2015-11-05: Celtic 1-2 Molde, UEFA Cup

Trivia

• "If you were to cast Ronny Deila in a movie, he'd have to be Bill Murray's character in Groundhog Day, a man who lives his life in a loop, waking every morning to the realisation that everything that happened yesterday was about to happen all over again today. That was Hollywood and a piece of fantasy. This was Glasgow and too much reality." – Tom English (BBC)
• UEFA Cup, Europa League Group Stages, Round 4 of games
• Celtic bottom of group and Molde top. Ajax Fenerbahçe draw nil nil other game.
• At outset a vital game to win else most certainly out of European competition before Xmas. With this defeat there is only an outside chance to qualify through to the KO stages.
• Molde have now beaten Celtic twice in a row, scoring four goals over Celtic and are mid table in Norway. Shambolic. Celtic have slipped badly.
• Only good point was great performance by the mercurial Kieran Tiernay. Likely to become first choice left back ahead of Izaguirre.
• Nir Bitton signs new long term contract. Good news as he's been our best player this season.
• Rangers(OldCo): HMRC win their appeal against Rangers, and effectively state it was “common sense” that taxes should have been paid and they cheated, and players wouldn’t have come to Rangers without it. Major ruling. They cheated and finally justice is being served.
• Delivering the opinion of the court, Lord Drummond Young said: “That accords with common sense. If the law were otherwise, an employee could readily avoid tax by redirecting income to members of his family to meet outgoings that he would normally pay: for example to a trust for his wife…or to trustees to pay for his children’s education or the outgoings on the family home…The funds are ultimately derived as consideration for the employee’s services, and on that basis they are properly to be considered emoluments or earnings.”
• So will the titles they earned during the period of EBT’s be stripped off them?
• Rangers Newco reveal financial year loss of £7.5m.
• And icing on the cake, arch hun Andy Goram had his driving licence revoked. Happy days.

Review

(mubo l of KDS)
First and foremost I'd like to congratulate Molde on their thoroughly deserved victory and qualification to the Last 32. I hope their travelling support enjoyed the fireworks emanating from the Glesga skyline, I sure as hell didn't.

Kieran Tierney okay enough of the positives.

Aside from the first 10 minutes of either half, we were a shambles. Tierney aside, no player imposed themself. There was a collective lack of desire, no leadership whatsoever. Passing was sloppy, defending utterly diabolical. Clearly that risk on Jozo paid off big time. And as for Boyata-Blackett? Possibly the worst centre back pairing we've had in a European group game this century. A man of 40 years and 3 months scoring the decisive winner really took the biscuit, although said 40 year old bossing our midfield actually took the piss.

Speaking of Blackett, as awful as he was, to take him off and switch Bitton to centre back in an attempted 3-5-2 reshuffle was tactically embarrassing. For that alone, the red card was merited… oh and Johansen is now suspended, now all bad I s'ppose. Full time booing was also justified.

Even putting aside the feat of losing at home to a 6th placed Norwegian team (again), tonight was soul destroying. Especially the last 10 minutes when Molde started the ole's for Ole, and humiliated Celtic in the process. I felt exactly the same way at Murrayfield last year when Legia destroyed us, on the park at least.

Whether in the current PLC structure or otherwise, Deila cannot be trusted any longer. The day after Sunday's trip to the Highlands would be an ideal time to sack the coaching staff as we have an upcoming 2 week break before our next game. We need to bed in the new manager, so that whoever they are have months and not weeks – as well as a January transfer window – to build ahead of next season's qualifiers. On the plus side, they won't be too expensive to bin. Oh and none of the above will happen, I fully expect Deila to be given til the end of the season because we don't have the guts to sack the wrong man because he happens to lead a one horse race.

Oh well.

And on the night of our worst European defeat at Parkhead this century, just 3 years after we beat Barcelona on route to the Last 16, Ronny was asked whether Molde are a better team than Celtic Football Club. His response?

"Yeah they have shown that now"

I think that says it all.

#BecauseCeltic

(Beaumont B of KDS)
truly woeful and gutless teirney aside. boyata, rogic and bitton at least didn't hide although all 3 were dreadful. the rest hide like scared little kids running from the boogie man. until johansson got booked on 66mins i forget he was playing he was hiding so much. i wanted blackett ahead of efe but by christ he was awful. he made boyata look like ramos in comparison. i would not be surprised if he never plays for us again.

ronny i am sorry but you are looking more and more like mowbury from the poor selections, weird substitutions, lack of shape and looking frankly gormless at the touchline. time to go

Teams

Celtic

Substitutes

• 02 Blackett (Ciftci – 69' )
• 03 Izaguirre
• 04 Ambrose
• 07 Ciftci
• 16 Mackay-Steven
• 26 Bailly
• 49 Forrest

Goals

• Commons 26′

Molde

Substitutes

• 02 Semb Berge
• 04 Gabrielsen
• 11 Kamara
• 15 Flo
• 19 Hestad
• 21 Pinto Moraes Junior
• 34 da Silva

Goals

• Elyounoussi 21′
• Hestad 37′

Articles

• Match Report (see end of page below)

Pictures

• Match Pictures

Forum

• Pre-match
• Match
• Post Match http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/9260255/9/?x=50

MOTM

• Voting Thread
• Result Thread
• Winner –

Stats

Match Stats
Possession
Celtic Molde
48% 52%
90 mins
Shots
16 9
On target
8 2
Corners
6 7
Fouls
13 10

Articles

Celtic 1 – 2 Molde: More disappointment for Celtic
by STEPHEN HALLIDAY
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/celtic-1-2-molde-more-disappointment-for-celtic-1-3939047

updated 02:38 Friday 06 November 2015 published 20:15 Thursday 05 November 2015
CREDIBILITY in Europe as Celtic manager remains as distant a prospect as ever for Ronny Deila after another miserable night for his team.
The Scottish champions are on the brink of elimination from the Europa League after Molde completed back-to-back victories over them to secure their own passage into the last 32 of the tournament.
The final whistle was greeted by a chorus of jeers from the home fans who had witnessed another display of shambolic defending by a team who have now conceded 13 goals in their last six European fixtures.


Remarkably, Celtic could still join Molde in the knockout stages. Despite being bottom of Group A with just two points, victories at home to Ajax and away to Fenerbahce in their remaining two fixtures would take them through. But there is little evidence to support belief that scenario could play out.

Celtic will face Ajax in three weeks’ time without Nir Bitton, sent off in the closing stages last night, and Stefan Johansen who collected his third booking of the tournament. It was a night when almost anything which could go wrong for Celtic did go wrong.
As much as his own players were the architects of their defensive downfall yet again at this level, Deila would also have felt the footballing fates were conspiring against him in the opening stages of a tumultuous contest.
Just four minutes in, Jozo Simunovic collapsed on the turf following a challenge by Tommy Hoiland. The Croatian central defender had been a doubtful starter because of an ankle injury and, after lengthy treatment, he was unable to continue.
Deila opted for Tyler Blackett, rather than the error-prone Efe Ambrose, to come off the bench to replace Simunovic alongside Dedryck Boyata in the heart of his back four.


Celtic thought they had responded to that early disruption in the best possible fashion when Nir Bitton’s shot from distance beat Molde goalkeeper Ethan Horvath and nestled in the corner of the net in the tenth minute.
But their celebrations were halted by an offside flag against Leigh Griffiths who was lurking around the six-yard box in front of Horvath.
The frustration of the home support and players intensified when Griffiths was ruled offside again two minutes later, this time when he netted from close range after Horvath parried a Kris Commons shot.
Celtic had at least opened up firmly on the front foot but it did not take long for Molde to expose the all-too-familiar vulnerability of Deila’s team at the other end of the pitch.


There was a let-off for the hosts when Hoiland was allowed to race clear on goal, only a poor touch from the Molde striker denying him a clear shooting chance.
But the visitors were not so wasteful when presented with their next opportunity in the 21st minute. It was a horrible moment for Blackett as the on-loan Manchester United player sent a defensive header tamely into the path of Mohamed Elyounoussi.
The forward had time to steady himself on the edge of the box and guide a curling right-foot shot beyond Craig Gordon’s left hand and into the corner of the net.
In a contest which was compelling to watch, as much for the haphazard nature of both teams’ play as for any great quality on view, Celtic’s response was frantic and brought them an equaliser five minutes later.
Kieran Tierney, preferred to Emilio Izaguirre at left-back, hoisted in a good cross which Vegard Forren was unable to clear properly.
The ball fell to Bitton whose 25-yard shot was not cleanly struck, but the ball was diverted by Commons’ instinctive flick beyond the wrong-footed Horvath.
A shocking error by Horvath should have led to Celtic taking the lead in the 32nd minute, his poor kick-out going straight to Tom Rogic.
The Australian was unable to capitalise, though, his shot parried by the scrambling ’keeper. The ball broke to Commons whose shot was blocked on the line by Daniel Hestad.
If that was an heroic contribution to his team’s cause by Molde captain Hestad, the veteran midfielder bettered it when he put them 2-1 in front five minutes later.
It was another calamity at the back for Celtic as Elyounoussi was allowed to muscle his way to the byeline on the right-hand side of the penalty area.
His lofted pass to the far post found 40-year-old Hestad stretching his right boot beyond the unconvincing challenge of Blackett to force the ball home from close range.
Celtic were forced into another change at half-time, Commons failing to reappear for the second half as he was replaced by James Forrest.
Tierney forced Horvath into a smart save following a positive run and shot by the teenager but Molde continued to look likely to inflict damage with every counter-attack. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer introduced Ola Kamara, so dangerous in Norway two weeks ago, for Hoiland to refresh his team’s attacking threat.
Mikael Lustig, captain again for Celtic in the absence of the injured Scott Brown, thought he had dragged his team level when he met a Stuart Armstrong cross with a sweet header but he was denied by a brilliant reaction save by the erratic Horvath.
Celtic came close again from the resulting corner kick, whipped in from the right by Griffiths, when Bitton saw his close range effort scrambled off the line.
Nothing was going right for Deila’s men and Johansen triggered a suspension when he was booked for a foul on Elyounoussi, ruling him out of the visit of Ajax. Griffiths then passed up a glorious opportunity to make it 2-2. Picked out by Johansen’s pass, Celtic’s top scorer had beaten the offside trap this time but shanked his close-range shot wide. The tale of woe continued with Bitton’s dismissal 14 minutes from time, the Israeli shown a straight red card for hauling down Kamara with the Molde substitute poised to race clear on goal.
As Molde saw out the first victory ever by a Norwegian team on Scottish soil, it all added up to another desolate night for the country’s eve- diminishing reputation in Europe.
SCORERS: Celtic – Commons (26’); Molde – Elyounoussi (21’), D.Hestad (37’)
Referee: S.Vincic (Slovenia)
CELTIC: Gordon, Lustig, Boyata, Simunovic (Blackett 9) (Ciftci 69), Tierney; Bitton, Johansen; Commons (Forrest 46), Rogic, Armstrong; Griffiths. Subs not used: Bailly, Izaguirre, Ambrose, Mackay-Steven.
MOLDE: Horvath, Linnes, Toivio, Forren, Rindaroy; Singh, D.Hestad, Hussain (Gabrielsen 90+4); Mostrom (E.Hestad 62), Hoiland (Kamara 46), Elyounoussi. Subs not used: Neydson, Berge, Flo, Agnaldo.

BBC

By Alasdair Lamont
BBC Scotland at Celtic Park Celtic's defensive frailties were exposed again as their chances of Europa League progress were severely dented by a home defeat by Molde.
First-half goals by Mohamed Elyounoussi and captain Daniel Hestad did the damage as Molde reached the last 32.
Kris Commons had briefly drawn Celtic level but Ronny Deila's side could not muster a second goal and had midfielder Nir Bitton sent off on 75 minutes.
Celtic are bottom of Group A, but two wins will see them through.
They face Ajax at home on 26 November before travelling to Turkey to face Fenerbahce on 10 December.
Case for the defence
The departure of the injured Jozo Simunovic after only nine minutes did nothing to aid Celtic's hopes of keeping the Norwegians out and his replacement, Tyler Blackett, was involved in the concession of the opening goal.
His headed half-clearance was chested down by Elyounoussi and with no pressure applied to the winger, he was able to let it bounce before thumping it past a static Craig Gordon.
Molde's second was even poorer from Celtic's perspective.
Elyounoussi outmuscled Tom Rogic almost on the byeline, and when his cross arrived at the back post, Hestad showed greater desire than Blackett to stab the ball over the line, becoming the oldest player to score in a Europa League tie, at the age of 40.
Mohamed Elyounoussi opened the scoring with a wonderful volley Mohamed Elyounoussi opened the scoring with a wonderful volley
Blackett's ignominy was complete when he was taken off to be replaced by Nadir Ciftci, and though Bitton slipped into central defence to replace him, he was soon off as well, having hauled down Ola Kamara as he burst through on goal.
Pressure back on Deila
Celtic's response to their 3-1 defeat in Norway two weeks ago had been impressive, as they steamrollered Dundee United, Hearts and Aberdeen.
That had alleviated much of the criticism that had come Deila's way, but despite his recent impassioned defence of the job he is doing, it is sure to mount again.
The Celtic manager stresses he has the backing of both chief executive Peter Lawwell and major shareholder Dermot Desmond.
Commons diverted Bitton's shot into the net for the leveller Commons diverted Bitton's shot into the net for the leveller
Both men have set the parameters by which Deila will be judged and imposed a stricter budget with which to impose his vision, yet neither could have lowered their expectations to accommodate such under-achievement in Europe.
Unlucky Celtic?
The result might have been very different had either of Celtic's early strikes counted, but marginal offside decisions meant Bitton and Leigh Griffiths were both left disappointed.
They did haul themselves back into the match when Commons redirected Bitton's half-hit volley to wrong-foot Ethan Horvath.
And the keeper denied them a second equaliser with two outstanding saves from headers by Mikael Lustig and Bitton, while the usually deadly Griffiths volleyed millimetres wide.
Nonetheless, Molde watched a Joona Toivio free-kick whistle by the post and an outstanding Kamara effort from outside the box rattled the bar, so the Norwegians' victory was scarcely a fluke.
This was simply another lacklustre European performance by a Celtic team capable of so much better.

Celtic 1-2 Molde: Groundhog Day for Ronny Deila in Europe Tom English
BBC