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Trivia
- Celtic’s first away friendly match of the summer.
- European Cup second round next week.
- Match for the 75th anniversary for SD Eibar (Spain).
- Debut for Bailly who saves a penalty.
- Celtic will play Qarabag or Radar Pljevlja in the Champions League third qualifying round if they get past Stjarnan.
- Hat-trick from Griffiths.
- Summer transfer window
- Transfers in: Dedryk Boyata (Man City), Saidy Jonka (Man U free) ; Ciftci (Dundee Utd £1.5m)
- Transfers out: Joe Chalmers (to Motherwell) ; Tonev (end loan); Guidetti (end loan); Wakaso (end loan); Zaluska (free); John Herron (free), Amido Balde (free) ; Fridjonsson (free to Reykjavik) ; Adam Matthews (£2m to Sunderland); Paul McMullan (loan to St Mirren), Michael Duffy (Alloa season long loan), Connor McManus (Alloa season long loan) ;
Review
(grahamcl of KDS foum)
Thought the midfield did well, with Broony again outstanding. Bitton not quite at his best, but played well enough. Lyndsay did well and could be decent back-up for Brown and Bitton domestically. Janko looks to have plenty of pace and a bit of dig as well. Would be happy with him and Fisher as back up if Lustig throws another sicky.
Didn't see enough of the football I was hoping for last season with Ronny and John in charge, but definitely seeing the signs of it now. Also good to see the young boys coming in and not looking out of place. Should allow Ronny to have his smaller quality squad backed up by the youngsters.
Teams
CELTIC (4-2-3-1)
Bailly; Fisher (Janko 60), Boyata (Ambrose 46), van Dijk, Mulgrew (Izaguirre 46); Brown, Bitton (Rogic 60), Forrest (Tierney 60), Ciftci (Stokes 46), Armstrong (Lindsay 60), Griffiths
Not used: Fasan, Scepovic
Scorer: Ambrose 49, Griffiths [penalty] 59, 74, 89
SD EIBAR starting XI:
Irureta; Gayoso, Corral, Silvestre, Errasti, Etxaburu, Nieto, Arandilla, Iriarte, Luna, Keko
Scorer: Arruabarrena [penalty] 68
Referee:
Attendance:
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
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Articles
Griffiths the hat-trick hero as Celts hammer Eibar
Celticfc.net
By: Martin Dalziel in Eibar on 18 Jul, 2015 18:57
Pre-season friendly
SD Eibar 75th anniversary
Ipurua Municipal Stadium, Eibar
Saturday, July 18
CELTIC…4
(Ambrose 49, Griffiths [penalty] 59, 74, 89)
SD EIBAR…1
(Arruabarrena [penalty] 68)
A SECOND-HALF hat-trick from Leigh Griffiths helped Celtic to a 4-1 friendly victory over SD Eibar tonight (Saturday) as the La Liga side celebrated their 75th anniversary.
The Hoops striker was a thorn in the side of the hosts all evening and took his goals well, converting with conviction from the penalty spot after Efe Ambrose’s opener and then creating a wonderful strike out of seemingly nothing to put the game out of sight.
The forward then sealed his third by capitalising on a slip from Andoni Errasti and slipping the ball into the net from a tight angle.
Ronny Deila used the match to give a first start to new keeper Logan Bailly and he got an early touch of the ball after kick-off as the home side pressed high while Celtic stroked it around in the opening stages.
Nadir Ciftci got the first shot on target for the Hoops with a good header in the box but Xabi Irureta had his angles right and saved well. That was followed by a good spell of pressure from Celtic but a quick counter from Eibar led to a free-kick and shot from Dani Nieto on 16 minutes but his left-footed strike went safely over Bailly’s bar.
The Bhoys were in charge of the match with the hosts unable to deal with their quick passing but their good work was almost undone midway through the first-half when they conceded a penalty. Darnell Fisher was caught out of position with a long cross-field pass from Eibar into the box and Boyata tried his best to cover for the right-back but he blocked the lively Nieto’s shot with his hand.
The Eibar midfielder took the spot-kick himself but the effort was well saved by Bailly who dived low to his right to get a strong hand onto the shot. The keeper then had Boyata to thank when the defender had to race to the goals to hook Endika Arandilla’s lob off the line after Bailly miscued a clearance on the 18 yard line.
The chaotic Iriarte was then booked for another off the ball challenge on Scott Brown before the game settled into more of a rhythm with Celtic passing with patience and Eibar looking to hit on the break.
The Hoops had a chance to go into the lead when Ciftci won a free kick just outside the box but van van Dijk’s shot from the set-piece curled inches wide.
Boyata was called into action once more to save his side before the break and he showed excellent timing to nick the ball off Luna just before half-time as the striker threatened to pull the trigger 18 yards out.
Celtic brought on a trio of fresh faces for the second-half as the manager replaced Boyata, Mulgrew and Ciftci with Efe Ambrose, Emilio Izaguirre and Anthony Stokes.
And it was the Bhoys’ Nigerian defender who put the Celts into the lead just minutes later after he nodded home a free kick from Leigh Griffiths.
Forrest had used his pace to pull out wide right but the winger was fouled as he headed for the touchline. Griffiths curled a dangerous ball into the area from the set-piece and the defender was in the right place to cushion the ball beyond Irureta and delight the fans with his trademark celebration.
The goal brought Eibar out of their defensive shell and they could have equalised with a string of good chances in the aftermath but a combination of good defending from the Hoops and poor finishing kept Deila’s men in front.
Griffiths then turned from provider to scorer when he won a penalty after being hauled to the ground by Irureta, who had fumbled a save on his 18 yard line. The striker stepped up to take the set-piece and smashed an unstoppable shot into the right corner of the net to put the Celts 2-0 up.
The Hoops then took the advantage of the second goal to make a raft of changes as the game wore on but that encouraged Eibar, who pulled themselves back into the game when they were awarded another penalty when a shot rattled off second-half substitute Izaguirre’s arm in the box.
Substitute Mikel Arruabarrena took the responsibility and calmly converted from 12 yards.
Any hopes of a comeback where then almost immediately snuffed out when Griffiths bagged his second and Celtic’s third. The striker gathered a good pass from second-half sub Kieran Tierney on the corner of the box and fired a low shot into the net beyond Andoni Errasti at his near post.
The Hoops hit-man then sealed his hatrick two minutes before time when he forced Errasti into another slip in the box and slid a low shot into the net from a tight angle.
The victory was the perfect way for the Bhoys to prepare for Wednesday's trip to Iceland to face FC Stjarnan and gave the travelling support the entertainment their backing deserved.
CELTIC (4-2-3-1) Bailly; Fisher (Janko 60), Boyata (Ambrose 46), van Dijk, Mulgrew (Izaguirre 46); Brown, Bitton (Rogic 60), Forrest (Tierney 60), Ciftci (Stokes 46), Armstrong (Lindsay 60), Griffiths
Not used: Fasan, Scepovic
SD EIBAR starting XI: Irureta; Gayoso, Corral, Silvestre, Errasti, Etxaburu, Nieto, Arandilla, Iriarte, Luna, Keko
Celtic 4 SD Eibar 1: Leigh Griffiths hat-trick assures Hoops victory over La Liga side
Daily Record
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-match-reports/celtic-4-sd-eibar-1-6094453
THE striker was a thorn in the flesh of the hosts throughout the game, proving the friendly to be a worthwhile exercise for boss Ronny Deila.
LEIGH Griffiths saw off another challenge to his penalty prowess in Eibar last night – and this time he bravely backed it up.
The Celtic striker’s hat-trick earned the Hoops a 4-1 win in a fraught and feisty friendly against the La Liga minnows.
But he needs to bat off another of his team-mates trying to cut his spot-kick grass to grab the first of them.
After Stefan Johansen undermining him into a miss in midweek, this time Nir Bitton asked the striker if he was OK to take it.
Griffiths kept his cool, though – and this time he smashed home sweetly.
He stuck by his vow to field a strong side, only Craig Gordon and Mikael Lustig excused duties from midweek.
That mean a chance to give keeper Logan Bailly his first appearance, and the former Borussia OH Leuven look the part, saving a spot-kick and distributing the ball well.
Starting Griffiths up front with Nadir Ciftci off, Virgil van Dijk was also stretching his legs ahead of his comeback from European suspension on Wednesday alongside Dedryck Boyata.
That also meant a move to left back for Charlie Mulgrew, a possible precursor to him taking Emilio Izaguirre’s place in midweek after the Honduran’s shaky show against Stjarnan.
And if Deila wanted it competitive, he got it. In the first five minutes Eibar centre mid Eddy Sylvestre had laid out Nir Bitton with a thudding elbow-led challenge and Julen Iriarte twice got skipper Scott Brown irked with a couple of late and deliberate digs.
To be fair, it’s exactly the kind of test they needed after their cobweb-strewn show on Wednesday.
Eibar – relegated after finishing 18th in la Liga, reprieved after Elche were sent down for tax irregularities in their place, and now hanging by a thread awaiting their rivals’ appeal – weren't worst.
But once the pageantry and the pomp was done before kick off, one theme they couldn't lose was a decent chance being passed up though – and Nadir Ciftci still failed to break his duck, despite Leigh Griffiths sticking a great cross flush on his forehead six yards out, heading straight at the keeper.
Van Dijk matched him, squirting a free volley past from the same distance from a wonderful Mulgrew deep free kick.
Eibar’s spot kick came in 25 minutes, Boyata sliding in to deny Nieto’s shot at point blank range. The handball shout look harshly judged, considering the proximity of the impact – but Bailly bailed his fellow Belgian out with the save.
The stopper repaid the favour five minutes later, however, when the keeper lost the place at the edge of the box, gifting Endika Arandilla a lobbed shot which Boyata superbly scooped off the line.
The tempo was decent, and despite the temperature dropping from the oven of the Basque afternoon, Deila decided to make three changes at the break, Anthony Stokes, Efe Ambrose and Izaguirre coming in for Ciftci, Boyata and Mulgrew.
Eibar, on the other hand, took the luxury of changing their entire XI.
While they were busy sorting themselves out, though, Celtic took advantage, Ambrose stooping to head home a deadly Griffiths free kick.
And on the hour, the second came, sub keeper Andoni Errasti crazily clawing down Griffiths on the edge of the box, before the striker stepped up to smack it home off the inside of the post.
Deila instantly changed out another four, their jobs done, with Saidy Janko, Tom Rogic, Kieran Tierney and Jamie Lindsay coming on.
Replacing three quarters of their defence had left them looking a little vulnerable – although they were desperately unlucky to lose a goal to yet another questionable handball decision, this time Izaguirre taking one flush from a yard away.
Bailly was done this time, Mikel Arruabarrena going down the middle to put the home side on the scoresheet.
But the game wasn’t done and neither was Griffiths, finishing things off with a nice step inside and a 25 yard strike off the inside of the other postm, before capitalising on another howler from the keeper to slot home his third at the death.