brave hoops held in hamburg
David Friel
CELTIC picked up a merited away point in a 0-0 draw with Hamburg but the Hoops’ UEFA Europa League hopes now hang in the balance.
Hapoel Tel-Aviv practically secured their progression to the knockout stages by beating Rapid Vienna 3-0. The Israeli side sit on nine points and cannot be caught by Celtic – who have two points.
Hamburg now have seven points, while Rapid sit on four. Celtic now need to win their remaining two games – against the Austrians and Hapoel – and pray that the Germans lose both of their remaining fixtures.
While Hamburg enjoyed plenty of pressure, Celtic arguably had the two best chances of the game – with Scott McDonald twice being foiled by Frank Rost. On another day, the Hoops could have left with a win but it wasn’t to be.
With the rain pouring down on a bitterly cold evening, around 2,500 Celtic supporters huddled together in a corner of Hamburg’s imposing Nordbank Arena and backed their players all the way.
After sitting out Celtic’s last two matches, Barry Robson earned a recall to Tony Mowbray’s line-up – replacing Paddy McCourt in midfield. Stephen McManus was on the bench as Glenn Loovens continued in central defence beside Gary Caldwell.
The game began at a ferocious pace and Hamburg created two golden chances within the first 60 seconds. First, Caldwell had to block a close-range Jonathan Pitroipa shot and then Lukasz Zaluska produced heroics to deny Marcus Berg.
Yet, Celtic weren’t just defending as the game raged from end to end in an explosive opening and Robson almost fired the Hoops ahead in four minutes.
Aiden McGeady and McDonald did the work on the left and the Aussie’s pass found Samaras – who was tripped as he nudged the ball to Robson. The referee waved play on and midfielder’s shot was deflected inches over.
Hamburg were moving the ball about well but Celtic were finding spaces in the final third and McDonald spurned a glorious chance in 17 minutes. Georgios Samaras spun on the halfway line and embarked on a surging run, before slipping a pass to his strike partner – but McDonald’s 12-yard shot was saved by Rost.
That was a let-off for Hamburg and they upped the tempo in the period that followed. Ze Roberto clipped a free-kick over the bar and the outstanding Zaluska made a fine save to deny Marcell Jansen. Pitroipa then blazed over from 20 yards.
Celtic, though, remained dangerous when they got the ball forward and McDonald found himself one-on-one with Rost after McGeady had threaded a pass into his path. Once again, the Hamburg goalkeeper came out on top.
Pitroipa was lucky to escape a booking for a blatant dive in the Celtic box as the first half finished goalless. Within minutes of the restart, the Germans came close to changing that when Joris Mathijsen headed off the bar.
Zaluska, making his European debut, was then called into action in 53 minutes – diving low to his right to save Eljero Elia’s shot. Caldwell then made a vital tackle under pressure.
Hamburg had claims for a penalty waved away when Danny Fox controlled the ball in the box under pressure. Elia then burst through on the right and sent a shot inches wide of target.
Mowbray withdrew McGeady and McDonald just before the hour-mark, sending on Lee Naylor and Marc-Antoine Fortune. A few minutes later, Celtic created their first chance of the second half but Rost made the save from Samaras.
Hamburg started to up the pressure as the game entered its final quarter. The home side forced a succession of corner and Zaluska made an unbelievable save to deny David Rozenhal in 74 minutes.
Yet, Celtic gave it a go late on and put the Hamburg defence under a bit of pressure, without ever troubling Rost too much. Ultimately, though, the two sides couldn’t be separated.
UEFA Europa League
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Nordbank Arena, Hamburg
HAMBURG...0
CELTIC...0
HAMBURG (4-4-2) Rost; Jansen (Trochowski 83), Rozenhal, Mathijsen, Aogo; Rincon, Jarolim, Ze Roberto, Elia; Pitroipa (Tunay 88), Berg
Subs not used: Hesl, Tesche, Tavares, Schulz
CELTIC (4-4-2) Zaluska; Hinkel, Caldwell, Loovens, Fox; McGeady (Naylor 59), Crosas, NGuemo, Robson (McGinn 75); Samaras, McDonald (Fortune 59)
Subs not used: Cervi, Wilson, McCourt, McManus
WEBSITE MAN OF THE MATCH: Lukasz Zaluska
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