Celtic survive scare to see off Stjarnan in Champs Lge

By Adam Higgins
Jul 22, 2015
4 min read

CELTIC survived an early scare in Scandinavia to cruise into the Champions League third qualifying round with a 6-1 aggregate victory over FC Stjarnan.

The Icelandic champions halved Celtic's 2-0 first-leg advantage when Olafur Karl Finsen fired home at the end of a fine move inside seven minutes.

But Nir Bitton levelled the tie on the night with a near-post header before Charlie Mulgrew's low strike shortly after the break put the Hoops firmly in control.

Late goals from substitute Leigh Griffiths and Stefan Johansen, who both argued over taking the penalty last week which the former missed, completed the formalities as the hosts tired.

The Scottish Premiership champions will now face Azerbaijan side Qarabeg, who beat Rudar Pljevlja of Montenegro 1-0 over two legs, next week at Celtic Park before the return fixture a week later.

Coin toss: Stjarnan captain Michael Praest and Celtic skipper Scott Brown engage in the pre-match routine with Belgian referee Jonathan Lardot (Picture from BT Sport)

Much was made of the artificial surface at the close-knit Samsungvollur stadium but, on a glorious evening in Gardabaer, it provided few problems for Ronny Deila's team as they overcame the defensive wobble to seal their place in the next phase but in the knowledge that tougher tests lie ahead.

Both sides made two changes from the first leg as Gary Mackay-Steven, who suffered a groin injury in the warm-up last Wednesday, replaced James Forrest and Virgil van Dijk returned from suspension for Celtic with Mulgrew switching to left-back and Emilio Izaguirre dropping to the bench.

How they lined up: Celtic's starting XI in a 4-2-3-1 formation (Picture from BT Sport)

Stjarnan boss Runar Pall Sigmundsson drafted Pablo Punyed and Thorri Runarsson into midfield in place of Halldor Orri Bjornsson and Garoar Johansson as his side, who rarely threatened in Glasgow, sought a first home win of their campaign.

The Silverspoons, whose stuttering defence of their first Urvalsdeild title continued with Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to Akranes, were well-supported in the 1,100-capacity crowd and, after a dominant Celtic start, took the lead against the run of play with their first attack.

Jeppe Hansen engineered the free-flowing move with a channel run down the left and played a reverse pass into Finsen, who cut inside Bitton before rifling past Craig Gordon from 10 yards.

Breakthrough: Icelandic striker Finsen, 23, gave Celtic a shock with a composed finish to put Stjarnan back in contention (Picture from BT Sport)

Celtic responded to the setback by increasing the urgency as Nadir Ciftci, handed a six-game domestic ban this week for biting an opponent last season, fired over the crossbar from a tight angle after Stuart Armstrong's through-pass.

The visitors - backed by nearly 150 fans south of the capital Reykjavik - struggled to break down the resolute barrier that Stjarnan laid in front of them despite their patient probing.

They had the ball in the net midway through the first half after Johansen's shot from Mulgrew's low free-kick was spilled by ex-Motherwell keeper Gunnar Nielsen but Dedryck Boyata was offside as the defender turned the loose ball home from close range.

The pressure continued to pile on Stjarnan and eventually Celtic's perseverance bore fruit on 33 minutes when Bitton beat Nielsen to Johansen's corner to head home his first European goal for the club.

And, as Celtic turned the screw, Armstrong almost put them ahead on the night three minutes later with a hooked shot on the spin from Mackay-Steven's lay-off.

With the Hoops possessing a key away goal and Stjarnan needing three without reply to progress, the tempo noticeably dropped but the tie was out of sight when Mulgrew collected captain Scott Brown's pass and arrowed a 20-yard shot into the bottom corner.

Deila replaced Armstrong and Mikael Lustig, still recovering from a lengthy injury absence, with Efe Ambrose and Leigh Griffiths soon after to freshen up the team.

On target: The Belgian defender scored on his competitive debut for Celtic in the first leg and had a goal ruled out in Iceland (Picture from BT Sport)

Griffiths, who scored a hat-trick in Saturday's 4-1 friendly win over La Liga side Eibar, and Ciftci threatened again as the Hoops found their fluency against their weary-looking hosts.

Bitton thought he had equalled last season's tally of two goals already when bundling home Mulgrew's free-kick but the flag was raised again for offside.

Although Stjarnan knew their fate already, the Champions League debutants - who knocked Motherwell out of the Europa League last term - didn't give up hope of ending their journey on a positive note and Gordon had to be alert to parry away Finsen's powerful 22-yard strike.

Celtic, though, would have been further ahead if Nielsen hadn't spread himself well to deny Mackay-Steven and thwarted Mulgrew's curling free-kick while Ciftci slotted wide of the target when played in by Brown.

It was the former Dundee United striker's final opportunity to open his Celtic scoring account before making way for Australian midfielder Tom Rogic, who made his first competitive outing for the club since November 2013 following a series of injury lay-offs.

But a final flourish in the closing stages saw Griffiths convert Mackay-Steven's comeback before Mulgrew set up Johansen in stoppage time to seal Celtic's comfortable passage and a step closer towards their aim of returning to the group stages of the elite competition.

Room for improvement: Deila said Azerbaijan champions Qarabeg will be "a big step up" for Celtic in the next round (Picture from BT Sport)

TEAMS:

FC Stjarnan (4-2-3-1): 1 Nielsen, 12 Aeigsson, 2 Gudjonsson, 9 D Laxdal, 14 Arnason, 5 Praest (c), 16 Runarsson (Gunnarsson 59'), 11 Bjorgvinsson (Bjornsson 45'), 17 Finsen, 8 Punyed, 19 Hansen (Barddal 80').

Subs not used: 25 Johannesson (GK), 4 J Laxdal, 22 Knutsson, 20 Palsson.

Goals: Finsen (7')

Booked: Gudjonsson (61')

Substitutes: Ambrose (on for Lustig 52'), Griffiths (on for Armstrong 62'), Rogic (on for Ciftci 81').

Goals: Bitton (33'), Mulgrew (49'), Griffiths (88'), Johansen (90+3')

Booked: None

Referee: Jonathan Lardot (Belgium) - 8/10 Attendance: 1,100

MATCH FACTS:

Attempts: Stjarnan 6, Celtic 21 Attempts on target: Stjarnan 3, Celtic 10 Attempts off target: Stjarnan 3, Celtic 11 Corners: Stjarnan 3, Celtic 6 Offsides: Stjarnan 3, Celtic 8 Fouls: Stjarnan 16, Celtic 13