Rosenborg 0 Celtic 0
This was not a game that will live forever in the memory, I don’t think, but it was a case of job done. Celtic were poor in the first half, a little better in the second but it was not a game that we should judge them by. The game was actually won last week at Parkhead, the challenge tonight was not to throw away that victory. In that respect, Celtic succeeded, and we now look forward to meeting AEK of Athens at Celtic Park next week.
Celtic did have a rather inexperienced central defence. The potential is there but the experience not yet. Nevertheless the criterion must always be “Did they concede goals?” No, they did not, although a sharper set of forwards might have made life difficult. The uncertainly between Jack Hendry and Craig Gordon at one point in the first half looked comical, but it might have had serious consequences. I have never been a great fan of Christian Gamboa, but there was one wonderful sliding tackle in the first half which deserves a mention.
The midfield took a while to get going, but gradually took a grip on things by the second half. It might have been interesting if Rosenborg had scored a goal. Would Celtic have then pressed forward to get an away goal? I got the impression that any sort of pressure on that Norwegian defence might have paid dividends, but in the event it was not necessary. Sinclair might have scored at one point and Edouard had one shot on goal, but the men up front were hardly seen at all. It was a pity from an entertainment point of view, but then again, second legs in Europe are not about entertainment. They are about reaching the next round, and Celtic have done just that.
Time to forget this game and move on. It was played in front of a small crowd on a small ground, and atmosphere was a bit boring and even gentlemanly at the end with sincere handshakes from most of the Norwegians. There were one or two bad tackles on Scott Brown – he clearly did not think very highly of one of them – but nothing totally unpleasant, and no-one seemed able to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why Kristofer Ajer received a yellow card. It was clear that the Norwegian fans were in awe of Celtic, but, given that there was no colour clash, they might well have wondered why the famous green and white hoops were not in evidence. Yes, we all now it’s about money and advertising, but I honestly think that the club could, with advantage, forego some of that money in favour of the world getting to see the world’s most famous and most recognisable strip.
Premier Sports lost the sound for a while at the start of the second half, so I put on Radio Scotland. What a shame that they were not in synch with each other! Michael Stewart is always worth listening to, his opinions all the stronger because he is not a natural Celt.
And so to tomorrow night and Scotland’s other three representatives. We could do with seeing that damned coefficient moved up a bit, so should we all support the Scottish teams? Well, I imagine there will be no problem about us wanting Hibs to do well, and I personally will cheer on the Dons against Burnley – it is Scotland v England after all – but as for that other Scottish side…well that is a different matter altogether! Mind you, it would keep them busy in midweek and level the playing field a bit as far as European commitments are concerned, but even so …?
But well done, Celtic! Only another four games left and then we can think of the Champions League!
David Potter
