Celtic close Germany tour with victory
By: Laura Brannan on 17 Jul, 2012 20:17
17 July 2012
Friendly
Sholz Arena, Aalen
VFR AALEN 1
(Hubner 4)
CELTIC 2
(Hooper 64, Stokes 77)
ANTHONY Stokes slotted home the winner as Celtic came from behind to beat Aalen 2-1 in their final pre-season match on German soil.
The home side had initially taken the lead after just four minutes when Benjamin Hubner bundled the ball over the line from a free-kick. But a persistent Celtic came back in the second-half, firstly from a Gary Hooper tap in before Stokes slotted through the keeper's legs to take the lead.
Neil Lennon had made several changes to the side which lost to Stuttgart Kickers at the weekend and introduced two of the late comers to the squad, Victor Wanyama and Mikael Lustig, from the start.
But it wasn’t the best of starts for Celtic who went behind to a goal in the fourth minute. It came two minutes after Fraser Forster had blocked a shot with his leg and this time it originated from a free-kick. Despite the keeper blocking the initial shot from Hubner, the Aalen defender managed to bundle it over the line and Celtic's cries for offside were ignored.
The Hoops didn’t let their heads drop, though, and showed good movement in midfield. There was a clear improvement from the previous two matches on German soil and they pushed forward in an attempt to find an equaliser.
But after a good spell from Celtic, the home side came back into the game on 24 minutes when Mulgrew was forced to make a sliding block inside the box. Wanyama then thumped the ball out of play shortly after and Kelvin Wilson headed the resulting corner clear.
Aalen striker, Marcel Reichwein attempted a glancing header just before the half hour mark but it was an easy one for Forster to clear. And the keeper followed that up three minutes later with an excellent block from the same player, this time hitting it onto the bar.
James Forrest, who was looking one of the quickest and sharpest in the hoops, made a break away from an Aalen corner on 38 minutes and made a good run down the wing. Kris Commons couldn’t make the most of it, however, and sent his cross into the stand behind the goal.
Aalen had one more attack before the break but Forster came to the rescue again, this time blocking it with his legs. Wilson followed through by clearing the loose ball and Celtic went into half-time one goal down.
But they returned fighting and in the opening 15 minutes Celtic tried to push deep into Aalen's half. Their persistence paid off on 64 minutes when Hooper scored the side's first goal of pre-season, tapping it in at the far post.
The two substitutes, Paddy McCourt and Dylan McGeouch, linked well to send the ball into the box and the striker converted it from just a few yards out.
And the goal seemed to breed life into the Hoops as they charged forward in search of another. Substitute Mo Bangura looked energetic and eager to impress, and he was involved in the build up to Celtic's next chance.
This time McCourt unleashed an effort from the edge of the box, but Daniel Bernhardt in goal, blocked the shot. Hooper attempted to latch onto the loose ball but was ruled offside in the process.
The Hoops continued to dominate and found a second goal on 77 minutes, this time from Stokes. The Irishman had initially dummied the ball when Brown had played it into the box. Forrest collected it and played it through to the Irishman where he duly converted it though the keeper's legs.
With Celtic now in the lead they looked confident and in control. Aalen couldn't find an equaliser at the end and the Hoops closed the German leg of their pre-season tour with a victory. Next up for the Hoops is Ajax in the Amsterdam ArenA on Saturday, July 21.
VFR AALEN (4-5-1): Bernhardt; Traut, Hubner, Kister, Buballa; Dausch, Hufmann, Grech, Kampl (Haller); Reichwein, Lechleiter
Subs: Wehr, Barth, Valentini, Bergheim, Junglas, Klauss, Ruiz, Weiss, Zimmermann, Silva
CELTIC (3-4-1-2): Forster; Lustig (McGeouch 62), K. Wilson, Wanyama (McCourt 63), Mulgrew; Forrest, Ledley, Kayal (Brown 46), Commons (Bangura 65); Stokes, Hooper (Murphy 73)
Subs not used: Zaluska
Website man of the match: James Forrest
http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=2806
Verfasst: Di 17. Jul 2012, 19:54
Ich krieg Hunger
