Champions League 2005/2006

[Dapotayto]

Liverpool has been included in the next Champions League campaign but must start at the first qualifying stage. Also, they do not have 'country protection' in the group stages, which means they could face one of the other English clubs at that time. Which just means more drama (assuming they get there). Now Rafa's spending spree starts. He has thirty million pounds to spend apparently. Can't wait to see who he buys.

[Keeper]

Lame. Rules are rules.

FC Karma will knock them out of the first stage.

[Regs]

Gerrard 3
TNS 0

The horrors if he hadn't a change of heart...

[LFC2]

Originally Posted by Regs

Gerrard 3
TNS 0

The horrors if he hadn't a change of heart...

Watched the game on the Liverpool site. TNS keeper was very good. Liverpool went through the motions but the 3rd goal I think will take any worry away from the second leg.

[willis316]

Liverpool qualified for the second round of Champions League qualifiers after beating Welsh Champions Total Network Solutions 3-0 in the second leg of their first round tie.

Gerrard was the story again with two late goals. Cisse had one in the 1st half. Apparently TNS did have some good play but could not get one in the net.

[willis316]

Liverpool came from behind to take a 3-1 lead into the second leg of their Champions League qualifier against Lithuanian side Kaunas.
Giedrius Barevicius had put Kaunas in front, guiding a cross past Jose Reina.

Djibril Cisse equalised for the Reds, hooking the ball past Eduardas Kurskis, before Jamie Carragher scored his first goal in six years with a header.

Reds skipper Steven Gerrard made it 3-1 from the penalty spot after he had been fouled by Mindaugas Baguzis.

[Buckfast]

12 minutes to go in Celtic's match with Artmedia Petrzalka. Currently 4-0 to the minnows from Jackassistan. Let's hope they can get a fifth.

Fingers crossed.

Buckfast

[Buckfast]

Oops, they did it again. 5-0 (FT).

Let's all laugh at Celtic, let's all laugh at Celtic.

Buckfast

[Billy boy]

Celtic humbled in Strachan opener
Celtic lose their Champions League qualifier in Bratislava 5-0 in Gordon Strachan's first game as manager.

[rangerforever]

Artmedia 5-0 Celtic

Celtic fell to one of their most embarrassing defeats ever in manager Gordon Strachan's first game in charge.
Juraj Halenar's tap-in gave Artmedia a 1-0 half-time lead in the Champions League second qualifying round tie.

But Blazej Vascak doubled the lead from close range after the break and Halenar added a thunderous volleyed third.

Martin Mikulic scored a fourth on the turn from the edge of the box and Halenar got his hat-trick with a low drive in injury time.

The result leaves Celtic in serious danger of elimination from Europe altogether, as the losers from second qualifying round games do not go into the Uefa Cup.

It was the visitors who first threatened eight minutes in when John Hartson headed an Alan Thompson free kick narrowly wide, though the offside flag would have ruled the effort out in any case.

Celtic were dealt a blow early on when Chris Sutton was forced out of the game with a suspected fractured cheekbone after a freak collision with Neil Lennon.

The home side seemed to take heart from that and put together a period of sustained pressure.

The closest they came to a goal was an opportunist effort from Vascak who tried to catch Marshall out at his near post, but the keeper was alert enough to turn it round the post.

Then Helenar broke free but sliced his shot wide.

The home side's keeper Juraj Cobej was called into action for the first time after 28 minutes to comfortably hold an Aiden McGeady free kick and a minute later he punched away a fierce Paul Telfer drive.

Artmedia were still enjoying the better possession and Marshall was forced into a good save to deny Daniel Tchur low to his right.

But Marshall was helpless to stop Artmedia taking the lead two minutes before half time.

Jan Kozak's pass split the Celtic defence wide open and as Branislav Obzera raced through on goal, he took Marshall and the chasing defenders out of the game by squaring the ball to Halenar who fired into an empty net.

In first half injury time Marshall got down well to keep out a goal-bound Jan Durica header.

Celtic fell further behind to a goal of superb quality. Kozak knocked a perfectly-weighted pass to Halenar, whose first-time cross was slammed into the net by Vascak.

Shaun Maloney came on for Maciej Zurawski and almost made an immediate impact when he found himself with just Cobej to beat, but the keeper blocked his shot.

Moments later he squared the ball only for McGeady to knock it over the unguarded goal.

Incredibly Artmedia added two more goals within the space of three minutes. First Halenar scored a terrific volley from a rather fortuitously awarded corner, when Marshall appeared to have kept the ball in.

Then sub Mikulic swivelled on the edge of the box to fire past Marshall.

Maloney curled a late free kick just wide with a few minutes left, leaving Celtic with a massive task in six days' time.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Artmedia Bratislava: Cobej, Debnar, Durica, Kotula, Vascak (Mikulic 72), Obzera, Tchur, Halenar, Borbely, Fodrek, Kozak.
Subs Not Used: Kollar, Stano, Hellebrand, Gomez, Gajdos, Burak.

Goals: Halenar 43, Vascak 57, Halenar 75, Mikulic 78, Halenar 90.

Celtic: Marshall, Telfer, Varga, Balde, Camara, Zurawski (Maloney 60), Lennon, Petrov, Thompson (Aliadiere 66), Hartson, Sutton (McGeady 17).
Subs Not Used: Boruc, McManus, Wallace, Beattie.

Booked: Petrov, Balde.

Att: 17,262

Ref: Selcuk Dereli (Turkey)

[Buckfast]

Originally Posted by Rangerforever

The result leaves Celtic in serious danger of elimination from Europe altogether, as the losers from second qualifying round games do not go into the Uefa Cup.

Shouldn't qualify to play in the SPL, for fcuk's sakes. Bloody embarrassment to Great Britain.

[Buckfast]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahhahahahahh ahaahahhaahahahahahaha

[ParkHead]

Yes Bucky laugh it up. The hoops performance today was worth every one of your ha's.

I have never seen a performance like that in my life. Absolutely BRUTAL!! The scoreline is justified. Celtic were horrible. To be honest they played better in the second half after only trailing 1-0 at the half. One of the greatest open net missus of all time by MGeady but it wouldn't have mattered at all.


GuttedParkheadwhowouldstillratherbeatimkthanahun

[Buckfast]

Originally Posted by ParkHead

I have never seen a performance like that in my life. Absolutely BRUTAL!!

Have been over to COTH, where they're saying it was the worst Celtic European performance EVER! Ol' Strachan must be wondering what he's got himself into.

Originally Posted by ParkHead

One of the greatest open net missus of all time by MGeady but it wouldn't have mattered at all.

We call it a "Van Vossen" over here.

My heart bleeds for you, pal. No really.

Buckfast

[Buckfast]

NEW SEASON, SAME BOLLOCKS That's a cry of disbelief, not Celtic's latest no-name signing. In the first competitive match involving a Scottish team in season 2005/06, SPL runners-up Celtic were horsed 5-0 (f.i.v.e. - mind the pools vidiprinter used to do that when it was an incredible scoreline?) by Artmedia Bratislava.

It was Gordon Strachan's first game in charge, and his woeful team were a disgrace to the abominable green jersey that they wore last night. It's hard to get your head round how bad a result this was for Celtic. It was the first leg of the Champions League 2nd qualifying round! Celtic were meant to scud this lot! Instead, big rough Bobo Balde, glaikit Stan Varga and honking Mo Camara conspired to allow the Slovaks to give Celtic their worst defeat in their patchy European history.

Teams like Dundee, St Johnstone, Dunfermline, Hearts, Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle, St Mirren, Dundee United, Raith Rovers and St Johnstone have represented Scotland in Europe and have never been on the receiving end of such a shafting. Rangers, no strangers to Continental cloutings, have lost 6-1 and 6-0 in European games, but at least these spankings were in a European Cup semi-final and a defeat by Real Madrid. But FC Artmedia? A bunch of arts and crafts students taking a break from glueing bits of shells to porcelain?!

What is it with Celtic ruining the image of Scottish footballing icons? Dalglish was a hero in our eyes until he took over at Parkhead, same goes with Strachan after a great career with Aberdeen, Man U, Leeds and Scotland. Now anyone with red hair in Scotland has gone into hiding, such is the fear of a backlash against all gingerists. Maybe Denis Law will take over from wee Strachan next month. Or how about Archie Gemmill? Will it be one of "those special European nights at Parkhead" next Tuesday as Celtic try to win by six goals? Aye, and Chris Sutton has booked two weeks' holiday in Bratislava next summer.

[willis316]

Third round is done. Everton managed to avoid Man U and the Reds for now but enjoy Villareal. Rangers face one of two teams I can't pronounce and Celtic, well we will wait on that to see if a miracle comes.

[Dapotayto]

Liverpool are leading by two in the second leg but the story of the moment, as of exactly this moment, is Celtic leading 4-0. Can they make it five to tie up the aggregate?

[Billy boy]

Originally Posted by Dapotayto

Celtic leading 4-0. Can they make it five to tie up the aggregate?

No they can't, close but no cigar......FT Celtic 4 - 0 Petrzalka

[Buckfast]

Originally Posted by Dapotayto

Can they make it five to tie up the aggregate?

Nope. Celtic out of Europe by August. Again, embarrassing for Scotland and Great Britain.

Buckfast

[willis316]

Nice heart shown by Celtic. Liverpool was resting some players and was a little lackadasical. Still a 2-0 win in a good one.