The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Hoops ease through to face a stiffer test
2 0 aggregate 5-0
CELTIC EASED through their Champions League qualifying tie with a comfortable win over Northern Irish part-timers Cliftonville at Parkhead.
Goals from Efe Ambrose and Georgios Samaras made it 5-0 on aggregate and confirmed the Hoops will play Elfsborg in the next round after the Swedish side won 4-0 against Daugava in Latvia earlier in the day to progress 11-1 over the two legs.
Ambrose put Celtic ahead in the 16th minute when he headed in an Anthony Stokes cross after clever footwork from Mikael Lustig on the right.
There was no addition to the score until the 70th minute when Samaras made it 2-0 when he headed in a Kris Commons cross.
Gary Hooper replaced Beram Kayal and hit the outside of the post with an overhead kick.
Elfsborg will provide a tougher for Celtic test than Cliftonville whether or not Mo Bangura, on loan from the Hoops, plays against his parent club.
Despite the impossibility of their task, Cliftonville brought 1,000 fans to Glasgow.
Reds manager Tommy Breslin admitted the match was a damage-limitation exercise.
In the fourth minute, visiting keeper Devlin made a fine point-blank save from a Samaras header, following an inviting cross from Lustig. He was again called into action to prevent Lustig’s cross reaching Samaras, but the keeper had no chance with Ambrose’s deadlock-breaking header.
In the 26th minute Devlin took no chances with a Commons thunderbolt from 25 yards, opting to punch clear of the box.
Moments later, Hoops defender Kelvin Wilson stuck his head in the way of a goal-bound Marc Smyth drive to prevent the Irish supporters having something to cheer. But that was the sum extent of the visitors’ first-half threat as Liam Boyce found himself cut adrift as the Reds’ lone striker
In the 33rd minute Commons hit a powerful drive from the edge of the box, before Forrest beat Devlin only to see his shot skip off the top of the bar.
Stokes missed with three attempts in quick succession after the break and then Wilson took the ball off the toes off Boyce almost on the goal-line to prevent an unlikely equaliser. Samaras’ goal came before Amido Balde replaced Forrest to make his competitive debut, and with 10 minutes remaining he headed an Emilio Izaguirre cross past the post.
Attention will now turn to next week’s game against Elfsborg at Parkhead, when Celtic will face their first real European test of the season. Attendance: 29,758 Celtic: Forster, Izaguirre, Ambrose, Wilson, Lustig, Brown, Commons, Kayal (Rogic 65), Forrest (Balde 76), Samaras, Stokes (Hooper 65). Subs not used: Zaluska, Mouyokolo, McGregor, Watt.
Cliftonville: Devlin, McGovern, Caldwell (Curran 58), Seydak, Smyth, Cosgrove (O’Carroll 76), Johnston, McMullan, Catney, Garrett, Boyce (Gormley 85). Subs not used: Brown, Scannell, Donnelly, McNeill.
Referee: T. Kinhofer (Germany).