JAMES FORREST produced Celtic one moment of magic in Cluj this evening to level the scores and give Neil Lennon’s side the advantage of an away goal to take back to Glasgow for the return next Tuesday.
Cluj had left the grass long and decided not to water the surface to slow Celtic down and the Scottish Champions never really got into their stride in this Third round of the Champions League qualifiers.
The home side played their expected direct game, getting the ball from back to front quickly and firing in crosses that continually worried the Celtic defence.
Bolingoli and Morgan looked venerable down the left hand side – on the evening that Kieran Tierney left Edinburgh airport bound for London. And Scotty Sinclair was also left behind amid interest from down south before the English transfer window closes at 5pm tomorrow.
The Bhoys take a crucial away goal back to Paradise for the #CLUCEL return leg – come on the Hoops! ???? #UCL pic.twitter.com/6L7yV3dFNU
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 7, 2019
Dan Petrescu perhaps failed to exploit this glaring weakness in the Celtic side on the night, other than in the 27th minute when both Celtic players seemed to be at fault as Cluj suckered the Scottish champions from a corner to Celtic. Morgan failed to cut out the break in the middle of the park, Bolingoli was miles away from keeping the line and Bain was too slow in coming off his line and Rondon stuck his shot between the keeper’s legs.
Bain has had better nights in a Celtic jersey and was fortunate in a dreary second half not to concede a second goal. Yet Odsonne Edouard had a few chances late in the match to snatch a win.
But it finished 1-1 and advantage to Celtic. Now with £25million coming into the club for Tierney, assuming he passes his medical tomorrow, and perhaps a few more million coming in for Scotty Sinclair and also the chance that Moussa Dembele might go to Old Trafford to produce another £3million then the money has to be spent on the team.
Cluj are no world beaters but neither is this Celtic side, promising as it is.
Kieran Tierney leaves Celtic and will no doubt go on to have a fabulous career in the English Premier League. He can go with his head held high but with the chance to play his part in the Nine and Ten in a Row being set aside for the English coin, he’s disappointed huge numbers of Celtic Supporters, some too young to remember a young Charlie Nicholas or King Kenny Dalglish leaving.
When Brendan Rodgers left earlier this year the support held up a banner that read, “You Traded Immortality for Mediocrity. Never a Celtic. Always a Fraud.” That’s not something that Kieran Tierney will have to handle but he has gone and there will be disappointed supporters.
In the end, it was all lies pic.twitter.com/E9puO0gAHv
— owen ???????? (@OwenR67) August 7, 2019
And one or two will note that we could lose more great songs of both KT and Scotty Sinclair leave.
Losing the Stuart Armstrong, Brendan Rodgers, KT, and Sinclair songs in such a short time will be hard to overcome
— Seanie Bhoy (@dkmsean) August 7, 2019
Celtic will still be Celtic in the morning and Peter Lawwell got his £25million for an Academy player. So he’ll be pleased at least.
