| Match Pictures | Matches: 2000 – 2001 | 2000-01 Pictures |
Trivia
- Rafael Scheidt’s first game back in Brazil on loan to Corinthians ended in him getting red carded for dissent in the 77th minute.
- Celtic were said to be keeping tabs on Shelbourne striker Richie Foran.
- The game was played at the Finnair Stadium in Helsinki. The pitch was in a pretty dire state due to a Tina Turner concert at the ground two weeks prior to the game. The ground was shared with another Finnish team, FC Jokreruit and the Finnish League was just coming to a conclusion.
Review
A strange game where we seemed to be in minimum trouble only to concede two goals and the tie go to extra time, something that had been the curse of most Celtic sides. Sutton though managed to get the team out of jail in the 17th minute of extra time.
Teams
HJK Helsinki:
Vieander, Turpeinen, Nylund, Yeremenko, Kallio, Roiha, Saarinen, Heikkinen, Hakanpaa (Yla-Jussila 46), Kuivasto, Kopteff (Moraes 78).
Subs Not Used: Wallen, Saastamoinen, Kunnas, Haarala, Kokkonen.
Goals: Roiha 41, 75.
Booked: Kallio, Nylund (HJK)
Celtic:
Gould, Boyd (Riseth 20), McNamara, Valgaeren, Larsson, Sutton, Berkovic (Healy 69), Lambert, Petrov, Petrov (Moravcik 91), Mjallby.
Subs Not Used: Kerr, Tebily, Agathe, Smith.
Goals: Sutton 117.
Booked: Petrov. (Celtic)
Referee: L Gadosi (Slovakia).
Attendance: 6,530
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Stats
| HJK Helsinki | Celtic | |
| Bookings | 2 | 1 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
| Fouls | 16 | 14 |
| Shots on Target | 3 | 4 |
| Corners | 5 | 10 |
| Offside | 0 | 5 |
Celtic scrape past fighting Finns
The Herald 29/09/2000
Ian Paul
HJK HELSINKI…2 CELTIC…1
CELTIC'S winning bubble was well and truly burst at the 13th attempt when they found a Finnish side far tougher material than their fans, at least, had anticipated. However, it could have been a great deal worse had it not been for the goals struck by £6m striker Chris Sutton in 17 minutes of extra time which will certainly have gone a fair way to repaying his transfer fee.
Two goals ahead from the first leg at Parkhead against the Finnish side, Celtic managed to toss away that advantage in the chill of the Helsinki air and they came close to going out of the UEFA Cup. The two goals they lost will not be remembered with any relish by the defence, in particular goalkeeper Jonathan Gould, who seemed at fault on both occasions, nor substitute defender Vidar Riseth, whose error led to the second goal.
Celtic had played well enough for a while in the first half when they were almost in complete control, but with five minutes left, HJK's smart striker Paulus Roiha shot with the first of his two goals and that left Celtic" confidence waning fast. They became very tentative indeed, and when they lost the second goal in 75 minutes they were on a slippery slope to another early exit from Europe. Sutton's goal in the 107th minute saved the blushes and put his team into the second-round draw this morning. One serious setback last night was the bad knee injury suffered by captain Tommy Boyd midway through the first half.
Producing a surprise in the line-up for European contests seems to be the fashionable tactic these days and it was manager Martin O'Neill's turn to defy the predictions when he left out Lubo Moravcik and brought in Eyal Berkovic, who has spent most of the season on the bench and under consistent speculation that he would be leaving Parkhead. With Alan Thompson ineligible, it was a welcome return, too, for Bobby Petta after a three-game absence through injury. It was Petta who immediately caused heartache in the Finnish defence with a superbly placed free kick that needed only a touch to put his side ahead. However, although Celtic took control right away, they were given a warning that HJK could break dangerously when Kopteff did pecisely that and sent over a cross, or maybe a shot, that hit the top of the bar and went behind.
Larsson was receiving very close attention, as might be expected but he took advantage of hesitation in the defence from a long ball and his chip was only just off target. Kopteff was fast and threatening when he broke on the left and, when he did it again, his low cut-back was halted just in time by Boyd. Johan Mjallby had the best chance to date when he rose to a Petta corner and had a clear view of goal but still managed to steer it wide. Gould did well to cut out another rasping low cross from Kopteff before the Slovakian referee caused much controversy when he booked Stilian Petrov for diving after he went down when challenged by the keeper inside the box. It looked like a penalty from our stand vantage point but the Bulgarian did make a meal of it and that may have cost him the spot- kick award.
The Bulgarian almost made quick amends when he burst forward and hit a low shot that came off the post with Viander well beaten. There was a melee in the box, but in the end Larsson smacked the ball well wide of the far post.
HJK recovered from that scare and made a rare raid upfield which ended with Jeremenko trying a chip but misjudging its flight.
Celtic suffered a severe blow in 33 minutes when Boyd was carried into the dressing room with a knee injury after a clash with Saarinen, although the injury may have been caused by his studs catching on the turf. Vidar Riseth replaced him but the incident interrupted the Celtic momentum, although Larsson did chest down a neat ball for Berkovic, who just could not get a foot to it from about 10 yards. Berkovic tried a hopeful effort from outside the box but hit it much too high.
The unthinkable then happened with five minutes of the first half left. After all their possession and all their attacking Celtic went a goal down. A long ball forward was chased by Roiha and Valgaeren, but as they reached the penalty area, Gould also came rushing out and the Finn stretched out his foot to steer the ball past the goalie into the empty net.
The Finns made a change at the start of the second half, with Jussila coming on for Rami but it was goalscorer Roiha who caused Celtic a fright, outwitting Mjallby on the left and shooting for the near post where Gould got down to grasp the ball.
A better move by Celtic involving Sutton and McNamara ended with the wing-back's shot being blocked and Larsson's outstretched touch going straight to the keeper.
The 5000 or so local fans were beating the drums, literally, with greater gusto now and their side seemed also to be growing in confidence as shown when Saarineen tried an ambitious volley and was not far off target. Berkovic was unlucky to be robbed by a fine save from Viander after Petta had set up the chance and soon after, as Celtic raised their game a touch, Larsson headed wide. Petta did well down the left and sent over a fine cross which Sutton nodded down for Berkovic, but the Israeli lunged at it and missed altogether.
There was a scare for Celtic in 63 minutes when the defence was left in a tangle and Saarinen gave Kallio a simple chance from close range. Somehow the Finn placed the ball ouside the post. HJK then replaced Kopteff with Hannu Haarala before Lambert came very close to equalising after Larsson laid the ball into his path 20 yards out. He hit it well, too, but the keeper also did a good job to beat out the ball.
Berkovic also tried a hard shot but hit it against a defender. That was his last contribution as he was replaced by Colin Healy.
The Finnish keeper was doing heroics now and he did so gain with a superb punch over the bar from a ferocious shot by Sutton. In 75 minutes, the stadium was rocking as the Finns levelled on aggregate. Riseth slipped, allowing Haarala a straight shot at goal. Gould made a wonderful stop and the damage seemed to have been avoided until the keeper lost the ball and in ran Roiha to hit it into the empty net. Celtic were now seriously in trouble as the Finns went for victory they had not believed was possible. Lambert tried to save the day again with a fine volley that cannoned off a defender and went for a corner from which Healy shot past the post.
It was then into overtime. Celtic brought on Moravcik for McNamara but it was Petta who set up a great chance in four minutes for Larsson who touched the ball past a post form a few yards. But luck was really out for Moravcik a couple of minutes later when his right-foot shot came off the post. However, in 17 minute of extra time, Celtic climbed out of the hole they had dug for themselves. Moravcik tried a volley that went along the front of goal and Sutton steered it past the keeper.
- Manager Interview
"It was very hard, as I expected but I'm obviously pleased to be in the next round. I was not disappointed by the display because we could have scored a lot of goals and we had a lot of chances, but they just wouldn't go in.
"If we had taken those chances it would have been a different matter.
"I was always confident we would go through because we were capable of scoring but of course sometimes you think it is not going to be your night, especially when their goalkeeper made some fantastic saves."
HJK Helsinki 2 Celtic 1 (aet)(Agg: 2-3) By Chris Roberts, PA Sport, Helsinki
Thirteen proved lucky for Celtic as they clinched their place in the draw for the second round of the UEFA Cup after being given an almighty scare by HJK Helsinki.
The Parkhead club came into the game with a two-goal cushion from the first leg only to see that wiped out as Paulus Roiha scored twice for the Finnish hosts to send the tie into extra time.
But £6million signing Chris Sutton was in the right place at the right time to rescue Celtic's European ambitions just when a penalty shoot-out appeared inevitable.
This was Celtic manager Martin O'Neill's first defeat since taking control of the club 13 games ago – but he would have been a relieved man at the final whistle as fortune favoured his side, who almost suffered a humiliating exit.
The poor state of the pitch made the roll of the ball a lottery at times, but Celtic could not blame the surface in the fourth minute as they almost suffered a nightmare start.
Peter Kopteff took Toni Kallio's clever flick in his stride down the left and hit a cross that had goalkeeper Jonathan Gould desperately scurrying back across his goalline and he was relieved to see it bounce off the top of the crossbar.
Moments later Celtic should have killed the tie dead when Jackie McNamara's punt downfield had Markus Heikkinen in big trouble and Henrik Larsson dispossessed him before trying a lob which just dropped over the bar.
The visitors kept the momentum going and Eyal Berkovic almost gave Sutton a glorious chance as he cut the ball back from the byline, but Toni Kuivasto put the ball behind.
From the resulting corner Johan Mjallby should have put the tie out of the home side's reach when he rose unmarked in the box but headed Bobby Petta's cross past the upright.
Celtic should have broken the deadlock in a frantic three minutes which saw the home side let off the hook.
First Slovakian referee Ladislav Gadosi waved away their protests for a penalty in the 20th minute when Stilian Petrov was brought down in the area by goalkeeper Jani Viander after Berkovic had played him through, and the Bulgarian was booked for diving.
The midfielder was involved again moments later in a move which deserved a goal when Petrov ran onto Paul Lambert's through-ball but saw his strike come back off the upright and Larsson curled the rebound around the post.
Viander then almost gifted Celtic a goal when he made a hash of his goal-kick which went straight to Larsson, but the Swede once again fired his effort just past the post.
The visitors almost paid for their missed chances in the 27th minute when the ball fell to Aleksei Yeremenko on the edge of the box and his fierce effort flashed just past the post.
Celtic suffered a major blow in the 35th minute when Tom Boyd was stretchered off with a knee injury after catching his studs in the ground and the skipper was replaced by Vidar Riseth.
Helsinki then hauled themselves back into the tie with a goal from Roiha four minutes before the break as Yeremenko played him through on goal and he comfortably slid the ball past the onrushing Gould.
The Finns came out after the break looking for another goal that would at least take the game into extra time and it almost came in the 49th minute.
Roiha was found in the box and he turned past Mjallby and surly had his second of the night in his sights as he hit a low shot which Gould had to save low to his right.
The visitors breathed a huge sigh of relief in the 56th minute when Saarinen produced a dipping long-range effort which sailed just over Gould's crossbar with the keeper well beaten.
Helsinki goalkeeper Viander then kept his side's hopes alive when Petta played the ball into the path of Berkovic inside the box and the Israeli's effort was well saved.
But the home side squandered a glorious opportunity to level proceedings in the 63rd minute.
Substitute Sami Yla-Jussila played an intricate through-ball to the unmarked Kallio 10 yards out but he dragged his effort wide of the post with just Gould to beat.
The match was going from end to end and home keeper Viander again produced a great save to deny Lambert's fierce drive from 25 yards.
But disaster struck for Celtic in the 75th minute when the Finns levelled the tie after a blunder from Gould.
The Celtic keeper saved an initial shot but he managed to spill the ball into the path of Roiha and he side-footed home off the post for his second of the night.
Celtic had claims for a penalty turned down in the 81st minute when Larsson went to the ground under the challenge of Heikkinen when trying to get on the end of Sutton's cross.
With five minutes remaining the ball broke to substitute Colin Healy in the box but he blazed his effort just over the bar and in the last minute McNamara blasted wide and the game went into extra time.
Celtic were stunned by the fightback from the Finns but just five minutes into extra time Larsson squandered a glorious chance when Petta cut the ball back and the Swede side-footed wide from just six yards out.
A minute later Moravcik came within inches of ending the tie when he cut in from the left before hitting a rasping drive which came back off the upright.
Celtic continued to pressure the Finns and Larsson almost bagged the all-important goal when he took Sutton's pass in his stride and beat keeper Viander but lost his footing at the crucial stage, allowing Aarno Turpeinen to get back and clear off the line.
But Celtic did get their reward in the 117th minute when Moravcik fired across the face of goal and Sutton slid in to direct past Viander in the home net to save the Glasgow side.
Teams:
HJK Helsinki: Vieander, Turpeinen, Nylund, Yeremenko, Kallio, Roiha, Saarinen, Heikkinen, Hakanpaa (Yla-Jussila 46), Kuivasto, Kopteff (Moraes 78).
Subs Not Used: Wallen, Saastamoinen, Kunnas, Haarala, Kokkonen.
Booked: Kallio, Nylund.
Goals: Roiha 41, 75.
Celtic: Gould, Boyd (Riseth 20), McNamara, Valgaeren, Larsson, Sutton, Berkovic (Healy 69), Lambert, Petta, Petrov (Moravcik 91), Mjallby.
Subs Not Used: Kerr, Tebily, Agathe, Smith.
Booked: Petrov.
Goals: Sutton 117.
After Extra Time
Att: 6,530
Ref: L Gadosi (Slovakia).