately resulted in Celtic receiving a €7,000 fine from UEFA. They issued the penalty after a young fan invaded the field of play, and another supporter lit a pyrotechnic device, during the 3-0 victory over Jablonec on 12 August.
- Barcelona president Joan Laporta has just confirmed the club’s debt now stands at €1.35billion! Admits the situation is “very worrying”. Club’s debt has risen €200million from January figure.
- Paralympics has begun in Tokyo, good luck to all. Aberdonian Shaw wins bronze in the pool. Scottish sprinter Maria Lyle won ParalympicsGB’s first athletics medal of the Tokyo Games by claiming bronze in the women’s T35 100m final.Congrats.
- The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has died at the age of 80, legend RIP
- Spencer Elden, the man who was photographed as a baby on the album cover for Nirvana’s Nevermind, is suing the band over the cover photo!
- EUROPA LEAGUE DRAW Trophy Bayer Leverkusen Germany of Scotland Real Betis Spain Ferencvaros Hungary
Covid
- Scotland saw a “sharp rise” in the number of Covid cases.
- No new restrictions on Scottish stadium capacities; Nicola Sturgeon insists ‘very careful’ consideration will be made regarding potential stadium capacities in the coming weeks as the spread of Covid-19 continues to rise in Scotland.
- Major blow for Sevco ahead of Alashkert away match and Celtic match as positive Covid-19 tests confirmed! First team players who were not seen passing through to departures included captain James Tavernier, Ryan Kent, Scott Wright, Calvin Bassey, Allan McGregor and Jon McLaughlin.
- Terrorists detonated two bombs amid the crowds outside Kabul’s airport on the afternoon of August 26th, casting America’s effort to evacuate its citizens and allies from Afghanistan into even greater chaos RIP
Summary
Ange “We got a great start then gave two bad goals away. We then had to fight. We’ve gone through a lot in the last month and a bit. To progress is pleasing. We can play better but there are moments in games you have to dig in and we did that”. “They fought for what they wanted and got what they deserved.”
“Mistakes are a part of the nature of football, it’s the reaction to them that’s important”Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou is delighted they recovered from 2 poor goals against AZ Alkmaar to progress to the Europa Leagur group stages…
Sutton “You’ve got to admire what Ange has done in such a short period of time. The team has an identity and Celtic are great to watch”.
(Joebloggscity of thecelticwiki)
That was a heart stopping 90 minutes that saw Celtic seal the tie only to be their own worst enemies, gifting two comical goals to Alkmaar. The two goals Celtic lost was as drunken Sunday morning amateur as you are ever likely to see.
This was more like a traditional Scottish game than a European match. Blood and snotters!
The Celtic goal was after a few mins and was great play by Abada to put Kyogo in for the goal. However a poor passback to Hart and poor goalkeeping by Hart let AZ in to steal an equaliser, only to then see Starfelt continue his poor start at Celtic with one of the most comical own goals seen by any Celt in years. He was unchallenged and had time but seemed to mistime a kick that he missed that deflected off him into the net.
AZ really controlled the game from there on in, and helped by a ref in over his head. Yet Celtic managed to cling on somehow to crawl over the line.Hart had a very mixed game with some great saves and some howlers. Taylor off injured.
Fair play to Starfelt after an absolute howler in the first half. He won everything in the second half. Could have crumbled after OG but stood up to everything alongside his playing partner Welsh.
And young Montgomery. Strong in the air. Always showing for the ball. Won almost all his battles against good players.
Games like that can cause health problems for viewers.
Twitter:
St Anthony:A few comments on last night. The good stuff…1. To get through to EL group stages is good going with threadbare squad.2. Beating 3rd best side in Holland decent result for any Scottish team.3. Lot of resolve shown in 2nd half under pressure.4. Young Montgomery was great
The bad stuff.1. Can’t play Turnbull and Rogic v decent teams.2. Starfelt dreadful. No other way t describe him.3. How did their guy miss in 2nd half?4. Similar to Beer Sheeva 2016. Opposition pumped us and ran out of gas on 70 minutes.5. Ibrox will not be for faint hearted.
Agent Scotland : In praising Joe Hart’s start to his Celtic career last week I mentioned that he obviously has a mistake in him, the difference between him and others is he doesn’t let the mistakes affect him, they don’t tend to define his performance, strong mentality.
Edouard’s introduction changed the game IMO, he was the focal point the team didn’t have in that 1st half, he brought the midfield into the game and took the sting out of AZ’s relentless attack, he was important in the first leg too. Big result
Phil gordon (journo) – Any ideas that AZ are weak should be put to bed. They finished 3rd, one point behind PSV (2nd) and in 2019-20 lost title to Ajax on goal difference. Vitesse – who finished 4th 10 pts behind AZ – have just knocked out Anderlecht.
Ttt – Another cap tip to Ralston and Welsh. Written-off pretty much universally pre-season, (maybe rightly so, ) but some turnaround and some shift.
BP – This whole narrative about us not having a plan B is weird. In both legs it’s the tactical and personnel changes that have got us across the line. A wee bit of luck as well obviously but it hasn’t just been mindless all out attack across the two games.
Teams
Celtic:
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 15Hart
- 56Ralston
- 4Starfelt
- 57Welsh
- 3Taylor
- Substituted forMontgomeryat 24′minutesBooked at 61mins
- 42McGregorBooked at 58mins
- 11Abada
- 18Rogic
- Substituted forEdouardat 60′minutes
- 14Turnbull
- 17Christie
- 8Furuhashi
- Substituted forSoro at 86′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Barkas
- 6Bitton
- 10Ajeti
- 12Soro
- 22Edouard
- 23Bolingoli-Mbombo
- 26Urhoghide
- 29Bain
- 30Shaw
- 41Robertson
- 54Montgomery
Goals:Furuhashi (3′ minutes)
Assists:Abada (3′ minutes)
AZ Alkmaar
Formation 4-3-3
- 12Verhulst
- 2Sugawara
- 22Letschert
- 4Martins IndiBooked at 66mins
- 15Witry
- 6Midtsjø
- Substituted forBeukemaat 75′minutes
- 10de Wit
- 8Koopmeiners
- 17AboukhlalBooked at 39mins
- Substituted forPokuat 71′minutes
- 21Pavlidis
- Substituted forGudmundssonat 71′minutesBooked at 90mins
- 11Karlsson
Substitutes
- 1Vindahl-Jensen
- 3Chatzidiakos
- 16Reus
- 18Evjen
- 20Clasie
- 23Taabouni
- 24Reijnders
- 25Oosting
- 28Gudmundsson
- 29Koopmeiners
- 31Beukema
- 36Poku
Goals:
- Aboukhlal (6′ minutes),
- Starfelt (26′ minutes og)
Assists:
Ref:Tiago Martins
Att:
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Match Links
- Prior
- Match
- Post
- MoTM
Stats
- Possession
- Home53%
- Away47%
- Shots
- Home14
- Away11
- Shots on Target
- Home4
- Away2
- Corners
- Home8
- Away5
- Fouls
- Home20
- Away6
Articles
BBC
Kyogo Furuhashi’s seventh goal in seven starts was ultimately enough to send Celtic through 3-2 on aggregate
Celtic survived a torrid night in the Netherlands to edge past AZ Alkmaar on aggregate and reach the Europa League groups for the fourth season running.
Kyogo Furuhashi’s third-minute opener put Celtic 3-0 ahead in the tie, but Zakaria Aboukhlal soon pounced on an error from goalkeeper Joe Hart to level and Carl Starfelt’s calamitous own goal gave AZ the second-leg lead.
Hart earned part redemption with two key saves from Aboukhlal, and Ernest Poku botched a late chance, as Celtic hung on amid intense pressure.
Ange Postecoglou’s men go into Friday’s draw despite the end of their six-game winning run, while AZ drop into the Conference League.
What awaits Rangers & Celtic in Europe?
Podcast: Mixed fortunes for Scottish sides
Reaction & as it happened
Celtic had kept four clean sheets in the last five games while scoring 24 goals in their victory streak, but that solidity and free-flowing football were markedly absent in the Netherlands.
The Scottish side’s dream start was quickly nullified in a nightmare, error-strewn first half.
Hart was badly at fault as AZ were gifted an equaliser. Centre-back Stephen Welsh failed to deal with a kick-out from AZ goalkeeper Hobie Verhulst, with the ball brushing off his chest towards Hart.
The former England keeper had plenty of time to clear on the edge of his box but inexplicably hesitated and Aboukhal took the ball off his toe to slot into an empty net.
Celtic’s second concession was even worse, with Starfelt under no pressure as he took a fresh-air swipe at a cross, the ball flying into the net off his standing leg.
The visitors had superbly caught AZ cold in the third minute when Anthony Ralston’s long pass down the right released Liel Abada, whose cross left Kyogo with a simple finish for his seventh goal in seven starts.
Yet Postecoglou’s men appeared ill at ease and nervy in spells, not helped by the loss of left-back Greg Taylor to a first-half injury, with young Adam Montgomery on in his place.
Aboukhal was a constant danger, with Hart impressively foiling the striker either side of half-time.
The keeper had a further rush of the blood to the head, though, when he raced to the edge of the box and missed his attempted punch. Celtic were fortunate AZ could not capitalise, with Hart parrying Jesper Karlsson’s shot behind and Bruno Martins Indi glancing the ensuing corner narrowly off target.
AZ looked far more polished and Koshi Suguwara arrowed a couple of shots off target, while captain Teun Koopmeiners’ drive wasn’t far away from the bottom corner.
Odsonne Edouard’s introduction after the hour gave Celtic a physical focal point up front as they began to stem the flow and Montgomery and Ryan Christie sent deflected efforts off target.
To their credit, Celtic dug in and saw the task through, surviving one huge late scare when substitute Poku scooped over from six yards with the goal gaping.
Man of the match – Zakaria Aboukhlal
The AZ striker scored one and tormented Celtic
The AZ striker scored one and tormented Celtic
What did we learn?
This was Celtic’s biggest test so far under Postecoglou and while it was far from convincing, they came through to achieve their target.
They remain a work in progress and the need for further additions before the looming transfer deadline was reinforced.
The mistakes from Hart and Starfelt were worrying lapses as Celtic’s old defensive flaws came back to haunt them.
What did they say?
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: “Hugely important we got through. Different type of performance tonight but reward for getting the job done over two legs.
“We made two pretty terrible errors, but people make mistakes. Joe made a couple of outstanding saves and Carl defended strongly in the second half.”
What’s next?
Celtic learn their Europa League group opponents in Friday’s draw (11:00 BST) before travelling to Ibrox on Sunday (12:00) to face Rangers in the opening Old Firm derby of the Scottish Premiership season.
Celtic progress despite Alkmaar regression as Joe Hart shows his ridiculous and sublime side
There would have been no skin left on Celtic’s teeth at the end of their night on the rack in Alkmaar.
By Andrew Smith
Thursday, 26th August 2021, 9:41 pm
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/celtic-progress-despite-alkmaar-regression-as-joe-hart-shows-his-ridiculous-and-sublime-side-3361625
Ultimately, all they will care about is that they still have skin in the game in the Europa League, with group stage football attained despite a 2-1 defeat that was the result of going through countless agonies.
The praise lavished on Ange Postecoglou and his players for their recent exhilarating form has been well warranted. It couldn’t be otherwise with 24 goals the product of a six-game winning run going into their Alkmaar assignment. Yet, the truth is a dicey display and dreadful individual errors that scarred the first 45 in the AFAS Stadium, spoke of regression. In the final analysis, a major backward step was avoided. However, more by good fortune than good judgement, with a first defeat in seven games for Postecoglou’s men having the feeling of a victory because it was sufficiently narrow to win the tie over two legs.
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For much of the evening, this newly-calibrated Celtic performed just as Neil Lennon’s side had across their group stage forays that took them into continental Europe last season; with the same vulnerabilities that ended their interest in the Champions League out in Midtjylland.
Celtic players celebrate after the Europa League play-off aggregate win over AZ Alkmaar. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Celtic players celebrate after the Europa League play-off aggregate win over AZ Alkmaar. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
For all the understandable focus on Celtic’s current attacked-minded approach, scoring goals in European away games hasn’t been a problem for the club over recent times. Ahead of their Europa League play-off decider, they had netted in 14 of their previous 15 away games in the domain – the only failing a dead rubber against Cluj in the competition two seasons ago when they had already won their section. For all the horrors endured during their cross-border participation in their desperate last campaign, they were 2-0 up in the San Siro against AC Milan – before losing 4-2 – and had the same lead away to subsequent French champions Lille, before having to settle for a draw.
What has undermined such intent has been calamitious decision-making at the back. So it was again in the opening period in Alkmaar, against a jumped up home side that battered them into submission. To score inside two minutes and 10 seconds should have offered the ultimate platform for confidently seeing the tie through, supplying them an aggregate 3-0 scoreline following their 2-0 success in the first leg last week.
Yet, a seventh strike in seven games from the phenomenon that is Kyogo Furuhashi in Celtic colours merely offered short-lived respite. Not that it deserved to be appreciated any less. As much for Anthony Ralston’s vision in picking out Liel Abada rampaging down the right with a perfectly-weighted ball, and the winger’s delightful cross, as for the Japanese attacker’s slammed-in finish, it must be said.
What then ensued was so needless, and so familiar. Much has been made of the assurance that Hart has given to the club’s backline. In six minutes, the 34-year-old English international reminded he has always been capable of the ridiculous as well as the sublime, though. Criticism was directed towards Stephen Welsh for half-chesting a long ball towards his keeper. The reality is though that the monstrous problem was Hart simply waiting for the ball to roll back to him in order to kick it away as Zakaria Aboukhlal steamed towards him. The punishment was dished out fully when the striker pinched the ball and left the keeper stranded before knocking it into the empty net. God help Vasilis Barkas or Scott Bain had they been guilty of such a blunder. In Hart’s defence, he subsequently produced three big saves to in some way redeem himself.
These stops came either side of the interval and when the tie had been plunged right back into the melting pot by a moment from Carl Starfelt when his mind seemed to melt.
A cross swung into the box 26 minutes in should have been easy enough for the centre-back to clear. Instead, he took a ridiculous swipe – a fully comical clumping, scuff hit – to merely succeed in seeing it dribble into the net.
At that point you wouldn’t have given tuppence for Celtic not conceding another goal. Alkmaar, with their relentless pressing and energy, coupled by some no-holds physicality, appeared to have Postecoglou’s men’s number.
The loss of Greg Taylor, who three times went down with a shoulder problem before being forced off, late in the first half just felt like it would be one more blow to fell them. Instead, his replacement Adam Montgomery was one of those that stood up as Celtic scrambled through in a second period they survived by the skin of their teeth – Ernest Poku missing an open goal in the closing minutes – but in no small part the introduction of Odsonne Edouard midway through the second half for Tom Rogic gave them greater periods of relief. The objective of the night was achieved. Somehow.
AZ Alkmaar: Verhulst, Sugawara, Martins Indi, Midtsjo (Beukema 75), T Koopmeiners, De Wit, Karlsson, Witry, Aboukhlal (Poku 71), Pavlidis (Gudmundsson 71), Letschert.
Substitutes: Reus, Hatzidiakos, Evjen, Clasie, Taabouni, Reijnders, Oosting, P Koopmeiners.
Celtic: Hart, Ralston, Welsh, Starfelt, Taylor, (Montgomery 24), McGregor, Turnbull, Abada, Rogic (Edouard 60), Christie, Kyogo (Soro 86).
Substitutes: Barkas, Bain, Bitton, Ajeti, Bolingoli, Urhoghide, Shaw, Robertson.