NEVER mind becoming kings of their castle, Celtic far more importantly are just about masters of their own destiny.
How important Dedryck Boyata’s late header will be, a goal which gave Ronny Deila’s team a precious lead to take to the banks of the Caspian Sea, we will only know a week from now. What we can say is that it makes Celtic’s job easier in the second-leg if not easy against a tidy and dangerous Qarabag side.
Intense and tense. That about sums up Celtic Park last night. It will be the same next week in the Azerbaijan capital and more so. Should be fun.
Celtic did not play terribly but they will need to play better. Indeed, some of their stuff a times was what Deila would have wanted to see. Good passing, clever running off the ball, players taking on and beating opponents. It just never all quite came together until Boyata’s eased the nerves.
It was an odd night for Celtic and their supporters.
Some good stuff was done on the left then it broke down; same on the right and in midfield. Everyone was just a bit too far from one another. The ball would be played up to the edge of Qarabag box or towards the touchline and then nothing would happen as far as Celtic were concerned.
Lots of play up to the final third was good in the first-half. Celtic’s problem therein was not a small one. The final pass, that last interchange that would set up a shooting chance, did not come off, and when Richard Almedia went close-ish with a shot before half an hour had gone was a reminder that this lot were not here for a 0-0. They fancied a goal.
Celtic’s tempo wasn’t quite what Deila would have wanted for too much of the game. There were too many six-and-a-half out of tens, although notable exceptions were Scott Brown and the excellent Nir Bitton.
To be fair, Qarabag did what they needed for the most part and hinted, more than hinted in fact, that they will be a far more attack-minded side next Wednesday. They also had this incredible habit of playing short, sharp passes out of defence instead of giving it a good, old launch as we are accustomed to in Scotland.
And then there is Nadir Ciftci, once again preferred to Leigh Griffiths. The big Turk tried, by God he tried. He gave everything and enjoyed some fine moments; a turn and 50-yard run in the first-half springs to mind, but he never looked like scoring. Griffiths never looks like not scoring when he starts.
Ciftci had a chance with a header on 51 minutes which he sent wide from six yards, although he was under pressure, and then put a half volley straight at the keeper on the hour when he should at least have made him work.
It will come for him. It will need to come soon.
Referee Robert Schorgenhofer didn’t have many friends among the home support and he was a bit fussy. Qarabag’s players also did not need an invite to do roll about the pitch. However, the frustration felt in the stands was more about their team’s inability to force Qarabag’s goalkeeper Ibrahim Sehic into a proper save for a good 67 minutes when he somehow kept out a Virgil van Dijk header that was sailing into the top corner.
However, just as it looked as if Celtic has ran out of puff and ideas, the goal came, which they deserved.
Celtic went looking for a second, a tactic encouraged by some if not all of the crowd, when 1-0 was always going to be a good scoreline.
The job is half done. That would not have been the case at 0-0. Deila will take that.
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