Net gain for rusty Celtic in low-key draw

Senior Sports Writer

Wednesday 11 July 2012

CELTIC contested a goalless draw with Bundesliga side Augsburg in the opening match of their pre-season tour of Germany and Holland, but there were two bonuses for manager Neil Lennon.

Augsburg 0 Celtic 0

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Ronnie Cully

James Forrest last night returned to action for the first time since sustaining bone bruising in the Scottish Communities League Cup final in March, and was handed the captain's armband to mark celebrating his 21st birthday this week.

Biram Kayal started his first match since succumbing to a serious ankle injury in the Old Firm game in December.The Israeli internationalist played for 71 minutes, while Forrest was substituted on the hour mark at the Stauferpark Stadion, just outside Donauworth, half an hour north of Augsburg.The venue was chosen as part of the hosts' policy of "taking the game to the people", and approximately 4000 attended.The picturesque setting of the single-stand stadium was initially matched by the holiday-type weather, though the Celtic players appreciated the cloud cover which arrived just before kick-off.Their opponents had had the benefit of three warm-up matches prior to this meeting, so were always going to be one step ahead of Lennon's side in terms of match fitness and sharpness.The Celtic manager will not welcome back Victor Wanyama, Georgios Samaras, Emilio Izaguirre, and Mikael Lustig for, in some cases, another week as they were given extra time to recover from their post-domestic-season exertions with respective national teams.With Ki-Sung Yueng seconded to Olympic duty with South Korea for the remainder of the month, Adam Matthews nursing a muscle strain and Thomas Rogne and Kris Commons both carrying injuries, Scott Brown was allowed the night off but, having jettisoned a clutch of experienced players at the end of last season, Lennon augmented his group with youngsters Andre Blackman, Tony Watt, Filip Twardzik, Lewis Toshney and Dylan McGeouch.The composed Twardzik was on the left side of a back three, with Wilson on the right and Mulgrew central. McGeouch, Kayal, Joe Ledley and Blackman were strung across midfield to try to protect them, while Forrest sat behind strikers Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes.However, the system, and the players' rustiness, was badly exposed in the opening stages, and Fraser Forster had to make saves and interceptions from Marcel de Jong and Stephan Hain.With Lennon barking orders to his players, the sight of Wilson failing to find Forster with a rushed pass back, and Jan Moravek missing the resultant open goal, then Zimbabwean striker Knowledge Musona, a former signing target, missing from close range after Hain found space for a cross from the bye-line, did nothing to dilute the manager's displeasure.Despite Forrest and McGeouch having switched positions, Celtic struggled to make any significant inroads toward the Augsburg goal. Indeed, the only occasion Celtic did threaten in a disjointed first half came just before the break when a Stokes chip was taken by Hooper on his chest, but by the time he set himself for his shot, Gibril Sankoh had recovered to block.The overworked-but-in-form Forster saved from Sankoh's header early in the second half after the keeper had made another excellent block to turn wide a Musona shot.The arrival of Paddy McCourt in place of the tiring Forrest on the hour mark was designed to allow Celtic more creativity in the centre of the field, and 'forgotten man' Daryl Murphy was soon called into action, with Hooper the player making way.Murphy came close to making an immediate impact, striking an effort off the outside of a post with a snap shot. By then, Blackman's mistimed tackle on Paul Verhaegh had earned him a booking, and Celtic had certainly begun to put some pressure on the ball as they finally got nearer to the pace of the game.It allowed them to finish more strongly than they had begun and, in the context of pre-season preparation, that was as much as Lennon could ask, with the return of Forrest and Kayal the real reason to be pleased.Augsburg Jentzsch; Verhaegh, Sankoh, Baier, Werner; Moravek, Langkamp, de Jong, Callsen-Bracker; Hain, Musona. Subs: Klavan, Vogt, Ostrzolek, Nebel, Amsif, Thiede, Strohmaier, Pigl, MusticCeltic Forster; Wilson, Mulgrew, Twardzik: McGeouch, Kayal (Toshney 71), Ledley, Blackman; Forrest (McCourt 60); Stokes (Watt 71), Hooper (Murphy 63). Sub: Zaluska

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Net gain for rusty Celtic in low-key draw

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