CELTIC 2(Griffiths 28, Commons 32)
FENERBAHCE 2 (Fernandao 43, 48)
It was pulsating, it was exciting. It offered intrigue and drama. But ultimately it was a plotline Celtic have seen already this season.
Two goals to the good and a visiting team fighting to draw breath. It could have been a glory night for Celtic under the bright floodlights on a crisp autumnal evening. Yet, as the curtain came down on an entertaining tussle they could reflect with some relief that while it could have been better it may well have been worse.
Ultimately Celtic were left to lament one rush of blood to the head that stained so much of the good work that had gone before it.
For the first 43 minutes of this game Ronny Deila’s side were excellent; before Efe Ambrose opted to make life interesting and it all began to unravel.
Reminded before the game that “we are in here for you, be out there for us,” by a massive Green Brigade banner, the Hoops players had put in a mature and confident display that earned them a solid 2-0 lead and had Fenerbahce cowed.
Yet, out of nothing Ambrose’s clumsy backward header gave the Turks a lifeline that the majority of their first-half play had not suggested. With Craig Gordon left hideously exposed following Ambrose's error, substitute Fernandao nipped in to exploit the mistake and Celtic’s one moment of madness was duly punished.
It meant that the Parkhead side headed into the break with heads bowed rather than chests out and it was Fenerbahce who emerged for the second period having scented blood. Within three minutes of the restart, Celtic were on the ropes. Nani’s corner was bulleted by Fernandao past Gordon and suddenly the momentum was all with the visitors.
It has been the Achilles heel of Celtic’s season, an inability to stay focused at a set-piece coupled with a tendency to allow teams to slither off the hook when they ought to have been dead and buried.
Having shipped two quick goals either side of the break, Celtic played as though they were performing on quicksand. By contrast, Fenerbahce were rejuvenated and the Parkhead side found themselves pinned in their own half as the Turks launched wave after wave of attack.
At one stage Gordon was forced to block a Diego attempt with his legs as Celtic desperately clawed for some composure.
Yet, for all that they will reflect on this encounter being an opportunity lost, there were positives to take from the night and the performance as a whole. Kieran Tierney, just 18, was given the nod at left-back due to the suspension of Emilio Izaguirre and was not overawed by the occasion.
The teenager put in a solid display against the streetwise feet of Nani and was not afraid to get forward at times to offer a level of support.
The two best Celtic performers, though, were in the middle of the park. Scott Brown has had an indifferent start to the campaign after playing through a hamstring injury but he was at his best against Fenerbahce, snapping at the heels and breaking up play whenever required.
Nir Bitton, surely the next player to attract the Premiership cheque, also put in an exemplary shift and had a key role in teeing up Celtic’s second goal of the night.
It was the Israeli internationalist who sent James Forrest scampering down the flank before his ball into the box was lashed high into the net by Kris Commons.
Just four minutes earlier, with his first sniff of a chance, Leigh Griffiths had pot Celtic ahead.
Commons’ deep corner had prompted a cracker of a save from Fenerbahce keeper Fabiano after Mikael Lustig had connected but Griffiths, with the deft reflexes of a poacher, was quick to pounce and boot the ball high into the net.
Such was the confidence of Celtic at this stage that Commons could nutmeg Robin van Persie in a clever jink on the touchline. The Celtic player received an elbow in the face for his cheek, not that whistler Kenn Hansen nor his assistant caught sight of it.
The second period was a different story. Slowly Celtic began to trouble Fenerbahce again and with a series of corners in the latter stages they worried their visitors. Celtic pushed for a late winner, but there was no dramatic twist in the tale.
Group A remains wide open with the forthcoming double header against Molde a source of intrigue. The Norwegians have been the surprise package so far having taken four points from their opening two games. Whatt happens next will determine whether or not Celtic's stay in Europe this season is prolonged.
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