| Match Pictures | Matches: 2000 – 2001 | 2000-01 Pictures |
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Trivia
- The absence of Eyal Berkovic began to be noticed and with the arrival of his agent it looked as though the Israeli was angling for a move away either permanent or on loan.
- Mark Viduka and his new manager at Leeds, David O’Leary, both made derogatory articles in the press about the standard of the game in Scotland. Viduka suggested that players could get away with playing at 70 per cent of their capacity in Scotland. Martin O’Neill rebutted Viduka’s contentions as well as O’Leary’s – that Celtic had offered Viduka a new contract to stay with the club.
- John Robertson left his position as assistant manager at Leicester City on 23/8/00 by mutual consent and was expected to arrive at Celtic within days
- Allan MacDonald gave a long interview to Celtic View. Highlights of the interview were how Celtic had 3 or 4 sites in mind for the new Celtic Academy; the necessity for change in Scottish football; how Celtic were prepared to pay top rates to get the best players; Press agendas in Scotland;
- The Jeunesse Esch main striker, Pascal Betis was left at Brussels airport when it was found that his passport was invalid.
- This was a run-out for fringe players with a second string side named.
- This was the first live streaming webcast and game undertaken by the Celtic Media team.
- Mark Burchill scored a hat-trick in record time; 3 goals in 3.5 mins.
Review
With the team 4-0 up from the first leg a second string side was named with a chance for fringe players to make a name for themselves with youngsters Lynch, Burchill, Healey and Liam Miller coming in. A breeze of a 7-0 win gave an aggregate score of 11-0
Teams
Celtic:
Gould, Rafael, Tebily, Riseth, Mjallby, Healy, Petta, Lambert (Boyd 46), Berkovic, Lynch (Petrov 60), Burchill (Miller 46).
Non Used Subs: Corr, Larsson, Sutton, Valgaeren.
Goals: Burchill (12, 14, 15), Berkovic (22, 46), Riseth (52), Petrov (71).
Jeunesse Esch:
Van Riffwifck, Lamborelle, Schault, Wagner (Thill 71), Schaack, Meylender, Kurtz (Nies 64), Bokboiloni, Anodio, Sabotic, Bekil (Felgen 68).
Non Used Subs: Logenin, Laruall, Peiffer, Muller.
Booked: Lynch (Celtic) Schaack. (Jeunesse Esch)
Referee: Leuba (Switzerland)
Attendance: 40,282
Articles
- Match Report(see below)
- Manager Interview
Martin O’Neill post match :
“He took the goals brilliantly and I'm very pleased for him. I don't know whether this changes Mark's plans, but I have made it clear I would prefer him to stay at the club and battle for a place. But then who knows, maybe after tonight, I'll get a £6 million offer on the table tomorrow morning."
Pictures
Articles
Three-minute hero Burchill makes point
The Scotsman 25/08/2000
Tom Lappin at Parkhead
Celtic 7 Burchill (12, 14, 15), Berkovic (22, 46), Riseth (52) Petrov (71)
Jeunesse Esch 0
Celtic win 11-0 on aggregate
DON'T you forget about me, his uncle Charlie's band used to sing. Mark Burchill delivered his own tuneful reminder of his capabilities, with a hat-trick to trouble the statisticians, achieved in a three-minute spell early in the first half at Celtic Park.
A moribund UEFA Cup second-leg needed something striking to bring it back to life, and the transfer-listed Burchill delivered it with some consummate finishing. Included in the side so that the first-choice strikers could take a breather, and perhaps to show himself off to potential purchasers, Burchill claimed the spotlight offered, and rather hogged it. At least until half-time, when he was substituted, when stomach cramps threatened to spoil his evening.
The three-minute hero opened the scoring with a facile close-range header after twelve minutes. Not happy with the simplicity of that goal, he made sure the second was more memorable. Controlling a long pass from Olivier Tebily with his heel, he ignored the proximity of three defenders to poke an audacious shot inside the post. The third, on the quarter-hour, was a simple tap-in gift-wrapped for him by Eyal Berkovic.
It was a remarkable, not to say unlikely, return to the first-team for the unsettled player. "He took the goals brilliantly," manager Martin O'Neill said. "I'm very pleased for him. I don't know whether this changes Mark's plans, but I have made it clear I would prefer him to stay at the club and battle for a place. But then who knows, maybe after tonight, I'll get a £6 million offer on the table tomorrow morning."
O'Neill was satisfied with the way a distinctly experimental side cruised through the match, scoring at will to supplement Burchill's personal haul in a fairly merciless exposure of Jeunesse's deficiencies.
O'Neill fielded only three of Saturday's starting eleven. Teenager Simon Lynch began up front with Burchill, the manager giving a quiet reminder to Burchill that chances were there for players to graduate through the youth ranks. The other subject of departure speculation, Berkovic, filled in for Lubo Moravcik, allowed to rest his weary bones for Sunday.
The visitors were here on the habitual damage limitation trip. They shipped eight goals away in Riga this time last term, and hadn't scored an away goal in Europe since 1987, so their barmy platoon of eight fans were travelling with less than eager expectations. Pessimists are never disappointed. Conceding a mere seven marked an improvement of sorts.
Once Burchill had made his definitive statement, it was clear that the hapless Luxembourgeois were in danger of another entry in the big black book of alarming scorelines. The abject way in which goalkeeper John Van Rijswick looked on stoically as Eyal Berkovic's frankly effete free-kick rolled around the wall and into the corner of the net for a fourth goal in the 20th minute, looked suspiciously like surrender.
The visitors rallied a little for the remainder of the first half, even mustering a goal attempt themselves when Claude Meylender's header was cleared off the line by Tebily, but embarrassment always seemed likely. Celtic weren't averse to increasing their lead, and Lynch's enthusiasm to get on the scoresheet earned him a booking just before half-time, for a lunge at the unamused goalkeeeper. Van Rijswick slapped back at the Celtic man but failed to make significant contact. It was the story of his night.
Burchill's innings was declared closed at half-time, as O'Neill took his experimentation into uncharted waters. Vidar Riseth was pushed up front, Tom Boyd joined the defence and Liam Miller replaced Paul Lambert in midfield.
Berkovic was also in experimental mood, contriving to strike an even more ineffectual shot from twenty yards out, a minute into the second half. It bobbled along the ground, and still managed to evade the careless hands of Van Rijswick to make the fifth goal a work of pure comedy. Berkovic's shooting might have been less than devastating, but he deserved his goals for a display both lively and inventive throughout.
He was the creator of the sixth, with a positive run at a Jeunesse defence that by now was standing around like Perthshire livestock. Berkovic released the ball and Riseth capped his impression of a ruthless goalgetter with a simple shot from the edge of the box, that probably shouldn't have beaten the increasingly distraught goalkeeper.
The referee really should have given the visitors a standing count and ended the contest there and then. We no longer had even the vaguest semblance of a match, Celtic toying with their opponents in a way that was mildly sadistic. When Van Rijswick managed a save or two he was rewarded with some pitying applause from the crowd that probably didn't make him feel any better.
Bobby Petta enjoyed running at the despairing defenders, twice looking for penalties as he appeared to be hauled back inside the area. Sensibly the referee was in a mood to be lenient. Petta's crossing was more productive. A high looping pass from the left was met awkwardly on the volley by substitute Stilian Petrov. The contact was, unsurprisingly, sufficient to steer the ball past the goalkeeper and bring seven up.
There was a comical tinge to the closing stages. Petta had space whenever he wanted it, the Jeunesse box became a sea of Celtic players, arms raised, like eager schoolboys wanting to have a go at goal. You hope they enjoyed it. It won't ever get this easy again.
Stats:
| Celtic | Jeunesse Esch | |
| Bookings | 1 | 1 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
| Fouls | 13 | 12 |
| Shots on Target | 12 | 3 |
| Corners | 3 | 5 |
| Offside | 4 | 2 |
Celtic 7 Jeunesse Esch 0 (Agg: 11-0) By Chris Roberts, PA Sport
Transfer listed young striker Mark Burchill grabbed a sensational hat-trick in the space of just three first half minutes as Celtic blew away the part timers of Luxembourg.
The Scotland international was forced to hand in a transfer request several weeks ago after becoming disillusioned with life in the shadows of Henrik Larsson and Chris Sutton.
But Burchill capped his first start of the season with a clinical treble to give manager Martin O'Neill a reminder ahead of Sunday's Old Firm clash and make the watching scouts take notice of his exciting talents.
Israeli international Eyal Berkovic also played himself into the reckoning for a place in Sunday's starting 11, while Vidar Riseth and Stilian Petrov completed the rout.
O'Neill clearly felt his side would stroll through the second leg as they held a four-goal cushion and he could afford the luxury of making eight changes and fielding young stars Simon Lynch and Colin Healy.
But Burchill stole the show with a brilliant virtuoso performance. He almost opened the scoring as early as the fifth minute but defender Jean Wagner made a desperate challenge to deny him.
The Scotland international looked sharp on every occasion and he opened his account in the 12th minute when he dived low to head home Healy's cross from close range.
That sunk the visitors and two minutes later the want-away star capitalised on some slack defending when he controlled a long ball down field from Oliver Tebily before firing low past John Van Rijswick.
Burchill was now dreaming of a treble but even he could not envisage how quickly it would come. Just one minute later he found himself in space to fire home Berkovic's cross.
The floodgates had well and truly opened and the desperate visitors went further behind in the 21st minute, when Berkovic was felled by David Borbiconi and he hit a tame 20-yard free kick into the bottom corner.
But Burchill was clearly relishing the time and space he was getting and he should have grabbed his fourth of the night in the 29th minute, but he blazed Berkovic's cross wide of the mark.
Jeunesse Esch looked understandably shell shocked, but in the 31st minute Healy was on the goal line to deny them their first away goal in Europe for 13 years when he cleared a Claude Meylender header.
O'Neill was clearly impressed by Burchill's first half display but he replaced him with another youngster, Liam Miller, at the break but Celtic's attacks were relentless.
Berkovic was also relishing the opportunity to impress O'Neill ahead of Sunday's showdown and he grabbed his second of the night in the 46th minute, albeit if fortuitously following a comical blunder from the goalkeeper who let a tame effort bounce over him.
Riseth was being employed as a striker during the second period and the Norwegian was looking to get in on the act when he was clear through on goal, but he fired at the feet of Van Rijswick.
He too added his name to the score sheet in the 53rd minute when he found space in the box to drill the ball home, with a hint of a deflection on its way.
Miller went close to making it a memorable night in the 64th minute when Petta brilliantly beat three men on the left wing before picking the youngster out. His point blank header was well saved by Van Rijswick.
Petta was a man full of confidence and he came within inches of capping a fantastic display with a goal in the 69th minute, cutting in from the wing before unleashing a right foot drive inches past the post.
The goals kept coming when, in the 72nd minute, substitute Petrov made it seven on the night as he drilled home a right foot volley from Petta's cross.
But it wasn't all glory for O'Neill, who would have been worried at the sight of Petta hobbling off with minutes to go with what appeared to be a leg strain.
But Celtic eased comfortably into tomorrow's draw for the first round of the UEFA Cup. The Parkhead faithful must have left the ground wondering whether they had seen the last of Burchill in a Celtic shirt.
If so, he certainly went out with a bang as Celtic go into Sunday's Old Firm show down full of confidence.
Celtic: Gould, Rafael, Tebily, Riseth, Mjallby, Healy, Petta, Lambert (Boyd 46), Berkovic, Lynch (Petrov 60),Burchill (Miller 46).
Subs Not Used: Corr, Larsson, Sutton, Valgaeren.
Booked: Lynch.
Goals: Burchill 12, 14, 15, Berkovic 22, 46, Riseth 52,Petrov 71.
Jeunesse Esch: Van Riffwifck, Lamborelle, Schault, Wagner (Thill 71), Schaack, Meylender, Kurtz (Nies 64), Bokboiloni, Anodio, Sabotic, Bekil (Felgen 68).
Subs Not Used: Logenin, Laruall, Peiffer, Muller.
Booked: Schaack.
Agg (11-0)
Att: 40,282