Post by Taxigirl on Apr 9, 2004 10:20:47 GMT
www.skysports.com/skysports/article/0,,7-1130861,00.html
Celtic 1-1 Villarreal
Uefa Cup quarter final, first leg
Celtic and Villarreal had to settle for a 1-1 first leg draw in a thoroughly entertaining Uefa Cup quarter final tie on Thursday evening.
Josico gave the visitors an early lead before The Bhoys equalised in the second half through Henrik Larsson, though both sides had plenty of chances to win the match.
Martin O'Neill's side typically started brightly in front of a vocal and packed Celtic Park, with Henrik Larsson winning a free kick on the edge of the box, after being fouled by Villarreal defender Fabricio Coloccini.
From the ensuing set piece, England international Alan Thompson shot over goalkeeper Jose Reina's bar.
The home side's good start would soon turn, as the Spaniards struck with an early goal before controlling much of the play for the rest of the opening period.
On nine minutes, Juan Roman Riquelme's corner was blocked to left winger Roger and his fine cross found an unmarked Josico in the box.
The midfielder rose to flick home his header at the far post and beat Celtic's young goalkeeper David Marshall for a precious away goal to Villarreal.
The goal quietened the huge Parkhead crowd and the visitors started to play some neat football in midfield, with Brazilian striker Sonny Anderson shooting wide after his Argentine team-mate Riquelme played him in.
Celtic were being frustrated by Villarreal's resolute backline, but Stilian Petrov did well to force Reina into a fine diving save with a well-hit volley.
Riquelme was in fine form in the centre of midfield, as his vision and distribution made Villarreal an attacking threat throughout.
Sonny Anderson soon turned provider for Jose Mari, who latched onto his pass in Celtic's box but with the angle becoming more acute, his shot went high and wide and into the crowd.
The Bhoys struggled to respond before the break, with Chris Sutton forcing an easy save from Reina, as Villarreal took their one-goal lead into half-time.
As expected, the start of the second half saw Celtic working hard to get back into the match, though Villarreal remained dangerous on the counter attack.
It was Riquelme again who was sublime with his passing and he found Sonny Anderson with a superb right-footed cross-field pass.
However, the hit-man failed to really test Marshall, as his strike was easily blocked by the young goalkeeper before going out for a corner.
From the ensuing corner, Sebastian Battaglia hit a sweet long-distance shot that rattled the bar, as Celtic fans had their hearts in their mouths.
Then a moment of controversy occured as The Bhoys scored a disallowed goal, when Larsson blocked Reina's clearance with his forearms and into the open net.
The Swede initially celebrated but the far-side linesman disallowed the goal for hand ball, when it looked like Larsson was trying to protect himself when blocking the clearance.
Despite the disallowed goal, Celtic kept pressing and they were finally rewarded with an equaliser on 64 minutes, as Larsson rose to head home Didier Agathe's cross from the right, after Reina failed to meet the Frenchman's ball played into the box.
The visitors kept Celtic's defence honest, with Sonny Anderson going close again with a run and shot that was blocked in the box, while Larsson missed a glorious opportunity to give the home side the lead with a close-range effort, that went over the bar after Stephen Pearson found the striker in the box.
With eight minutes left, Thompson was booked by Greek referee Kyros Vassaras for a late challenge and that yellow card will mean the winger misses next Wednesday's second leg in Spain.
Moments later, Agathe forced a fine diving save from Reina with shot on the edge of the box, before an injury-time free kick was awarded to the home side close -in.
Reina again became Villarreal's hero as he made two great saves from Larsson's set piece strike and from Sutton on the rebound, before the visitors desperately cleared the loose ball in a goal-mouth scramble.
In the end, both sides had to settle for the draw, with the second leg likely to be another pulsating affair next week at El Estadio Madrigal.
Celtic Villareal
Possession % 56% 44%
Goals 1 1
Shots on target 9 2
Shots off target 7 6
Blocked shots 4 3
Corners 8 8
Fouls 19 11
Offsides 2 1
Yellow cards 3 2
Red cards 0 0
Celtic 1-1 Villarreal
Uefa Cup quarter final, first leg
Celtic and Villarreal had to settle for a 1-1 first leg draw in a thoroughly entertaining Uefa Cup quarter final tie on Thursday evening.
Josico gave the visitors an early lead before The Bhoys equalised in the second half through Henrik Larsson, though both sides had plenty of chances to win the match.
Martin O'Neill's side typically started brightly in front of a vocal and packed Celtic Park, with Henrik Larsson winning a free kick on the edge of the box, after being fouled by Villarreal defender Fabricio Coloccini.
From the ensuing set piece, England international Alan Thompson shot over goalkeeper Jose Reina's bar.
The home side's good start would soon turn, as the Spaniards struck with an early goal before controlling much of the play for the rest of the opening period.
On nine minutes, Juan Roman Riquelme's corner was blocked to left winger Roger and his fine cross found an unmarked Josico in the box.
The midfielder rose to flick home his header at the far post and beat Celtic's young goalkeeper David Marshall for a precious away goal to Villarreal.
The goal quietened the huge Parkhead crowd and the visitors started to play some neat football in midfield, with Brazilian striker Sonny Anderson shooting wide after his Argentine team-mate Riquelme played him in.
Celtic were being frustrated by Villarreal's resolute backline, but Stilian Petrov did well to force Reina into a fine diving save with a well-hit volley.
Riquelme was in fine form in the centre of midfield, as his vision and distribution made Villarreal an attacking threat throughout.
Sonny Anderson soon turned provider for Jose Mari, who latched onto his pass in Celtic's box but with the angle becoming more acute, his shot went high and wide and into the crowd.
The Bhoys struggled to respond before the break, with Chris Sutton forcing an easy save from Reina, as Villarreal took their one-goal lead into half-time.
As expected, the start of the second half saw Celtic working hard to get back into the match, though Villarreal remained dangerous on the counter attack.
It was Riquelme again who was sublime with his passing and he found Sonny Anderson with a superb right-footed cross-field pass.
However, the hit-man failed to really test Marshall, as his strike was easily blocked by the young goalkeeper before going out for a corner.
From the ensuing corner, Sebastian Battaglia hit a sweet long-distance shot that rattled the bar, as Celtic fans had their hearts in their mouths.
Then a moment of controversy occured as The Bhoys scored a disallowed goal, when Larsson blocked Reina's clearance with his forearms and into the open net.
The Swede initially celebrated but the far-side linesman disallowed the goal for hand ball, when it looked like Larsson was trying to protect himself when blocking the clearance.
Despite the disallowed goal, Celtic kept pressing and they were finally rewarded with an equaliser on 64 minutes, as Larsson rose to head home Didier Agathe's cross from the right, after Reina failed to meet the Frenchman's ball played into the box.
The visitors kept Celtic's defence honest, with Sonny Anderson going close again with a run and shot that was blocked in the box, while Larsson missed a glorious opportunity to give the home side the lead with a close-range effort, that went over the bar after Stephen Pearson found the striker in the box.
With eight minutes left, Thompson was booked by Greek referee Kyros Vassaras for a late challenge and that yellow card will mean the winger misses next Wednesday's second leg in Spain.
Moments later, Agathe forced a fine diving save from Reina with shot on the edge of the box, before an injury-time free kick was awarded to the home side close -in.
Reina again became Villarreal's hero as he made two great saves from Larsson's set piece strike and from Sutton on the rebound, before the visitors desperately cleared the loose ball in a goal-mouth scramble.
In the end, both sides had to settle for the draw, with the second leg likely to be another pulsating affair next week at El Estadio Madrigal.
Celtic Villareal
Possession % 56% 44%
Goals 1 1
Shots on target 9 2
Shots off target 7 6
Blocked shots 4 3
Corners 8 8
Fouls 19 11
Offsides 2 1
Yellow cards 3 2
Red cards 0 0