| Match Pictures | Matches: 1999 – 2000 | 1999-2000 Pictures |
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Trivia
- It was announced that Lubo Moravcik would play in a tribute match for Nelson Mandela in a World XI –v_ South Africa on 17/8/99. He was in good company – Roberto Carlos, Dunga, Branco, Djorkaeff, Rigobert Song and Alan Shearer would also be in the World XI.
- Celtic were fined £45,000 plus 50% of the cost of the hearing (at which the club were not allowed to present any of their own evidence) by the SPL commission of inquiry into the events at the Rangers game of 2/5/99. Despite being cleared by the police and the SFA, the commission members, Lord Mackay QC of Drumadoon, SPL chief executive Roger Mitchell and his chairman Robert Wilson, reached the conclusion that Celtic were at fault. Mahe's behaviour was described as "a blatant example of dysfunctional aggression". Allan MacDonald said, whilst accepting the fine, "However, while accepting the fine without appeal, the club does feel £45,000 to be excessive, considering the combination of contributing factors that were outwith Celtic's control. We appear to be being fined because of the SPL commission's perceived inadequacy of our pre-match briefing of our players."
- In an attempt to get back to playing Marc Rieper had a state-of-the-art boot designed in an attempt to protect the toe which was the cause of his inability to get through a game.
- Cwmbran Town switched the tie to the 18,000 seat Ninian Park in the expectation that there would be a massive demand for tickets from travelling Celtic fans. There wasn’t. Te tie was being shown on TV live and about 3,500 fans travelled down to the game.
- Two metres per side were trimmed off the pitch by Cwmbran in an attempt to shackle the wing play their scouts had seen in Celtic’s games.
- Boyd and Mjallby were suspended for the game (in Mjallby’s case for a red card two seasons before whilst with AIK Stockholm). Alan Stubbs returned after a remarkable recovery from testicular cancer surgey and Mahe was free of suspension. Burley started his first game of the season. Blinker, Johnson and Brattbakk were brought in and Burchill and Moravcik rested.
Review
Stroll in the park enlivened by the Welsh topless lass streak at half time
Teams
Cwmbran: O'Hagan, Willis, John, Blackie, O'Brien, Dyson, Wigley (Aizlewood 72), Moore, Evans, Graham, Summers (Hughes 84), Aizlewood (Thomas 59).
Subs Not Used: Morris, Pattimore, Goodridge, Sturch.
Celtic: Gould, Riseth, Stubbs, Tebily, Mahe, Burley, Berkovic, Lambert, Petta (Blinker 45), Larsson (Johnson 80), Viduka (Brattbakk 80),.
Subs Not Used: Wieghorst, Kerr, Healy, McKinlay.
Goals: Berkovic (2), Tebily (20), Larsson (32), Viduka (52), Larsson (61), Brattbakk (84).
Booked: Evans, Dyson, Willis (Cwmbran Town)
Referee: Micheal Ross (Northern Ireland).
Attendance: 8,920
Articles
- Match Report
Celtic pass minor test with flying colours
The Herald 13/08/1999
Ian Paul
Cwmbran Town . . 0
Celtic . . . . . . . . . . 6
CELTIC had the job done and dusted before we had time to say butchers, bakers et al. A goal in two minutes, of course, is inclined to dampen any ambitions of said butchers, bakers, etc, and that was how it turned out. By the finish it was six going on 10.
The end product is a cruise into the first round of the UEFA Cup, as the second leg at Parkhead in a fortnight is no more than an exercise canter.
The Cwmbran player-coach Mark Aizlewood summed up his club's feelings at the end, saying: "For the second leg I think we will have to bring in brickies and brick up the goal.
"As a player who has played at the top level and knows how difficult it is to do, I have to say that any team that finishes above Celtic will have to be a damned good side."
His opposite number, Celtic manager John Barnes, gave credit to the Welsh team for the way they tried to make things as difficult as possible. "They man-marked some of our players and we always knew it could have been an awkward night, but the early goal was a boost for us."
How teams like the courageous but woefully outclassed Welsh side come to be in the same tournament – at any stage – is another question, but the night was one of fun and laughter for their few fans in the 9000 crowd. And why not? For them it was a very special occasion.
They even announced that the after match party was to be held in Brannigans in town . . . and all were invited. Unfortunately, I think, some of us could not make it.
With this being the first competitive start of the season for Alan Stubbs, Bobby Petta, and Craig Burley, the qualifying jaunt to Cardiff was a very worthwhile enterprise, especially for Stubbs, who insisted that his future at Parkhead will be decided once he has fully recovered from his cancer operation and is challenging for a regular place in the first team.
"At the moment I want to concentrate on trying to get into the team, and that won't be easy. It was good to get the game, ideal for me, and I feel great. I feel I'm on a par with everyone else now. All I can do is play and the manager has to make the decisions."
Referring to his recovery, he said that the supporters' encouragement when they sent faxes, cards, and letters was overwhelming. "I want to support them by playing as well as I can."
No one had a bad night, which is not all that surprising, but Berkovic was particularly effective, scoring the first goal and having a hand in a few others.
His opener, a searing shot from 22 yards, set the pattern and it in due course was followed by Henrik Larsson with two goals, Olivier Tebily with a single, and Mark Viduka and his late substitute Harald Brattbakk with one apiece. Believe it or not it could easily have been more. None the less, the green and white hordes were content enough as they headed into the night . . . and Brannigans.
The Welsh side did their best even before the game started to blunt the Celtic edge, narrowing the pitch by four metres and watering the ground (there had been a heavy rainfall early in the morning). It was to no avail as the litany of goals was begun inside the opening two minutes.
A Larsson header had already been touched over the bar by Pat O'Hagan before Berkovic stepped in to start the party for the Celtic fans, many of whom, in any case, had been well into their celebrations before a ball was kicked.
Cwmbran, to their credit, did not haul out the white flag at that point. In fact, they managed a couple of attacks of their own, one of which led to a corner being unimpressively cleared by Gould and cleared properly by Stubbs.
However, they were having a hard time when Celtic did go into top gear and the only surprise about the second goal was that it was 17 minutes longer before it came.
A short corner by Berkovic, on the right this time, was chipped high to the far post by Burley and when Viduka nodded it into goal there was Tebily with an easy job to help it over and score his first competitive goal for the Parkhead club.
No.3 came in after 32 minutes. Berkovic – yes, him again – took a free kick and there was Larsson diving to head it past the game but beleaguered O'Hagan.
Celtic had Reggie Blinker on for Petta at the start of the second half, but it was Mark Viduka who produced the next goal. His clever, bending shot nearly beat O'Hagan, but the keeper did well to parry it. However, Larsson retrieved the ball and laid it in front of Viduka, who had a simple job to shoot home.
John Wills was booked after he downed Riseth and then the keeper could only parry a Mahe drive but was able to rescue the situation this time.
However, the fifth goal was about due and it was another worked by Viduka, whose pass to Larsson allowed the Swede to divert it comfortably past the keeper. Now we had reached the point where many in the crowd (and in the press box) were checking their bookies' lines to see how many goals they had invested in for a Celtic win.
Nervous moments lay ahead. Viduka hit the post among a string of attacks, including two which brought serious penalty claims, as the Cwmbran side showed visible signs of leg weariness.
There were some more bizarre happenings around the Welsh goal, but with nine minutes left Celtic took off Viduka as well as Larsson and brought on Harald Brattbakk and Tommy Johnson. Three minutes later the Norwegian had popped in goal No.6 from a pass by Berkovic.
- Individual Player Ratings
| Gould – 7 | Arguably the quietest 90 minutes of his career.Seemed to flap at first corner kick but apart from that had little else to do. |
| Riseth – 5 | Still looks uncomfortable functioning in his new right wing back role. Needs to work on his crossing which is the weakest part of his game. |
| Stubbs – 7 | A welcome return to competitive action for the affable Scouser, just six weeks after an operation to clear testicular cancer. May have to learn to curb natural instinct to hit long passes under John Barnes new system. |
| Tebily – 7 | Never under any real pressure and slotted in nicely alongside Stubbs. Showed bravery to bundle the ball over the line. |
| Mahe – 5 | Marauded up and down the left flank but squandered possession far too often in good positions |
| Burley – 7 | Relished first competitive start in six months – in unaccustomed defensive midfieldrole.Still managed to squeeze in a couple of efforts on goal. |
| Berkovic – 9 | Led by example throughout. Involved in every creative aspect of Celtic's play and capped a fine individual display with superb goal to open his account – but did react angrily to Mark Evans late challenge. |
| Lambert – 7 | and solid as ever.Typical fetching and carrying holding role performance by the midfielder |
| Petta – 6 | Showed occasional flashes of skill but he may feel he has wasted an opportunity to enhance his claim for staking a regular first team place. |
| Larsson – 8 | Bagged fourth goal of the season and 61st goal of Celtic career in less than 100 games. Neatly set up Mark Viduka for fourth goal. |
| Viduka – 8 | Took his tally to four for the season and always lively and willing to make himself available at all times. Returned the compliment to Larsson for fifth goal with a deft piece of skill. |
| Subs: | |
| Blinker – 4 | Replaced his former understudy at Feyenoord, Petta, in the second half but didn't impose himself enough. |
| Brattbakk – 6 | Little more than10 minutes for the Norwegian misfit to make his mark but he added to an already illustrious European goal scoring record with a neat finish to make it six. |
| Johnson – 4 | Rare chance for the out-of-favour Englishman to impress John Barnes when he replaced Larsson for the closing 10 minutes. |
- Managers Comments
“I am pleased for Alan. It was good for both him and Burley to get 90 minutes in.
“No matter how many we scored the press would have said we should have scored more, even if we had scored 12 they would say we should always score 12. Six should be enough to keep everybody happy.”
Pictures
Stats
| Cwmbran Town | Celtic | |
| Bookings | 3 | 0 |
| Fouls | 9 | 10 |
| Shots on Target | 1 | 10 |
| Corners | 2 | 11 |
| Offside | 0 | 3 |