Celtic keep hopes alive as
Forrest and Kayal goals secure first victory for Lennon’s men
Celtic Forrest (45pen), Kayal (54) Ajax Schone (90+4)
2 passed up a premium opportunity to grab the opener in the 13th minute from a fine move in which Kayal, handed the central midfield responsibilities vacated by suspended captain Scott Brown, switched play neatly with a fine pass to Mikael Lustig on the right. The Swedish fullback, whose place in the side was only confirmed after a morning fitness test, whipped over a terrific cross behind the flat-footed Ajax defence. Unfortunately for Celtic, they could not capitalise as Teemu Pukki failed to connect cleanly with the ball from no more than eight yards out.
It soon began to look as if Celtic might regret that missed chance. Ajax gradually produced the effective possession football which Lennon had warned could make life difficult for his players. So it proved as Celtic saw their early share of the ball diminish. As the Ajax pressure built up, there were some anxious moments for the home defence. Virgil van Dijk, keen to impress against his homeland’s foot again, Ajax goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen unconvincingly touching a Mulgrew corner over his bar just as the ball looked set to dip under it. From the next corner, Ajax were unable to clear their lines and Georgios Samaras held the ball up intelligently before feeding Anthony Stokes on the left edge of the penalty area. The Irish striker knew exactly what he was doing as he completely wrong-footed Stefano Denswil, cutely inviting the rash challenge by the Ajax central defender which sent him sprawling.
It was an easy decision for Croatian referee Ivan Bebek, who pointed straight to the spot. Ajax reacted furiously, earning bookings for Poulsen and Joel Veltman for dissent, while van Dijk also went into the book as he reacted to the visitors’ blatant efforts to delay the taking of the spot-kick for as long as possible.
But, as stewards had to move in to quell the furious response of the Ajax support, Forrest was the coollest person inside Celtic Park as he eventually stepped forward and smashed the ball high beyond the helpless Cillessen from 12 yards to give Celtic a precious advantage.
It was a lead they looked certain to surrender eight minutes into the second half when Ajax carved out a glorious opportunity to equalise. The Celtic defence was carved open by a brilliant exchange of passes between Thulani Serero and Sigthorsson, leaving the South African midfielder one-on-one with Forster. Not for the first time in a Champions League outing, Celtic were indebted to their giant goalkeeper as he advanced to make a crucial save, although Serero should have left him helpless.
It proved a hugely pivotal moment as Celtic raced up the pitch to make it 2-0 just a minute later. When a Samaras shot was blocked by Veltman, the ball broke into the path of Kayal just outside the penalty area. The Israeli midfielder looked to guide a precise side-footed shot beyond Cillessen, but a sharp deflection off the luckless Denswil wrong-footed the Ajax goalkeeper and the ball nestled in the corner of his net, sparking wild celebrations around the ground.
Ajax coach Frank de Boer must have been fast reaching the conclusion that this was a night when the breaks were simply not going to go his team’s way. They tried to rally immediately, putting Celtic under fresh pressure, but Sigthorsson wasted another excellent chance when he screwed a shot wide of Forster’s left hand post from around ten yards. Celtic: Forster, Lustig (Biton 77), Ambrose, Van Dijk, Izaguirre; Kayal (Ledley 70), Mulgrew; Forrest, Pukki (Balde 90), Samaras; Stokes. Subs not used: Zaluska, Rogic, Atajic, Fisher Ajax: Cillessen; Van Rhijn (Schone 80), Denswil, Veltman, Blind; Poulsen (Boilesen 67); Andersen, De Jong, Serero, Fischer (De Sa 72); Sigthorsson. Subs not used: Vermeer, Van Der Hoorn, Klaassen, Hoesen