Celtic FC - Pre Season So Far

Article by e-Celtic's Tom Shanahan

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Celtic 3 v 1 FC Krasnodar

* CELTIC (4-3-3) Zaluska; Lustig, Van Dijk, Mulgrew, F. Twardzik; Brown, Johansen, Commons; McGeouch, Stokes, Boerrigter

Celtic began their pre season tour with a 3-1 victory over their Russian opponents. The game was played in alien surroundings for the Celtic players, with an arena that would be familiar to Sunday League players.

Celtic found themselves a goal up inside 70 seconds after a lightning quick start. After some calm possession play in defence Anthony Stokes raced onto a long ball from Lustig and lobbed the ball over the on rushing goal keeper.

Unfortunately, a slack pass from Commons allowed Krasnodar to equalise and in truth the Russians were good value for their goal as the first half wore on. The midfield and defence were starting to struggle with trying to press the opposition high up the pitch. There was a lack of cohesion, although this was to be expected with the team still getting to grips with the change in tactics.

Krasnodar were made to pay for their missed opportunities as Stefan Johansen put Celtic back in front after a mix up in the Russians defence. The Scottish Champions may have been slightly fortunate to find themselves ahead at the interval but the signs were positive each time the men in hoops were on the attack.

With the whole team substituted at half time Celtic soon found themselves 3-1 ahead. After terrific play from Kayal in midfield the ball was played out right to Matthews, who cut the ball back to the edge of the box where young Callum McGregor was waiting to side foot home passed the goal keeper.

As Krasnodor tried desperately to get back into the match they were thwarted time and again by young Italian goal keeper Leo Fasan. Fasan faces more competition with the signing of Craig Gordon however; his performance in this match would have been a huge bonus for the manager.

With a lot of positives to take from this first outing there was a more challenging test upon the horizon as the team travelled to Vienna.

Celtic 1 v 1 Rapid Vienna

* CELTIC (4-3-3) Zaluska; Lustig, Van Dijk, Mulgrew, F. Twardzik; Brown, Johansen, Commons; McGeouch, Stokes, Boerrigter

In the red hot atmosphere of the Gerhard Hanappi stadium Celtic got off to a terrible start with Captain Scott Brown being stretchered off within the first few minutes. News has since broke that Brown will be out of action for three months with a hamstring injury, meaning he will miss the crunch Champions League qualifiers.

Things went from bad to worse in the first half as Celtic were soon a goal behind. Old foes Rapid took an in swinging free kick from the right hand side which was headed into his own net by Van Dijk.

Although Celtic were second best they should have levelled the match up after tremendous build up involving almost the whole team. The ball eventually arrived at Commons, who played a reverse pass to Stokes. The striker timed his run to perfection and with the goal in his sights he played a square pass to Derk Boerrigter. The Dutchman had an open goal but somehow managed to side foot the ball wide of the target from 12 yards. The embarrassing miss summed up Boerrigter’s time with Celtic so far.

With a disappointing half of football behind them Celtic retook to the field with some fresh legs on the pitch. The Hoops were slowly gaining an upper hand in the match although Rapid still looked dangerous when attacking.

Midway through the half Kayal released Matthews down the right hand side. Matthews looked up, seen Balde and Pukki at the edge of the box and played the ball into the middle. The Austrians were seeking an offside flag against Balde however; the pass went directly to Pukki who finished at the second attempt. The goal silenced the partisan crowd as the match ended in a draw.

After the match, Ronny Deila let it be known he was not happy with the lacklustre performance and demanded his players show more desire and energy in their forthcoming matches.

Celtic 5 v 2 LASK Linz

* CELTIC (4-2-3-1) Zaluska; Matthews, O’Connell, Findlay, Waters; Biton, Henderson; Griffiths, Atajic, McGregor; Pukki

This relatively young Celtic team certainly listened to the manager’s criticism as the Hoops ran out comfortable winners, although it was the Austrian side who struck first. A corner from the left hand side was headed back across the six yard line as Linz managed to bundle the ball home from close range.

With both sides enjoying opportunities to increase the scoring it was Pukki who managed to level the match. Griffiths supplied the assist and Pukki fired confidently across the goal keeper into the far corner.

The second half was only moments old when Celtic found themselves behind once more after some slack defensive play.

The lead only lasted three minutes however, as Pukki grabbed his second of the game as he scored from close range after a cut back from Matthews.

The Finn then sealed his hat trick with another close range finish. He now has four goals in three matches and hopefully this gives Pukki the confidence needed to push Stokes and Griffiths for a starting place.

The referee then unjustly sent Henderson off for a second yellow after an exchange of words. It was an awfully harsh decision but thankfully the Hoops never looked in trouble despite their disadvantage.

The fourth goal was a side foot volley scored by Balde, after McGeouch provided an expert chip into the path of the striker.

And as the clock ticked down, Griffiths slotted the final goal home from just inside the box to get his first goal of the pre season tour.

The two main talking points so far from the tour have both occurred from the match against Rapid Vienna. Firstly, the injury to Scott Brown is a massive blow for the team at such an important time in the season. Brown holds a huge influence over his team mates and breeds confidence when he’s controlling midfield.

The other talking point from this match was the post match comments from Ronny Deila. The manager showed his disappointment at the level of performance his team produced. These comments are significant as it shows Deila understands the importance of Celtic always performing to the best of their ability. The results of pre season matches should never be viewed as significant however, Celtic fans want to see their team play in a manner that excites and fills them with pride whenever they take to the pitch.

This attitude is exactly what is required with Ronny Deila’s first real challenge as Celtic manager less than a week away.

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