2013-08-07: Elfsborg 0-0 Celtic, European Cup

Match Pictures | Matches: 2013 – 2014 | 2013-14 Pictures

Trivia

• European Cup Champions League 2012-13.
• Third Round qualifying, Leg 2 of 2 (aggregate 1-0 to Celtic, 1-0 First Leg)
• Celtic loan player Bangura playing for Elfsborg. Dreadful for Celtic, not bad for Elfsborg. He was eligible to play in this match, and again was Elfsborg's best player but wasted a couple of gilt edged chances. Thankfully never scored either leg.
• Plastic pitch, must be the fastest surface there is. Passes went awry all the time. Not easy.
• St Johnstone playing Minsk on Thursday with 1-0 advantage in Uefa Cup. Good luck to them.
• Boerrigter out of match injured in his debut.
• Summertime and the transfer window is underway.
• Out so far: Miku, Lassad, Rogne, Wanyama, Hooper, Daryl Murphy
• In so far: Amido Baldé, Van Dijk, Mouyokolo, Boerrigter
• Papers claim transfer fee agreed to sell Wilson for £2.5m to Notts Forest. Disappointing if true.
• Green Brigade section 111, is to be closed down due to non-adherence to warnings by Celtic for the 'lateral movement' which is a safety issue. Not good situation. Supporters very much divided.
• Walter Smith leaves Sevco as their token Chairman (Ally McCoist to follow on way out?)

Review

(SacredHoops of KDS forum)
Dire from start to finish.

Stuff not coming off, misplaced passes, losing the ball etc I can handle. What makes me effing furious though is watching players of the calibre of Brown, Ledley and Samaras (probably our 3 top earners) hiding from the ball, desperate not to receive a pass, and when they get the ball taking no responsibility to be positive. Joe Ledley isn't going to nip past 5 players and stick it in the net, but against that mob tonight you'd expect him and Brown to contribute more than about 50 passes back to the goalie. Samaras as well offered absolutely nothing. No intelligent runs, no meaningful challenges for aerial balls (we should be experts on them by now) and no signs of looking like he's got it. Great player on his day, but one game in every three or four he is stinking.

In dire need of a centre forward, a midfielder and a centre half.

Glad we're through but we made hard work of it against a pretty rotten team.

(leangreen of KDS forum)

Izaguirre. Brown. Commons. In decreasing order of responsibility for that embarrassment.

The reason I don't select the former two in pre-match threads is because I know they are dreadfully poor decision makers. This is magnified in European competition though they often fly under the average supporter's radar in domestic comp. The management bear the greatest responsibility for making them automatic first picks when they're available.

Commons looked leggy and drugged tonight. Not moving into the hole to link, and leaving the wide player isolated (at one stage around 85mins actually jogging alongside Forrest who was correctly positioned to receive/decoy while Stokes was left to take on 3 tenacious battlers 15 yards from the goal line). He didn't appear to break into a run tonight.

Did anyone notice the Elfsborg free kick from half way on the cusp of injury time had not one Celtic player beyond 20 yards?

I mean seriously folks – where do I begin? Do the coaching sessions involve basic positioning routines?

(corky buczek of KDS forum)
Need for the moloko plus after that one.

On one hand they never looked like scoring, but on the other we never looked comfortable. The second half was as turgid as you will get and our total inability to pass the ball was at times embarrassing.

Forster – 6 did what he had to do but kicking poort at times
Lustig – 7 MOTM by a mile
Ambrose – 5 Not good but Elfsborg didn't really create a chance
Wilson – 6 Did what he had to do
Izzy -4 I thought he was our biggest accident waiting to happen – others on this thread seem to disagree
Forrest – 5 poor game
Brown – 5 poor games and gave the ball away far too easily
Ledley – 6 OK but not much else
Commons – 4 dreadful
Mulgrew – 5 playing him on the left of midfield worked at Ibrox in Jan 2011 – it has rarely worked since and not tonight.
Samaras – 5 poor
Stokes – 5 the balls to him didn't do him any favours but gave away needles free kicks
Matthews – 6 – did what was asked.

We need to replace Hooper but also Wanyama. Playing Mulgrew on the left doesn't work. Need competition at left back and Wilson goes we will need another centre half.

Only thing positive you can say is at least we're through.

And for all the talk about how difficult Bangura was to play against – would any of us pay £2M for him. I certainly wouldn't – for his nuisance value he never looked like scoring.

Teams

Articles

• Match Report (see end of page below)
• Audio Report: Paradise Report

Pictures

• Match Pictures

Forum

• Pre-match
• Match
• Post Match

MOTM

• Voting Thread
• Result Thread
• Winner –
• 2013-14 Winners

Stats

Elfsborg Celtic
Possession
51% 49%
90mins

Shots
12 7

On target
5 2

Corners
3 4

Fouls
10 10

Articles

Elfsborg 0 Celtic 0; agg 0-1: match report

Telegraph

By Roddy Forsyth, Boras Arena

8:50PM BST 07 Aug 2013

A stuffy but effective performance by Celtic in the Boras Arena saw their back line – including Kelvin Wilson in his final appearance for Neil Lennon’s side before returning to Nottingham Forest for £2.5 million – hold Elfsborg at bay to move one step closer to a second successive appearance in the Champions League group stage by reaching the tournament play-offs.

Celtic made two changes from their weekend victory over Ross County, with Charlie Mulgrew replacing the injured Derk Boerrigter and Georgios Samaras – so frequently a crucial figure in the Hoops’ European exploits last season – given the nod ahead of Anthony Stokes.

Elfsborg, meanwhile, went in with the same players who took the field in the first leg in Glasgow last week, which meant that Mo Bangura was present despite the hamstring concern that prompted a fitness test during the warm-up for the forward, on loan from Parkhead.

Celtic, of course, had cavilled at the use of their employee prior to the first leg, with Elfsborg retorting that since they were paying his wages, they would decide if he should participate, which he duly did.

Bangura was as effective in the first leg as he had been when part of the Celtic squad but he did not lack opportunities to restore his reputation in a first half that saw Elfsborg look lively and eager on their artificial surface.

Bangura had been allocated a lone attacking role in their first instalment of the tie but had James Keene for company on this occasion. Nevertheless, all the big chances for the home side fell to Bangura in the opening 45 minutes and all in the same fashion.

Stefan Ishizaki, breaking wide right, found the striker no fewer than three times with crosses that offered him clear chances with the target dead ahead of him. However, despite a promising start which saw him take a touch before striking an overhead kick which had Fraser Forster scrambling across his goal line, Bangura contrived to put every attempt off the mark, most culpably when he was offered an unopposed header inside the box in the 10th minute only to float it too high.

Bangura’s contributions, ineffectual as they might have been, were a warning to Celtic that the tie was far from secure. In contrast, a goal for Lennon’s side would put the issue out of Elfsborg’s reach and midway through the first half the point was emphasised when Jon Jonsson clumsily handled on the edge of his own box.

Mulgrew, who usually pulls the trigger in such situations, stepped up but his action was a feint to allow Kris Commons to strike the dead ball, but his attempt struck the wall and fell for Joe Ledley, who pounced on the rebound to deliver a venomous drive. It looked certain to find the net but Kevin Stuhr-Ellegaard stuck out an arm longer than his name to turn the ball wide of his left-hand post.

The Welshman might also have doubled Celtic’s advantage with a swirling drive from distance on the verge of half time. The pattern thus established was extended almost undisturbed beyond the interval until a flurry of substitutions enlivened the proceedings.

Two were intentional, when the anonymous Samaras made way for Stokes with 20 minutes left to play, to which Elfsborg’s response was to remove Henning Hauger from his advanced midfield role and replace him with Simon Hedlund. Between times Lennon was forced to reshuffle when Mulgrew went down heavily and had to be taken off on a stretcher and Adam Matthews sent on to fill the gap.

Celtic had dominated the second half of the first leg but were less expansive on this outing as Elfsborg put in impressive efforts to close the Scottish champions down from middle to front.

Celtic’s response was to run down the clock by taking as much time over substitutions and setpieces, to the voluble anger of the Elfsborg coach, Jorgen Lennartsson, who guaranteed a frenetic finale by removing Andreas Klarstrom and throwing on another striker in the form of David Elm.

However, four minutes plus of stoppage time – interrupted by a clash between Bangura and Scott Brown, which saw both men cautioned – passed without damage to Celtic who have now guaranteed European football until Christmas, via the Europe League, at worst.

Match details

Elfsborg (4-1-3-2): Stuhr-Ellegaard; J Larsson, Jonsson, Mobaeck (Soderberg 33), Klarstrom (Elm 84); Svensson; Ishizaki, Hauger (Hedlund 75), Rohden; Keene, Bangura.
Subs Hassan (g), S Larsson, Jorgensen, Claesson. Booked Hedlund.

Celtic (4-2-3-1): Forster; Ambrose, Wilson, Izaguirre; Brown, Ledley; Forrest, Commons, Mulgrew (Matthews 77); Samaras (Stokes 68).
Subs Zaluska (g), Balde, Mouyokolo, Watt. Booked Brown, Stokes.

Referee V Bezborodov (Russia).

BBC

By Andy Campbell BBC Sport Scotland

Celtic endured a nervous 90 minutes in Boras to complete an aggregate win against Elfsborg and progress to the Champions League play-off round.

Mohamed Bangura, who is on loan at Elfsborg from Celtic, threatened to draw the Swedes level in the tie before Joe Ledley had a shot well saved at the other end.

The hosts were lively going forward but lacked the necessary cutting edge.
Celtic's potential opponents in the next round

Austria Vienna (Austria), Maribor (Slovenia), Shakhter Karagandy (Kazakhstan), Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria), Legia Warsaw (Poland)

And Kris Commons' first-leg goal proved to be enough to send Celtic through.

Elfsborg drop into the Europa League play-off round, and the draw for that and the Champions League play-off stage will take place on Friday.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon could hardly hide his delight at the final whistle but a player he had signed just under two years ago looked more than capable of denting the manager's ambitions in the early stages at the Boras Arena.

Sierra Leone international Bangura, 24, controlled a cross with his back to goal and attempted an overhead kick that was not far wide of Fraser Forster's left-hand post.

The visitors went in search of a precious away goal but Mikael Lustig's endeavour to get to the byline was not rewarded with a header on target by Georgios Samaras.
James Keene and Kelvin Wilson

Wilson (right) was playing probably his last match for Celtic

Ledley had an even better chance to score after getting the break of the ball in a crowded penalty area, while Commons' low free-kick hit the base of the defensive wall and the Welshman retrieved only to see his shot superbly saved by former Manchester City goalkeeper Kevin Stuhr Ellegaard.

Though the hosts were seeing plenty of the ball, their final product was often poor while Celtic struggled to retain possession on the artificial pitch.

Elfsborg were in the ascendancy throughout the second period and a long throw-in gave Forster and his defence cause for concern, though the offside flag did eventually halt the attack.

The home side appealed for a penalty when Kelvin Wilson, who is expected to return to Nottingham Forest later this week, slid in to challenge James Keene in the box on the hour but referee Vladislav Bezborodov allowed play to continue, despite Keene's claim of a foul.

There was still time for Keene to blaze an injury-time volley over the bar, but Celtic held on to book their place in the next stage of the Champions League.

Live Text Commentary
90:00 +4:38 Full time

Full Time The game is over, as the referee blows the whistle.
90:00 +4:10 Booking

Booking
90:00 +3:38 Booking

Booking
90:00 +2:59

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Scott Brown by Mohamed Bangura. Simon Hedlund goes into the book for unsporting behaviour. Fraser Forster takes the free kick. Scott Brown goes into the referee's book for unsporting behaviour.
90:00 +2:04

Kris Commons decides to take the corner short.
90:00 +1:30

James Keene takes a weak shot and missed to the left of the goal.
88:47

Kris Commons decides to take a short corner.
87:57 Booking

Booking
87:46

Free kick awarded for a foul by Anthony Stokes on Tom Soderberg. Anthony Stokes booked. Free kick taken by Jon Jonsson.
86:33

Stefan Ishizaki crosses the ball dead.
84:22

Anders Svensson gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Kris Commons. Kris Commons takes the free kick.
83:48

The official flags James Forrest offside. Free kick taken by Jon Jonsson.
83:48 Substitution

Substitution David Elm joins the action as a substitute, replacing Andreas Klarstrom.
83:18

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Johan Larsson by Anthony Stokes. Jon Jonsson takes the free kick.
82:11

Anthony Stokes challenges Johan Larsson unfairly and gives away a free kick. Johan Larsson restarts play with the free kick.
78:56

Corner taken by Stefan Ishizaki. Joe Ledley manages to make a clearance.
78:09

Simon Hedlund gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Joe Ledley. Fraser Forster takes the free kick.
75:50

Anders Svensson is flagged offside by the assistant referee. Fraser Forster restarts play with the free kick.
75:04

Foul by Emilio Izaguirre on Simon Hedlund, free kick awarded. Free kick crossed by Stefan Ishizaki restarts the game.
73:37 Substitution

Substitution Simon Hedlund on for Henning Hauger.
73:37 Substitution

Substitution Adam Matthews comes on in place of Charlie Mulgrew.
70:10

Shot by Henning Hauger went wide of the right-hand upright.
68:32 Substitution

Substitution Anthony Stokes joins the action as a substitute, replacing Georgios Samaras.
65:44

Kris Commons takes a shot and missed to the right of the target.
63:56

Foul by Joe Ledley on Mohamed Bangura, free kick awarded. Anders Svensson takes the free kick.
62:50

Johan Larsson takes a shot. Fraser Forster safely holds on.
61:54

Foul by James Keene on Scott Brown, free kick awarded. Scott Brown takes the free kick.
60:00

Anders Svensson concedes a free kick for a foul on Joe Ledley. Scott Brown takes the free kick.
59:29

The ball is swung over by Johan Larsson. Clearance made by Kelvin Wilson.
58:59

The referee gives a free kick against Scott Brown for handball. Free kick taken by Anders Svensson.
58:33

Charlie Mulgrew produces a cross. Clearance made by Jon Jonsson.
56:24

The offside flag is raised against James Forrest. Tom Soderberg restarts play with the free kick.
55:00

James Keene is flagged offside by the assistant referee. Fraser Forster takes the free kick.
52:38

Foul by Scott Brown on Stefan Ishizaki, free kick awarded. Free kick crossed by Stefan Ishizaki. Clearance by Efe Ambrose.
49:50

Marcus Rohden takes a shot. Blocked by Efe Ambrose. Stefan Ishizaki decides to take a short corner. Johan Larsson takes a shot and missed to the right of the net.
45:01

The referee blows the whistle to start the second half.
45:00 +1:48 Half time

Half Time The referee calls an end to the first half.
45:00 +1:18

Joe Ledley takes a shot and missed to the right of the goal.
45:00 +0:37

Unfair challenge on Charlie Mulgrew by James Keene results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Emilio Izaguirre.
45:00 +0:23

Mohamed Bangura takes a shot. Blocked by Kelvin Wilson.
44:00

James Forrest is caught offside. Jon Jonsson takes the free kick.
42:54

Shot by Mikael Lustig went wide of the right-hand post.
41:06

James Keene delivers the ball. Fraser Forster safely holds on.
38:57

Free kick awarded for a foul by Anders Svensson on Scott Brown. Fraser Forster restarts play with the free kick.
37:00

A cross is delivered by Scott Brown. Header at goal by Charlie Mulgrew goes over the frame of the goal.
35:27

James Keene takes a shot and goes over the bar.
32:51 Substitution

Substitution Tom Soderberg joins the action as a substitute, replacing Daniel Mobaeck.
31:09

Unfair challenge on Scott Brown by Marcus Rohden results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Scott Brown. Corner taken by Charlie Mulgrew.
30:30

The official flags Mohamed Bangura offside. Kelvin Wilson takes the free kick.
28:23

The ball is crossed by Stefan Ishizaki. Header by Mohamed Bangura goes over the bar.
26:06

Anders Svensson takes a shot. Kelvin Wilson gets a block in.
22:24

The ball is delivered by Johan Larsson. Clearance made by Kelvin Wilson. Jon Jonsson concedes a free kick for a foul on Georgios Samaras. Fraser Forster takes the free kick.
19:20

Jon Jonsson is penalised for handball and concedes a free kick. Kris Commons shoots direct from the free kick against the wall. Joe Ledley takes a shot. A parry by Kevin Stuhr-Ellegaard prevents the goal. Unfair challenge on Andreas Klarstrom by Kris Commons results in a free kick. Kevin Stuhr-Ellegaard takes the free kick.
18:44

Mikael Lustig produces a cross. Clearance by Jon Jonsson.
16:36

Corner taken by Kris Commons.
14:31

Johan Larsson fouled by Georgios Samaras, the ref awards a free kick. Stefan Ishizaki crosses the ball in from the free kick. Clearance by Kelvin Wilson. Shot by Johan Larsson went wide left of the goal.
13:35

Corner taken by Stefan Ishizaki. Georgios Samaras makes a clearance.
11:31

Header at goal by Georgios Samaras goes over the frame of the goal.
10:23

Centre by Emilio Izaguirre. Kevin Stuhr-Ellegaard safely holds on.
8:24

Emilio Izaguirre gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Mohamed Bangura. Stefan Ishizaki crosses the ball in from the free kick. Charlie Mulgrew fouled by Mohamed Bangura, the ref awards a free kick. Fraser Forster takes the free kick.
7:00

Daniel Mobaeck takes a shot. Fraser Forster safely holds on.
5:33

A cross is delivered by Stefan Ishizaki. Shot by Mohamed Bangura went wide right of the net.
1:46

The official flags Kris Commons offside. Jon Jonsson restarts play with the free kick.
1:05

Jon Jonsson fouled by Georgios Samaras, the ref awards a free kick. Jon Jonsson restarts play with the free kick.
0:00

The referee gets the game underway.

Live text and data provided by The Press Associatio

Celtic close 'Green Brigade' stadium section

BBC
Celtic have closed a section of their stadium for safety reasons after repeated warnings to fans to remain seated during matches were ignored.

Fans in section 111, home to the 'Green Brigade', will now be offered a refund or given the chance to relocate.

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell has warned fans about "lateral movement" but has now decided to act.

The Green Brigade are a self-styled 'ultras' group of fans known for banner displays, demonstrations and chanting.

Manager Neil Lennon has previously praised the Green Brigade for the atmosphere they create inside Celtic Park but has also urged a minority to stop the singing that resulted in a 2011 Uefa charge of "illicit chanting".

In 2010, the group displayed a multi-part anti-poppy banner during the club's 9-0 home win against Aberdeen, which resulted in a club apology and prompted Northern Ireland DUP MP Gregory Campbell to speak out against the club.

The Green Brigade are also known for a display during matches where most of the section of fans turns its back on the pitch and celebrates by jumping up and down in a huddled gesture, which has risked falling foul of the requirements for the club's stadium safety certificate.

At a recent Champions League qualifier against Cliftonville, pyrotechnics were set off during the match requiring a stadium announcement instructing fans to desist from such behaviour. The club is now subject to disciplinary action for a contravention of Uefa's safety and security regulations.

Following that match Celtic raised concerns of overcrowding in section 111 and the refusal of spectators to comply with the direction of safety stewards.

Unsafe "lateral movement of spectators" and "body surfing" was also highlighted, along with damage to 131 seats.

Thirteen people were arrested in March after police moved in to break up what they said was an unauthorised march by the Green Brigade outside the Chrystal Bell pub in Glasgow's Gallowgate, prompting criticism of Strathclyde Police by Labour councillor George Ryan.

A further statement from the club is expected on the closure of section 111.