Post by Taxigirl on Oct 22, 2003 10:15:42 GMT
Celtic came up against a stumbling block when an evening that promised to yield so much ended joylessly as the Bhoy's suffered a 1-0 defeat in Brussels against ten man Anderlecht.
It was a disappointing blow to Celtic's Champions League aspirations, however although the performance didn't match recent displays against the likes of Lyon and Rangers, Martin O'Neill's side will feel that they deserved to take a point from the meeting.
In truth, Celtic failed to create the usual glut of chances that their trio of forwards frequently have to feast on and after playing for more than an hour with an extra man that will be a source of some frustration for O'Neill.
The result enables Anderlecht to leapfrog Celtic in Group A, and the next game at Celtic Park is bound to be an interesting affair.
Chris Sutton and Alan Thompson, the two biggest concerns for Martin O’Neill before the game kicked off, recovered from hamstring injuries to claim their place with the result being that Liam Miller had to make way for Sutton.
The Englishman took up a familiar position just behind the front pairing of Henrik Larsson and John Hartson and as usual produced a bustling and energetic performance.
Although the game was conducted at a furious pace in the frantic early minutes there were few genuine chances carved out by either side. After nine minutes Anderlecht created the first when Olivier Deschacht beat Magnus Hedman only to be denied by the crossbar.
Celtic had lost possession when Stilian Petrov was penalised for what looked like a reasonable challenge in the middle of the park and from which he won the ball, but from the resultant move Anderlecht hit the woodwork.
Dindane Aruna – a persistent menace throughout - wheedled his way down the flank and although he was well policed by Bobo Balde the striker nevertheless succeeded in cutting the ball back to Deschacht just inside the box. His attempt curved wildly over everyone before dipping and bouncing off the crossbar.
Celtic retaliated by heading up the park where Thompson’s long ball was headed on by Hartson. It was latched on to by Larsson who twisted and turned on the edge of the box to hang on to possession before sliding the ball into Sutton’s path. The striker swung his boot while still leaning too far back and his attempt blazed wildly over the bar.
Anderlecht captain Glen de Boeck was the first booking of the evening when he was penalised for a cynical tackle on Larsson on the half-way line after just 15 minutes, and ten minutes later his offence was compounded when he was dismissed for a second foul.
Stanislav Varga sent a low ball through to Hartson on the edge of the box and the Welshman was tugged back by a pull of the jersey. Austrian referee Fritz Stuchlik immediately flourished a quick yellow followed by a red and Celtic were up against ten men.
Anderlecht adopted to three at the back with 17-year-old Vincent Kompany at the heart of defence and the young Belgian internationalist impressive against Celtic’s trio of attackers.
The visitors failed to exact a more telling punishment from the consequential free-kick that deflected off the wall before bouncing out of play for a corner that subsequently proved fruitless.
The atmosphere became somewhat more acrimonious after the sending off and Varga found himself at the centre of an Anderlecht penalty claim minutes later when he tangled with Dindane Mornar.
However, the most blatant call for a spot kick belonged to Celtic after Larsson had the legs swiped away from him by Deschacht, but the whistler – who won’t have won friends in either camp with his disjointed performance – dismissed the claims.
In between times Hartson had the ball in the net only for his celebrations to be snipped short by the linesman’s flag.
Joos Valgaeren replaced Jackie McNamara at the break, after the latter appeared to pick up a calf injury in the final minutes of the opening half. It was the Belgian’s first appearance since the 2-1 win over Partick Thistle back in August.
Varga had a glorious opportunity five minutes into the second period to claim the opener, albeit that the move came from a corner that never really was. Thompson collected on the left flank and delivered into the box where Larsson’s flick ended at the feet of Varga inside the 6-yard box. As the defender grappled to compose himself, he managed to get a touch on the but sent it wide of the target.
As Celtic pushed to break their way through Anderlecht, the Belgians took the lead. A Balde header was cleared only so far as Christian Wilhelmsson who tore his way towards goal where he outpaced Valgaeren and sent the ball towards the far post. Aruna collected and converted with a low drive into the bottom corner.
O’Neill replaced Lennon with Liam Miller with 12 minutes remaining, perhaps hoping that the youngster could replicate the display he conjured up against Lyon. It didn't happen and Celtic now have it all to do when the teams meet again at Celtic Park.
CELTIC (3-5-2): Hedman; McNamara (Valgaeren. 46), Balde, Varga; Thompson, Lennon (Miller 78), Sutton, Petrov, Agathe; Hartson, Larsson. Subs: Douglas, Gray, Sylla, Maloney, Kennedy.
ANDERLECHT (4-4-2): Zitka; Zewlakow, De Boeck, Kompany, Deschacht; Wilhelmsson (Hendrikx 86), Hasi, Baseggio, Kolar (Tihinen 90); Aruna, Mornar. Subs: Perrsman, Vanderhaeghe, Zetterberg, MacDonald.
REFEREE: Fritz Stuchlik