Text: STORYTELLER/MH - Photos: TV screenshot & Celtic FC
Celtic Football Club have one foot in the UEFA Champions League group stage! In the first leg of the Champions League play-off, the Bhoys in Green celebrated a well-deserved 3–0 (2–0) home win against ASK Linz from Austria.
Around a week after his minor, routine heart operation and the cancellation of all concerts still scheduled for this year, Sir Rod Stewart made his first public appearance.
On Wednesday evening, the singer took his usual seat in the stands at Celtic Park in Glasgow and watched his favourite club’s home match in visibly high spirits. Elegantly dressed in black with the obligatory Celtic tie pin on his long tie, Sir Rod entered the stands shortly before kick-off and sang fervently along with the 60,000-strong crowd as the whole stadium struck up the ultimate football anthem, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
The match began, however, with a moment of shock for all Celtic fans: after just 30 seconds, Moses Usor scored what would have been the opening goal for the visitors, but he was narrowly offside and so the goal did not count. Celtic subsequently took control. The first good chance for the Hoops was squandered by new signing Camilo Duran after about ten minutes.
In the 26th minute, there was finally cause for celebration at Paradise. Following a fine cross from the left by Kieran Tierney, the Linz defence failed to clear the ball and Swedish international Benjamin Nygren smashed it into the top right-hand corner with his left foot from around 18 metres.
Nevertheless, Rod and all the other Hoops fans had to swallow another shock after just over half an hour, as Samuel Adenian’s headed equaliser was once again ruled out for offside (34’).
But that moment quickly turned into wild celebrations once more. Duran capitalised on a mistake in Linz’s build-up play following another cross from Tierney to make it 2–0 to the Hoops (38’). A deserved half-time lead for O’Neill’s men, even though LASK had managed to create two clear-cut chances.
After the break, Celtic initially took the pace out of the game a little, but remained in control against the visitors at all times. LASK were virtually non-existent in attack, partly because O’Neill’s side were solid at the back. The Bhoys in Green then almost made it 3–0, but captain Callum McGregor’s long-range shot, which was slightly deflected by Kasper Høgh, struck the post (56’).
Duran fared better in the 67th minute, when, following a wonderful one-two with Nygren, he curled the ball into the corner from a tight angle to make it 3–0. The party in green and white could begin; the whole stadium – and, of course, a singer in high spirits with a big nose and tousled hair – struck up the Depeche Mode hit ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’. Rod, with a broad grin on his tanned face, clapped politely in support of his team.
In the closing stages, the match swung back and forth a little, resulting in chances for both sides, but in the end it remained a well-deserved 3–0 home win for the Hoops. The return leg in Linz takes place next Tuesday at 9 pm.
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