The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Olivier Ntcham celebrates
Parkhead men have two-goal cushion for second leg
after scoring Celtic’s second goal in last night’s 3-1 win over Rosenborg in their Champions League qualifier at Parkhead.
Odsonne Edouard grabbed himself a delightful double as Celtic came from behind to beat Rosenborg 3-1 in the first leg of their Champions League second round qualifier at Parkhead.
The Norwegian champions took the lead in the 15th minute through defender Birger Meling. However, Brendan Rodgers’ side showed their mettle and goals from striker Edouard and fellow Frenchman Olivier Ntcham put the home side in front.
Edouard, bought for a reported clubrecord fee of £9 million from Paris StGermain in the summer after a loan spell last season, stretched that lead with another well-taken goal in the 75th minute to give the Hoops a decent advantage to take to Norway next week.
There was tinkering to be done by Rodgers and Costa Rica’s World Cup right-back Cristian Gamboa came in as replacement for suspended Jozo Simunovic, while Scott Sinclair replaced the injured Moussa Dembele.
The visitors looked focused and in the second minute, following an effort from Sinclair which cleared the bar, a shot from Pal Andre Helland slipped past Celtic keeper Craig Gordon’s left-hand post and the tie took a twist when Rosenborg capitalised on a mistake by Jack Hendry to take the lead.
He advanced up the park only to see his square pass intercepted by skipper Mike Jensen who set Helland away and when he moved it on to Nicklas Bendtner his pass was guided low past Gordon by the incoming Meling from 14 yards.
Hoops defender Kristoffer Ajer skimmed a header from a corner past the far post before Andre Hansen made a decent save from Callum McGregor’s drive from 16 yards.
In the 34th minute a penalty claim when right-back Vegar Hedenstad clashed with Parkhead midfielder Ntcham in the box was ignored by Belgian referee Bert Vertenten.
However, in the 43rd minute the mood inside Parkhead changed when Edouard controlled a Sinclair cut-back and stroked it past Hansen from eight yards and within a minute of the restart Ntcham took a pass from McGregor and curled the ball high into the net from outside the box to have the Hoops fans back on their feet. The visitors were under siege as Celtic piled forward.
Hansen saved at his near post from Sinclair then tipped a long-distance effort from Ntcham on to the bar before it was cleared for a corner which was gathered by the Rosenborg keeper.
A third goal seemed inevitable and it came when Forrest sent Edouard racing through the middle and with supreme confidence he chipped Hansen to give the home side a deserved two-goal cushion, although it could have been three as Hendry’s header from a McGregor free-kick clipped the bar.
Celtic: Gordon, Gamboa, Jack Hendry, Ajer, Tierney, McGregor, Brown, Ntcham (Rogic 76), Forrest, Edouard, Sinclair. Subs not used: Bain, Christie, Allan, Ralston, Johnston, Eboue.
Rosenborg: Hansen, Hedenstadt, Reginiussen, Hovland, Meling, Jensen, Lundemo (Soderlund 61), Trondsen, Helland (Gersbach 72), Bendtner, Levi. Subs not used: Ostbo, Vilhjalmsson, Reitan, Morten Konradsen, Konradsen Ceide.