O'Connell named in staring XI: https://twitter.com/celticfc/statuse...82080824557568
CELTIC team v @fca_kz: Gordon; Lustig, Ambrose, O'Connell; Roberts, Armstrong, Brown, McGregor, Tierney; Dembele, Griffiths. (LA)
Thrown in at the deep end big time here. Astana were unbeaten in the CL at home last season, most notably taking points off Atletico Madrid and Benfica.
It seems to be a part of a back three with Ambrose and Lustig if Premier Sports is to be trusted, with Tierney and Roberts the wing backs.
Ploughed into a fella nice and early to let him know he was there!
Down 1-0, a free header from a corner. Not sure if O'Connell was the nearest to him, half watching it on an app on my phone at work!
Edit - Just saw the goal again at half time and O'Connell was poor I'm afraid. Just seemed to lose the goalscorer.
Last edited by DeLorean; 27/07/2016 at 2:48 PM.
Brilliant equaliser by Griffiths. A CRUUUUUUUCIAL away goal. Sorry Owls!
Edit - Result - 1-1.
O'Connell had a pretty hairy moment in the dying seconds of injury time again, when a couple of Astana players got in behind him from a free kick, but it was headed over thankfully. A great result for them under the circumstance. From what I saw of it I'd say the Astana Arena hasn't witnessed this big an injustice since Kevin Doyle's heroics in 2012.
Last edited by DeLorean; 27/07/2016 at 3:59 PM.
Just heard the radio report on Radio Nova - John Harte (who drives me utterly demented; I think he's genuinely about the worst newsreader I have ever everheard) described it as a crucial goal 3 (THREE) times!Originally Posted by DeLorean
Just brainless.
*Breathes...*
It was a 50/50 game and Celtic pretty much controlled the game after they equalised.
O'Connell's partner was Ambrose, I don't know if you are acquainted with Ambrose, for a 20 year old kid to be given his chance in that game was brilliant but to have Ambrose as your senior partner turned it into the task from hell. Considering that 5 stone handicap, I thought O'Connell was excellent.
The dying second's chance for Astana was mainly Ambrose's culpability.
This guy is talented and he's in an environment where he can grow and mature, football wise.
I knew Celtic started pretty well and were probably a bit unlucky to go behind on the balance of play, but then if you can't defend a basic corner I'm not sure you can consider yourself unlucky. After conceding though it seemed to be mostly Astanta pressure until Celtic equalised twelve minutes from the end? That's what it looked like to me anyway from glancing pretty regularly at my phone and the comments on the BBC match tracker seemed to indicate the same, most suggesting they'd be doing well to hold on to a 1-0 defeat.
Lovely goal to level it up though and a great result under the circumstances, a tough place to go at the best of times, nevermind this early in the season with injuries to key defenders.
I haven't seen much of Ambrose but I've seen enough to know he's cat! Yeah, looking at it again he lost his man completely for the chance at the end, but O'Connell lost his man to a lesser extent as well. Either one of them could have easily scored although it was Ambrose's man that headed over.
O'Connell got plenty of praise off Rodgers anyway which was nice, even if he does talk an incredible amount of sh!te. I see he blamed legacy issues for the poor marking at set pieces! Jurgen Klopp could do the same.
Highlights here-O'Connell lost Logvinenko from a corner for the hosts' opener on 19 minutes, but Rodgers praised the young defender."I thought he was outstanding," he said. "For a young player, he has been on the fringes for a few years, coming into that environment, under pressure, he had very few mistakes in the game.
"You would expect him to make some as a young player but he coped in a very difficult situation."
On the poor marking for the Astana goal, Rodgers added: "I think there has been an issue there with set-pieces, long before I came in.
Seeing as Celtic's first 4 or 5 central defenders were out and you have a 20 year old paired with hapless Ambrose, that's a certain recipe for occasional defensive anarchy.
O'Connell's defensive error for the first goal is blatant but a goalie should get that one 10/10. With that type of zonal defensive set up, the goalie has to be decisive and make that space his own. A shared error for the goal concession, me thinks.
Barthez was a bit like that (indecisive), lob the ball across just outside the goal box and he could get stuck in no man's land or manage a half flap.
Last edited by geysir; 28/07/2016 at 10:43 AM.
Retains his place tonight.
Celtic fairly comfortable it seems from what I've seen, actually both sides were until a bit of a mad penalty concession right on half time. Griffiths banged it home to give Celtic a 1-0 lead.
I saw O'Connell making a string of headed clearances just before it actually.
Gordon lobbed from about 45 years after running out of his box and clearing with his head. All tied up.
Another Celtic penalty in jury time. Dembele makes it 2-1. Result.
Eoghan didn't put a foot wrong all evening plus he has a good eye and the technique to give a good pass, he's a bit ruffled when pressed but that would be an Irish thing, doesn't respond too well when pressed to do something else.
I doubt if he can nail a starting place especially seeing as Toure has come casting a huge shadow but I'd say he might be top of the queue to start as a replacement and should get decent game time. All in all, it's a watch this space thread.
How was his arse?
Well proportioned I presume, I take your word on these matters.
The centre of defence was woeful last night in his absence. Not sure why he was dropped, as he has had a good start to the season.
Think Rodgers was just giving fringe pages a chance in the first team in what should have been a straightforward tie. It's fair to say, they didn't.
I very much doubt that Rodgers would use that return game as a practice game for fringe players, that was his most important game of the year.
For some reason Eoghan was not even on the bench (injured?), Lustig replaced Eoghan at CM and the hapless Janko took over Lustig's place at RB.
Janko (younger than Eoghan) had a nightmare game.
Hindsight of course, but Lustig at RB and Eoghan with Toure at CM would in all probability have worked better
Made it off the bench for the last twenty minutes at the Nou Camp. Barcelona only scored two of their seven goals in that time.
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