Former Celtic midfielder Jackson Irvine offered a timely lesson to his old side on how to overcome their upcoming Europa League opponents after leading St Pauli to a 2-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart at the weekend…
Celtic are due to face the Bundesliga outfit in this month’s two-legged play-off tie, but VfB Stuttgart’s impressive run of form was abruptly halted in Hamburg, where Irvine captained his team to a surprising 2-1 win.
The result ended VfB Stuttgart’s four-match winning streak and handed them a surprise setback ahead of their clash with the Hoops a week on Thursday.
The victory was made even more notable by the fact the 32-year-old Australian battled through a painful foot injury that forced him to limp for the entire second half.
Although he had initially been expected to be substituted after 60 minutes, Irvine remained on the pitch for the full match. His determined display drew warm praise from St Pauli manager Alexander Blessin, who highlighted his leadership and resilience after Irvine revealed his delight at getting one over on Celtic’s upcoming Europa League opponents.
Speaking via Daily Record, Irvine said: “That was certainly the toughest game of my career. We were missing so many players already so I didn’t want to add to that.”
“If the manager didn’t take me off, I wasn’t going to substitute myself. We played Stuttgart earlier this season and they absolutely destroyed us, but we deserved to beat them there. It was a great win, especially given the run they had been on.”
Meanwhile, VfB Stuttgart manager Sebastian Hoeness conceded that his side endured a deeply disappointing afternoon in what was their penultimate match before taking on Celtic in Glasgow.
Hoeness said: “It was a disappointing afternoon for us. There’s no other way to put it. It was a hard-fought, deserved victory for St. Pauli. The strain of the last few weeks was evident in the game. We were sloppy and unfocused.
“We created very little for a long time; it only improved towards the end. Ultimately, St. Pauli’s victory was entirely deserved; they played with a real siege mentality.”
Conor Spence
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