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Coincidence are not but having seen last weeks game against Shamrock Rovers postponed at the last minute Celtic were surprised to see a home fixture against the same opposition for this weekend. Still there was excitement a plenty , and why wouldn’t there be, as Celtic looked forward to going to toe with Rovers who are one of Irelands best known Clubs. With Porterstown the venue this would be a real test for the lads as Rovers have already gained a reputation as being one of the leagues top teams.
It was Celtic who settled quickest and it was they who created an early chance when, from a Mark Hughes cross, Leigh Reilly blazed wide from 6 yards out. Minutes later Antonio Neto found Reilly, who made a great run, one on one with the keeper and while his shot beat the Rovers No 1 it also edged past the far post. Reilly thought he had finally got on the scoresheet when he finished with a deft header from a Hughes free kick but the Referee adjudged the effort offside. Further opportunities came and went.
One observer queried whether Celtic would rue their missed opportunities and so it came to pass. Rovers broke swiftly and a lovely cross field ball forced a foul on the edge of the box. Up stepped their midfielder who placed the ball, with economy of effort, coolly into the top left hand corner. 0-1. A goal up Rovers confidence grew and for the remainder of the half it was a tight contest with chances at both ends few and far between. HT: 0-1
At half time the Celtic coaches told their charges not to worry and not to panic. They were playing well and their reward would come. The third quarter mirrored the second – Celtic enjoying more possession with Rovers always looking capable. Both defences dominated and great credit for Celtic must go to Donatus Mweke, Franc Ajunomah and Alex San Emeterio for ensuring keeper Tommy Bowe had a quiet day. Celtic’s midfield trio of Andre Enache, Ciaran Collins and Hughes were dominant allowing Neto and Dylan Mc Donagh the freedom out wide. However despite seeing more of the ball the Celts struggled to break a resolute Rovers defence.
With 15 minutes remaining Rovers did themselves no favours when their striker was shown a straight red for a needless and reckless kick on San Emeterio. An extra player to the good Celtic pushed for the equaliser with Mc Donagh and Neto both hitting some teasing crosses. With 7 minutes remaining Celtic got the goal their efforts deserved. Hughes, Neto and Evan Nolan exchanged passes before Nolan squared the ball into the danger zone. While the Rovers defender got there first he failed to clear it allowing Reilly, who else, to stab the ball home . 1-1. A slightly fortunate goal but one that Celtic richly deserved as evidenced by the big celebrations on and off the pitch. While Celtic went in search of a winner credit must be given to 10 man Rovers who saw out the last 6 minutes with relative ease. FT: 1-1.
This was Celtics best performance of the season thus far and while it merited a victory the lads would have taken a draw at the start of play against a strong Rovers outfit fancied to challenge for honours this season. There were plenty of positives today for the Coaches – the overall team performance with the platform supplied by the defence where Ajunomah put in a great display; the defensive midfield effort from Enache that allowed Collins and Hughes, who suffered a worrying knee injury, to break forward on a regular basis and the character shown when a goal down to come back against a top class outfit. All in all a good day for the Celts and while there is a long long way to go perhaps the Boys will start believing that they belong in the Majors. Well done lads but remember you need to do this every week.
