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Trivia
- Martin O'Neill's men battled back from two goals down to earn a share of the spoils in the stunning setting of Tampa.
- The new-look midfield partnership of Neil Lennon and Paul Lambert, who were paired together for the first time, were taught a footballing lesson by veteran Colombian superstar Carlos Valderrama in the first 45 minutes.
Review
The incredible American green and white army were left mesmerised by the skills of the 39-year-old midfielder, who produced the perfect cross for Eric Quill to fire home the opener after just 14 minutes.
Shortly after, Stephane Mahe was on hand to clear Mamadou Diallo's effort off the line, after Valderrama's magical through ball, before the flamboyant star set up Manny Lagos to double their advantage in the 31st minute.
Valderrama did not emerge for the second half and Celtic responded to that by reducing the deficit when Tommy Johnson fired home from close range in the 53rd minute.
O'Neill's side were buoyed by the departure of Valderrama and on the hour mark they were on level terms when Alan Thompson smashed an unstoppable 20-yard drive into the top corner to earn his side a draw.
Teams
Tampa Bay Mutiny:-
Garlick, Kotschau (Houser 45), Trittschuh (Piturro 45), Addo (Bankov 45), McCarty, Armas, Quill (Caetano 45), Valderrama (Ortiz 45), Lagos (Maessner 45), Ralston, Diallo (Fenger 65).
Goals:- Ralston 14, Lagos 30.
Celtic:-
Douglas (Gould 45), Tebily (McNamara 45), Boyd (Vega 45), Mahe (Crainey 45), Agathe, Lennon (Healy 67), Lambert (Petrov 45), Thompson, Moravcik (Petta 45), Larsson (Johnson 45), Sutton.
Goals:- Johnson 52, Thompson 59.
Att:- 4,500
Articles
Pictures
Tampa Bay Mutiny 2 Celtic 2 By Chris Roberts, PA Sport, Tampa Bay
Martin O'Neill's men battled back from two goals down to earn a share of the spoils in the stunning setting of Tampa on Friday night.
The new-look midfield partnership of Neil Lennon and Paul Lambert, who were paired together for the first time, were taught a footballing lesson by veteran Colombian superstar Carlos Valderrama in the first 45 minutes.
The incredible American green and white army were left mesmerised by the skills of the 39-year-old midfielder, who produced the perfect cross for Eric Quill to fire home the opener after just 14 minutes.
Shortly after, Stephane Mahe was on hand to clear Mamadou Diallo's effort off the line, after Valderrama's magical through ball, before the flamboyant star set up Manny Lagos to double their advantage in the 31st minute.
Valderrama did not emerge for the second half and Celtic responded to that by reducing the deficit when Tommy Johnson fired home from close range in the 53rd minute.
O'Neill's side were buoyed by the departure of Valderrama and on the hour mark they were on level terms when Alan Thompson smashed an unstoppable 20-yard drive into the top corner to earn his side a draw.
O'NEILL ANXIOUS TO KEEP BHOYS TOGETHER By Chris Roberts, PA Sport, Florida
Celtic boss Martin O'Neill is determined to keep hold of the majority of his table-topping squad even though many of his players are nearing the end of their contracts.
O'Neill, currently engaged in a possible swap deal with Bradford that would see Tommy Johnson – one of his players out of contract at the end of the season – heading south and Stan Collymore going in the opposite direction, is anxious his winning formula must not be allowed to disintegrate.
Speaking after his team's 5-1 drubbing of the University of South Florida in Tampa on their mid-season United States tour on Wednesday night, O'Neill had new contract negotiations in mind for his squad.
He said: "I think we will do something before the season starts again but I have not done anything yet.
"We have a number of players who are at the end of their contracts and even some who have a little bit longer to go. It is my plan to sit down and discuss what the future holds.
"But I want to do exactly that and keep these players together and give those players at the end of their deals new contracts. I hope to keep some of the others for a little bit longer."
While two Lubo Moravcik goals, two from Johnson and one from Chris Sutton gave O'Neill's men a comfortable work-out win, the Celtic manager's decision to play Johan Mjallby may have backfired.
The Swedish international has been playing through the pain barrier with a groin strain since the start of the season.
Recently the injury has cleared and it seemed that relaxation over the winter break instead of an operation would cure the problem.
But while Paul Lambert got 45 minutes under his belt after suffering a stress fracture of the ankle in November, Mjallby's injury has returned.
O'Neill said: "Paul Lambert did very well to come through his first football since the operation. It's good to see him back playing again and fit, which is a big boost for the whole squad.
"Everyone else appears to be fine and came through all right apart from Johan Mjallby, who had a wee bit of a problem again with his groin. It's a bit disconcerting for us that this problem has come back now."
Mjallby now looks set to miss tomorrow's friendly against Major League Soccer side Tampa Bay Mutiny, but the rest of the squad are expected to figure at some stage.
O'Neill used 21 players last night but has warned his side to expect a much tougher test tomorrow.
"I expect a very difficult match for a start. But these are ideal preparations for us and for the restart of our own season," he said.
"I expect the game to be difficult and I expect the opposition to be pretty strong, but we will try and play as strongly ourselves.
"The weather has been excellent, the preparation has been great and this sort of trip is something we would love to think we could continue on a more long-term basis.
"I was very pleased indeed with the way it went against the university. This has been the first real get-together since breaking up on January 2, so from every angle I'm delighted."