Match Pictures | Matches: 2024 – 2025
Trivia
- KO: 19:45 Friday; Played at Somerset Park
- Summer Friendlies season begins
- Opening of new stand at Ayr Utd.
- Ayr Utd manager is ex-Celt Scott Brown. Celtic youth player Steve Clarke was actually at Ayr on loan last season. Raft of debut matches to the first team for various youngsters.
- Nawrocki off injured after only 15mins!
- The Celtic Park stadium tour named the best family-friendly day out in the world in Tripadvisor’s ‘Best of the Best Things to Do’ Awards for 2024!
- Unveiled new home top, back to basics after unpopular home top from last season.
- Returning loanee Bosun Lawal given another chance to prove himself, various lower tier clubs down south are after him.
- Euros: quarter-finals this weekend, and two of the matches being played same time as this game.
- Euros: Scotland underwhelming and finished bottom of their group so out early doors. Matt O’Riley NOT included in Denmark squad incredibly! Four Celts in Scotland squad: Ralston, Taylor, McGregor, Forrest. Ex Celt Tierney suffered a serious injury v Switzerland, likely will again keep him out of play for months.
- Transfers
- In: return of various loanees like Lawal, Tilio, Haksabonovic;
- Out: Idah back to Norwich after loan ended; Bernardo back to Benfica after loan ended; Haksabanovic to Malmö (undisclosed); Rocco Vata to Watford (£250k compensation); Tilio back on loan to Melbourne City for 2024/25;
- Reports: Brighton, Southampton, West Ham after O’Reilly but Aston Villa & Newcastle looking elsewhere. Kyogo back to Japan to Urawa RD, may consider selling for £25m+. Portsmouth and Derby County after Bosun Lawal; Oh some interest from the continent, in talks with Genk; Celtic & Manchester United denied goalkeeper Altay Bayindir to Celtic. Celtic keen on highly-rated Swiss midfielder Alvyn Sanches after extensive scouting. Goalkeeper Kelleher from Liverpool would cost 10m! Legia Warsaw after Nawrocki for loan. Bournemouth defender Chris Mepham. Reportedly in talks with Sparta Prague for Danish goalkeeper Peter Vindahl Jensen. Kieran Tierney would “love” to return to Celtic (unlikely). Considering ex-Celt Armstrong (on a free currently). Lecce and recently relegated Frosinone rekindle interest for Gustaf Lagerbielke. Austria international Flavius Daniliuc. Parma after Haksabonovic. Martin Dubravka from Newcastle Utd. Dundee midfielder Luke McCowan. West Ham after Carter Vickers. Starfelt returning to Celtic (unlikely)? Watford opened talks with Rocco Vata. Report claims Celtic informal £7.6m offer for Fenerbahce goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic (reports later claimed deal was agreed, but all was false, and not going to Celtic). Mathias Kvistgaarden from Brondby. Jota back to Celtic? Linked to rising Swedish star Pontus Dahbo. Herediano forward Andy Rojas (Celtic claimed to offer 900k but they want 4m). Ireland international Dara O’Shea. Celtic value Adam Idah at £5m, Norwich say £8m; first Celtic bid rejected. Wilfred Ndidi from Leicester (currently free). OGC Nice in the signing of Lorient’s Yvon Mvogo (30).
- McGregor calls for Celtic to buy Bernardo on perm deal. Reports claim wages at Benfica of 20k/wk after tax too much for Celtic to match.
- Scottish Premiership clubs to ban artificial pitches from 2026/27.
- Barcelona interested in signing ex-Celt Jeremie Frimpong. So are others, big sell on cut for Celtic if it happens.
- Celtic £900k windfall as Giakoumakis completes USD10m move to Mexican side Cruz Azul.
- Haksabonovic sold to Malmo.
- Ex-Celt Owen Moffat signs for Morton.
- Ex-Celt David Marshall retires from play.
- Ex-Celt Johnny Hayes rejoins Celtic as a youth coach.
- Reports: Ex-Celt Jota would love a return from Al-Ittihad, but there has been no contact and wages make a move to England more realistic.
- Ex-Celtic manager Ronny Deila appointed Head Coach of Al Wahda (Abu Dhabi).
- Joshua Mulgrew, 16-year-old son of ex-Celt Charlie Mulgrew, signed his first professional contract at Celtic.
- Premier Sports TV to show 20 live top flight matches each season for next five years. 2024/25 will see most live matches ever broadcast from Scottish Premiership. An extra 25 Scottish League Cup group-stage matches are to be streamed live in the coming season.
- Adam Ashgar close to being appointed head coach of Celtic u18s. Current Southampton u21 manager and is an experienced youth coach with stints as Sunderland u18 manager and senior academy head coach at Dundee Utd.
- Ex-Celt Landry N’Guemo sadly died in a car accident, aged 38. RIP
- John Keane, a key Investor during the Celtic Takeover period, sadly passed away. RIP
- Respected sports journalist Brian McNally (and big Celtic fan) sadly passed away. RIP
- Rosemary Burns, widow of ex-Celt Tommy Burns, passed away. RIP
- Former Livingston & later Millwall goalkeeper Matija Sarkic died aged 26, RIP.
- Politics: Former US President Donald Trump convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in historic criminal trial.
- Politics: UK elections on 4th July: Labour landslide victory; Tories & SNP routed.
- Politics: controversial journalist Julian Assange freed!
- Tennis: Andy Murray out of Wimbledon singles (didn’t play), and lost his doubles match the day before this, and likely will retire now. Same month that the National Tennis Academy in Scotland closes and moves all operations down to England!
- Rugby: Glasgow Warriors clinch URC title.
- Ibrox stadium: Sevco say “there will be an impact on matches at Ibrox” at the start of next season after “a delay in a materials shipment from Asia”. Lots of stories flying about the state of Ibrox, inc talk about asbestos and hiding this & that etc!
- Tottenham Hotspur’s £35m new recruit Archie Gray (son of the legendary Eddie Gray) notes Celtic factor behind his move, “I’m not going to lie to you, I’m a massive Celtic fan so I love him (Postecoglou)! My whole family loves him, I haven’t really said this before to be fair. He’s also a massive factor, because playing under a good manager important for me and I’ve still got loads to learn because I’m only 18.”.
Summary
“I think there’s going to be change come the summer… It is a real bright future.”
Brendan Rodgers (May 2024)
“We could have had nine players in by now if we wanted! It is all about the right players to improve the squad. Sometimes that takes a bit of patience.” Brendan Rodgers on Celtic’s transfer plans, including questions on Adam Idah & Kasper Schmeichel
“The club are working away hard in the background, it’s a difficult time at this point of the transfer window, but I’m hopeful of getting one or two in”
Brendan Rodgers pre match
“It is going to be a very competitive league this year…”
Ayr United boss Scott Brown on their draw with former club Celtic, his hopes for the future and transfers including a move for Jake Hastie
joebloggscity of TheCelticWiki: This match was played at the same time as two quarter-finals of Euro 2024, and even with that competition on the TV, the turnout at Ayr was astonishing, and a further testament to the incredible dedication & love for the first team. Saying that, the performance was poor today by the players, admittedly mostly reserve & fringe players, although even some of the first team players were very rusty. Only Kwon, Lawal and Clark got +ve points. With all due respect to Ayr, Celtic should have done better but even struggled to get any shots at goal, and scoring only via a penalty was poor. A lot to work on, but clearly the bulk of our reserves will NOT be troubling the current first team players in the near-future. You can’t beat poor set pieces, poor defending and misplaced passes in a pre-season friendly to get the blood pressure up.
georgiebhoy of KDS: “Pre-season games like this are a useful reminder of the shampoo we still have kicking around our first team squad.”
ian1888 of KDS: “Lawal looks like he might make it. Def going to make it somewhere , hopefully with us. Loans done him good . Holm def has ability , but needs to baulk up a bit. He could do with a 12 month loan assuming we dont leave ourselves short .Clark looked the best of the goalies we saw.”
Teams
Celtic:
Bain, Dede, Welsh, Nawrocki, Kobayashi, Tomoki, Ure, Holm, Kuhn, Kyle, Kyogo.
Subs: Oluwayemi, Clarke, Yang, Oh, Kwon, Lawal, Frame, Murray, Agbaire, Bonnar, Donovan, Hatton
Goals: Kyogo (penalty)
Two different sides for each half so everyone got a run.
Ayr:
[…]
Subs:
Goals: Anton Dowds (Penalty)
Ref: Ross Hardie
Att: circa 9000
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Match Links
Articles
Kyogo is spot-on as Celts kick off pre-season with draw against Ayr United
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2024/july/05/kyogo-is-spot-on-as-celts-kick-off-pre-season-with-draw-against-ayr-united/
First Team
By Celtic Football Club
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05 Jul 2024, 10:34 pm
Pre-season friendly
Friday, July 5, 2024
Somerset Park, Ayr
AYR UNITED… 1
(Dowds 34pen)
CELTIC… 1
(Kyogo 24pen)
Celtic kicked off the first of five pre-season matches with a 1-1 draw against Ayr United at Somerset Park on Friday night.
Both goals came from the penalty spot. Kyogo put the Hoops ahead in the first-half, converting the penalty after Odin Holm had been brought down in the box. But that was cancelled out when Anton Dowds netted an equaliser.
The friendly match, which heralded the opening of a new stand at Somerset Park, also saw Scott Brown in the Ayr United dugout facing his former team, and the Celtic legend received the warmest of welcomes from the travelling Celtic support.
With many of Brendan Rodgers’ first-team regulars still to report back after their international exertions, it was a youthful squad that took on the Championship side.
But it was one of the Hoops’ top stars of the past few seasons who opened the scoring on 24 minutes.
Kyogo coolly slotted the ball into the net following a foul on Odin Holm to put Celtic ahead, but that lead only lasted 10 minutes before the home side grabbed an equaliser, also from the spot.
On a night when the Celtic manager made a whole raft of changes to give his squad their first run-out of the summer, there were to be no further goals in the game, although young Celtic keeper, Josh Clarke, who spent part of last season on loan at Ayr, produced a number of good saves to deny the home side a goal in the second-half.
Celtic, for their part, had efforts from Oh and also Mitchel Frame without really troubling the Ayr United keeper.
Next up for Brendan Rodgers’ side in a game against Queen’s Park before they head to the United States for matches against Chelsea, Manchester City and MLS side, DC United.
CELTIC: Bain, Dede, Welsh, Nawrocki, Kobayashi, Tomoki, Ure, Holm, Kuhn, Kyle, Kyogo.
Subs: Oluwayemi, Clarke, Yang, Oh, Kwon, Lawal, Frame, Murray, Agbaire, Bonnar, Donovan, Hatton
How Celtic showed up in first friendly clash – injury concern, real star of the show, Ayr put Rangers to shame
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/how-celtic-showed-up-in-first-friendly-clash-injury-concern-real-star-of-the-show-ayr-put-rangers-to-shame-4693118
Alan Pattullo
By Alan Pattullo
Published 5th Jul 2024, 21:55 BST
Updated 5th Jul 2024, 22:47 BST
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Celtic and Ayr settle for a draw on special night at Somerset Park
Completed on time and certainly well before the start of the new campaign, Ayr United have put others to shame with the punctual construction of their new North Stand.
As the match programme for this 1-1 gala friendly against Celtic pointed out, the £2 million refurbishment represents the biggest capital investment in the club’s 114-year history.
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It was fitting the champions of Scotland should be invited to open it. Although Celtic scored the first official goal in front of the new structure, Ayr United quickly equalised. It was a tale of two penalties. Kyogo Furuhashi and Anton Dowds traded well-taken efforts in the first half. The latter’s conversion was particularly nonchalant as he stroked the ball down the middle of Scott Bain’s goal.
Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi scores a penalty to make it 1-0 during a pre-season friendly match against Ayr United at Somerset Park. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)
Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi scores a penalty to make it 1-0 during a pre-season friendly match against Ayr United at Somerset Park. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)
The new stand has 748 seats. Nearly enough for every substitute who took to the field here. Celtic even used three goalkeepers, with Josh Clarke, who was on loan at Ayr last season, replacing Tobi Oluwayemi in the second half. He made a good save from Ayr substitute Frankie Musonda with ten minutes left to stop the hosts obtaining the win they craved on such a special occasion.
It’s not often the landscape of Scottish football undergoes literal change. Renovations do need to happen of course, as Rangers are finding out to their cost. But an entire new stand springing up is certainly noteworthy and interest was underlined by the impressive attendance of around 9,500. Celtic fans were still trying to get in as the minutes ticked down before half time.
The Ayr United Tannoy announcer could still be heard pleading with the away fans to move further down the terrace to let their fellow supporters in ten minutes before the break. Were they all here to admire the new structure? Maybe not. If it was new signings that interested them, they were disappointed. Celtic have still to make a signing worth the name this summer.
Kyogo and perhaps winger Nicolas Kuhn were the only players in their starting line-up who are likely to be on the pitch for flag day against Kilmarnock next month. Three teenagers started and another, 19-year-old Lenny Agbaire, soon joined the trio of Josh Dede, Kyle Ure and Andrew Kyle.
Ayr’s new North Stand at Somerset Park was packed to the rafters for its official opening during the pre-season visit of Celtic. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)
Ayr’s new North Stand at Somerset Park was packed to the rafters for its official opening during the pre-season visit of Celtic. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)
Centre-half Stephen Welsh took the armband and he had Maik Nawrocki for company beside him. Well, for a short while at least. The Polish defender just cannot catch a break at Celtic. He was forced off after 17 minutes and was replaced by Agbaire, who sadly was at fault just 25 or so minutes later when George Oakley rolled him with considerable ease. Agbaire upended the former Morton striker in his eagerness to atone for the mistake. Dowds stroked the ball home to make it 1-1. It wasn’t quite a Panenka but it was near enough to be put in mind of such a memorable Euros moment.
Kyogo’s earlier penalty after 22 minutes – after Ayr skipper Ben Demspey was penalised for a clumsy challenge on Odin Holm – was a more straightforward tucked-into-the-corner effort.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers made ten substitutions at half-time. Only first-half sub Agbaire remained on the pitch. It meant being able to run the rule over Bosun Lawal, the young Irish midfielder who caused a stir on loan at Fleetwood Town last season. He looked promising but Ure caught the eye more in the opening 45 minutes.
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The star of the show? Well, sorry, but it remained the new stand. Cover on all four sides of the stadium has meant realising a dream dating back to 1933, when the then club chairman Alex Moffat made the point while opening the Railway End enclosure that it was the ambition of the directors to “fully enclose the park”.
At around 7.41pm on 5 July 2024 that finally happened, with chairman David Smith’s elderly parents having the honour of cutting the ribbon. The young Smith would stand with dad Alex on the north terracing.
Some of this terracing remains but it has been complemented by a new stand above. A cantilevered roof canopy shelters the new seats as well as those standing on the steps below, not that this was required here. The bright sunshine Ayr had ordered for the historic occasion arrived as planned. It illuminated a pleasing scene where old met new, and we are not just talking about Rodgers’ first dugout meeting with Scott Brown.
The main stand at Somerset Park was designed by revered stadium architect Archibald Leitch and opened in September 1924, which means another special occasion is imminent at this stadium. What a season it would be if Brown could now lead Ayr up.
Related topics:RangersStephen WelshScot
Scott Brown trying to shake off ex-Celtic captain tag at Ayr United as previous boss jailed for £15m fraud
Alan Pattullo
By Alan Pattullo
Published 4th Jul 2024, 22:36 BST
Updated 4th Jul 2024, 22:43 BST
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/scott-brown-trying-to-shake-off-ex-celtic-captain-tag-at-ayr-united-as-previous-boss-jailed-for-ps15m-fraud-4691596
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Over 9,000 expected for friendly match to open Somerset Park stand
It seems appropriate that among the programme covers forming part of a table-top design inside the Ayr United hub where Scott Brown is speaking to reporters is from a game against Celtic.
Priced just 15p, it’s from Hogmanay 1977 – the last season that the Somerset Park club were in the Scottish top flight. Ayr won 2-1 with a late goal from Brian McLaughlin, who had just joined from Celtic. The game was held up five minutes to allow the large crowd in.
There could be similar scenes this evening when Brown is pitted against Brendan Rodgers for the first time. Over 9,000 tickets have already been sold for a game arranged to open the impressive new North Stand at Somerset Park. Hopes are high in the area that the meeting can herald a more permanent return to the big time for Ayr under Brown, who harbours similarly lofty ambitions having taken the team from ninth to a point off fifth place in the Championship last season. The process of reinventing himself remains ongoing.
Celtic captain Scott Brown (left) with manager Brendan Rodgers as he prepared to play his 500th match for the club.
Celtic captain Scott Brown (left) with manager Brendan Rodgers as he prepared to play his 500th match for the club.
“I need to get away from the whole ex-Celtic captain thing,” says Brown. “I’ve not been there for a long time now. I think it’s over three years now. Me, I am the Ayr manager and I want to play the style and a way myself and Steven (Whittaker) believe we want to play. Hopefully you get to see that – if we get a touch of the ball against Celtic! It’d be lovely.
“But for us it’s push up the league. We can’t be dealing with fighting a relegation zone or being part of that relegation zone. Yes, it is going to be a lot tighter this season. I don’t see there being a clear out and out team that’s going to run away with the league.
“I might be 100 per cent wrong but at the other end as well, there’s not going to be a clear relegation battle. So it might be very tight. It makes it entertaining, but we have to have belief and strength for the way we want to play and continue to do that.”
Brown will be helped by a more stable environment than was the case when he made his first dive into management at Fleetwood Town. A year ago yesterday, as Brown continued preparations for what he hoped would be his second full season in management following a successful debut campaign, he heard the news that the man who appointed him, Andy Pilley, had been jailed for 13 years for £15million fraud. Unsurprisingly, the serious nature of their benefactor’s plight knocked the club off course. Brown departed in September having already made history by taking Fleetwood to the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time.
“You don’t expect the owner to go to jail for 13 years on your first job,” he reflects. He glances towards his current boss, David Smith. A respected figure in the building trade, he has been the driving force behind the construction of the new stand. “There’s one good thing about this owner, he’s not going to jail for 13 years!” says Brown.
“I think the second managerial job you go into is very important because you learn a lot from the mistakes and what you did in the first one and you have that little bit more background search,” he adds. “We went into Fleetwood and had fantastic facilities. They had everything you wanted as a League One club but behind the scenes it was a wee bit crazy, which we were okay with because we quite enjoyed that. Seeing the chairman going: ‘Right, we’re going to sign him’. I’m like: ‘Here we go, this is brilliant’. Then the second season it’s: ‘You’ve got no money to sign him’ and you’re like: ‘Oh no’.”
Not even Rodgers was able to warn Brown about this. The pair still talk regularly, most recently on holiday in Majorca earlier this summer. Does he court his advice? “All the time,” says Brown. “I have no shame over that whatsoever.”
From summer sun to Somerset. It will be down to serious business this evening, when Brown will have the chance to judge his team against the champions of Scotland, albeit in unfamiliar guise. Despite his connections, the Ayr manager has not been able to ascertain the make-up of the Celtic squad. He does know the likes of James Forrest and Callum McGregor, his two last “contacts” on the playing side, will be absent, although you never know with McGregor. As it stands, Brown won’t bring himself on.
“If Call was playing I would come on for five minutes!” he says. “See if I can get in his head! Or Jamesie’s.”
The new stand currently bears no name other than ‘North’, although it does house an Ally MacLeod Suite.
Significant years have been daubed on the walls of the Ayr hub and there’s room for more. Promotion in 2025 would merit inclusion while surely solving the question of who to name the new part of the ground after. Scott Brown is intent on making history again.
Brendan Rodgers lifts lid on Celtic transfer state of play – goalkeeper latest, Adam Idah situation, interest in striker
Alan Pattullo
By Alan Pattullo
Published 5th Jul 2024, 23:15 BST
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What the Celtic manager said after the 1-1 draw with Ayr United
Brendan Rodgers has urged patience after he watched Celtic start their pre-season schedule with a 1-1 draw against Ayr United at Somerset Park.
Although it was an unfamiliar looking Celtic side, this was not because of new signings. Rodgers took the opportunity to field several youngsters and made ten substitutions at half time. The manager made 12 in total.
Rodgers was forced into a change before the interval when injury-jinxed defender Maik Nawrocki was forced off after 17 minutes. The Polish defender was only able to make 14 appearances last season.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers spoke after the 1-1 draw with Ayr United at Somerset Park. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers spoke after the 1-1 draw with Ayr United at Somerset Park. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)
“He felt a little something in his calf so we’ll just have to see what that is tomorrow,” said Rodgers.
The manager also revealed that Gustaf Lagerbielke had a knock and so was not considered while Liam Scales and Matt O’Riley will come back in for the midweek game against Queen’s Park.
“Liam is just back,” he said. “He was on international duty so he’ll come into the fold for the game next week. Gus had a twist on his ankle and knee in training so he’s probably going to be a week out. Matt O’Riley is back in, a few of the other guys have started to drip feed in, so they’ll come into the game for next Wednesday.”
The manager expressed his hope that there will be new signings in place before Celtic head to the States on tour later this month. “That’s the plan,” he said. “I think every manager would like them in on the first day but what’s most important is the players we want are targeted. We know what we want to bring in to improve the squad and I’m sure over the coming weeks we’ll conclude the deals and get us stronger for next season.”
He asked the fans for patience and will feel he deserves to be trusted after winning round the supporters again last season as Celtic warded off Rangers to secure the double.
“We could have had nine players in by now if we wanted but it’s all about the right players that we want to improve the squad,” he said. “There’s no point in us doing anything other than that, and sometimes that takes a little bit of patience. In the world nowadays, where everything’s immediate, everyone thinks you can do it straight away but it’s not always the case. There’s always a collaboration between ourselves and another club to get the players that we want but I’m very hopeful that come the end of the window, we’ll have a really strong squad and be ready and prepared for an exciting season.”
Negotiations are continuing with Norwich City in an attempt to bring Adam Idah back to the club on a permanent basis following his successful loan spell last season. “Adam’s a Norwich player so I’m not in the mood to be talking about other players at other clubs,” Rodgers said. “But he’s a player that came in here, did exceptionally well, and we’ll see what happens.
“As soon as any players come in, you guys will be the first to know about it. Until then, there’s just a lot of work going on behind the scenes. There’s lots of time. Of course, we would want to get them in sooner rather than later. But it’s always a two-way thing, so hopefully we can get them done in the coming weeks.”
One of the most pressing issues is that of goalkeeper. Celtic utilised three against Ayr United but none of the trio – Scott Bain, Tobi Oluwayemi and Josh Clarke – will likely start against Kilmarnock on August 4 when the champions kick off their title defence. With Joe Hart having retired, Rodgers needs another experienced ‘keeper. Work is ongoing in that department too.
“Yes, it is one of the areas we have needed to improve,” said Rodgers. “And we have known that since Joe said he was leaving. So yes, that again will take a bit of time. But we hope to have that done by the beginning of the season for sure.”
He was asked specifically about links with Kasper Schmeichel, whose interest in Euro 2024 has just ended with Denmark. He spent last season at Anderlecht but worked with Rodgers at Leicester City.
“There are loads of names flying about so a good one would be nice!” he said. “Kasper is a very good one and I know Kasper really well, but there are lots of names and clearly I am not going to tell you who those names are.”
Meanwhile, Rodgers confirmed that Oh Hyeon-Gyu is the subject of interest from elsewhere, with Belgian club Genk linked with the 23-year-old forward. “There’s some interest in Oh so we’ll assess that as a club and then just manage that,” he said. “But you see from tonight, his attitude is great. He had a good 45 minutes, worked well, worked hard. Let’s see what the coming days bring on that one.”
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