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Trivia
- Red cards 6 and 7 for that season for Hughes and Mackay
- Latest player linked by the media to a move to Celtic was Billy McKinlay then of Blackburn Rovers
- The same night Aberdeen drew 3–3 with Barry Town in Wales, going through to the next round 6-4 on aggregate
- Hamburg were knocked out the third round by Monaco.
Review
A disastrous first half with a calamitously inadequate referee – Cadete stretchered off with a hamstring injury and John Hughes and Malky MacKay both sent off. The result had the effect of knocking the wind out of the sails at the club and all that had been nagging away under the surface began to become to the front and important suddenly.
Teams
Hamburg:
Golz; Fischer, Friis-Hansen, Henchoz (Kovacevic, 65); Schopp, Sporl, Kmetsch (Hartmann, 82), Schupp, Hollerbach; Baron (Salihamidzic, 57), Breitenreiter.
Non-Used Subs: Hiemann, Ivanauskas
Scorers: Baron, 23; Breitenreiter, 50
Red Card: Schupp (2 yellows)
Celtic:
Marshall; Mackay, Stubbs, Hughes; McNamara, O'Neil, Grant, Di Canio (Donnelly, 68), Boyd; Thom (Wieghorst, 68); Cadete (Van Hooijdonk, 12).
Non-Used Sub: Kerr, McLaughlin
Red Cards: MacKay (2 yellows), Hughes (2 yellows)
Referee: V Schuk (Belarus).
Attendance: 36,000
Articles
- Match Report(see below)
Pictures
Articles
Celtic exit in anguish
The Scotsman 25/09/1996
Hamburg 2 Scorer (); Scorer ()
Celtic 0
(Hamburg win 4-0 on agg)
Celtic had to fight to retain their dignity in the face of two red cards, and struggled to hold on to their credibility after conceding two goals as they made a controversial exit from the UEFA Cup.
The suspect handling of the European tie by Vadim Schuk, the referee from Belarus who last season sent off Alex Cleland, of Rangers, against Juventus in the Champions' League was strongly criticised by Tommy Burns, Celtic's manager.
"I will say no more about the referee other than to mention that I asked him at half-time if he could be fair to both sides," said Burns. "The day is fast approaching when this game will become a non-contact sport, but I would pay tribute to my players for the way in which they kept their discipline.
"They were also upset by the validity of both Hamburg goals, and the referee spoiled what could have been a good game. I will certainly be taking no disciplinary action against John Hughes or Malky McKay, the players who were sent off."
The referee also sent off Markus Schupp, of Hamburg, for two yellow-card offences, but it was Celtic who felt a strong sense of grievance afterwards.
What is beyond argument, though, is the pressure now being heaped on the Celtic side, who have gone out of the Coca-Cola Cup and Europe after successive midweek matches.
The first Old Firm derby of the season will also have to be negotiated without Jorge Cadete at Ibrox on Saturday.
Cadete was heavily strapped after being stretchered off with a hamstring injury, and there is also speculation that Pierre van Hooijdonk, his replacement, is unhappy with Celtic and could seek a transfer.
The rumoured disagreement comes as Burns is also being linked with a move for Billy McKinlay, the former Dundee United midfield player who is with Blackburn Rovers.
The revenue for the move to buy McKinlay will not come from European competition this season, but Celtic will now try to arrange a money-making friendly against Barcelona on 5 October, the Saturday when Scotland play Latvia in their World Cup qualifying tie. It is to be hoped that Celtic's luck in obtaining permission from the Scottish League is better than it was last night.
The first half contained a catalogue of misfortune for Celtic; they had, within half an hour, lost Jorge Cadete to a serious injury, had Malky Mackay and John Hughes sent off, and conceded a decisive third goal on aggregate.
Whatever tactical plan Burns had in mind before the game was rendered meaningless when the Portuguese forward had to go off with a hamstring pull. There was nobody near Cadete when he made a pass with his left leg, and then experienced a shooting pain at the back of the other.
Van Hooijdonk, who had initially been left on the substitutes' bench, was brought on after 12 minutes. But the impact of the change had not had time to register before Celtic were reduced to ten men.
Mackay had originally been yellow carded by the Russian referee for a foul on Markus Schopp. There could have been no complaint from the defender, who had gone straight through his opponent, but Mackay was entitled to his display of disgust when he was dismissed for an innocuous pull on the jersey of Sven Kmetsch.
Celtic had lost a goal before they could find their composure after being numerically disadvantaged. Mackay would not have reached the away dressing-room by the time Karsten Baron, who also scored against Celtic in Glasgow, finished off a three-man move.
Harald Sporl and Schopp combined to put Baron clear inside the 18-yard box, and he scored with a low shot beyond goalkeeper Gordon Marshall, who had been left exposed by a confused defence.
In the closing minutes of a bizarre first half Paolo di Canio struck the crossbar when he had the opportunity to at least level the score on the night, and when the ball was finally cleared into the other half of the field, Hughes was harshly adjudged to have fouled Kmetsch, the man involved in Mackay's ordering off .
Hughes had been booked earlier for elbowing Andre Breitenreiter, and therefore suffered the same fate as his defensive colleague. Burns looked on with a mixture of disbelief and disgust as the second of his three central defenders left the field.
Uncharacteristically, Burns followed the Russian official from the field at the interval and made his feelings known.
The final indignity was visited on Celtic when Andre Breitenreiter scored the German side's second goal, and their fourth on aggregate, four minutes after the interval.
Insult was added to injury because the pass, struck from the centre circle, came from Kmetsch.
- Manager Interview
Burns fumed: : "I'm very disappointed. Eleven men playing nine isn't fair. I don't want to say much more about the refereeing.
" But it left a lot to be desired and spoiled what could have been a good game. It's a tribute to my players they kept their discipline.
"I spoke to the referee at half time and asked him to be fair but our players questioned the validity of both the Hamburg goals."
"Hamburg will also be disappointed with the ordering off of their player near the end.
"It's fast approaching the stage where the game becomes a non-contact sport.
"However, I can assure you the club will not be taking any disciplinary action against Hughes or Mackay."
Burns also denied radio reports that van Hooijdonk had been left on the bench because of a dispute over the extension of his contract.
He insisted: "I picked the team I thought was right to beat Hamburg and that was the only reason for that."