The Offical Glasgow Celtic thread

[Over the Bar]

Tell the truth Tony......you've got a new job working as hospitality staff in Celtic Park and were actually serving dinner to all those listed above! 

[illdecide]

I'll Decide.Don't be ridiculous! I'm often copied,never equalled.There will only ever be one me

I'd say I speak for most on here when I say we're all happy enough there is only one Tony Fearon.

[illdecide]

The winner of Celtic versus Stjarnan will play Qarabag or Rudar Pljevlja in the Champions League third qualifying round.

Celtic or Stjarnan will be at home in the first leg of the third round on the 28 or 29 July.

Qarabag are the champions of Azerbaijan while Rudar Pljevlja triumphed in Montenegro's top flight in 2014-15.

Celtic lead the Icelandic champions by 2-0 going into the second leg of the second qualifying round on 22 July.

The result of the first leg between Qarabag and Rudar Pljevlja was 0-0 in Azerbaijan.

[illdecide]

Pre-season friendly
SD Eibar 75th anniversary
Ipurua Municipal Stadium, Eibar
Saturday, July 18
CELTIC...4
(Ambrose 49, Griffiths [penalty] 59, 74, 89)
SD EIBAR...1
(Arruabarrena [penalty] 68)
A SECOND-HALF hat-trick from Leigh Griffiths helped Celtic to a 4-1 friendly victory over SD Eibar tonight (Saturday) as the La Liga side celebrated their 75th anniversary.
The Hoops striker was a thorn in the side of the hosts all evening and took his goals well, converting with conviction from the penalty spot after Efe Ambrose's opener and then creating a wonderful strike out of seemingly nothing to put the game out of sight.
The forward then sealed his third by capitalising on a slip from Andoni Errasti and slipping the ball into the net from a tight angle.
Ronny Deila used the match to give a first start to new keeper Logan Bailly and he got an early touch of the ball after kick-off as the home side pressed high while Celtic stroked it around in the opening stages.
Nadir Ciftci got the first shot on target for the Hoops with a good header in the box but Xabi Irureta had his angles right and saved well. That was followed by a good spell of pressure from Celtic but a quick counter from Eibar led to a free-kick and shot from Dani Nieto on 16 minutes but his left-footed strike went safely over Bailly's bar.
The Bhoys were in charge of the match with the hosts unable to deal with their quick passing but their good work was almost undone midway through the first-half when they conceded a penalty. Darnell Fisher was caught out of position with a long cross-field pass from Eibar into the box and Boyata tried his best to cover for the right-back but he blocked the lively Nieto's shot with his hand.
The Eibar midfielder took the spot-kick himself but the effort was well saved by Bailly who dived low to his right to get a strong hand onto the shot. The keeper then had Boyata to thank when the defender had to race to the goals to hook Endika Arandilla's lob off the line after Bailly miscued a clearance on the 18 yard line.
The chaotic Iriarte was then booked for another off the ball challenge on Scott Brown before the game settled into more of a rhythm with Celtic passing with patience and Eibar looking to hit on the break.
The Hoops had a chance to go into the lead when Ciftci won a free kick just outside the box but van van Dijk's shot from the set-piece curled inches wide.
Boyata was called into action once more to save his side before the break and he showed excellent timing to nick the ball off Luna just before half-time as the striker threatened to pull the trigger 18 yards out.
Celtic brought on a trio of fresh faces for the second-half as the manager replaced Boyata, Mulgrew and Ciftci with Efe Ambrose, Emilio Izaguirre and Anthony Stokes.
And it was the Bhoys' Nigerian defender who put the Celts into the lead just minutes later after he nodded home a free kick from Leigh Griffiths.
Forrest had used his pace to pull out wide right but the winger was fouled as he headed for the touchline. Griffiths curled a dangerous ball into the area from the set-piece and the defender was in the right place to cushion the ball beyond Irureta and delight the fans with his trademark celebration.
The goal brought Eibar out of their defensive shell and they could have equalised with a string of good chances in the aftermath but a combination of good defending from the Hoops and poor finishing kept Deila's men in front.
Griffiths then turned from provider to scorer when he won a penalty after being hauled to the ground by Irureta, who had fumbled a save on his 18 yard line. The striker stepped up to take the set-piece and smashed an unstoppable shot into the right corner of the net to put the Celts 2-0 up.
The Hoops then took the advantage of the second goal to make a raft of changes as the game wore on but that encouraged Eibar, who pulled themselves back into the game when they were awarded another penalty when a shot rattled off second-half substitute Izaguirre's arm in the box.
Substitute Mikel Arruabarrena took the responsibility and calmly converted from 12 yards.
Any hopes of a comeback where then almost immediately snuffed out when Griffiths bagged his second and Celtic's third. The striker gathered a good pass from second-half sub Kieran Tierney on the corner of the box and fired a low shot into the net beyond Andoni Errasti at his near post.
The Hoops hit-man then sealed his hatrick two minutes before time when he forced Errasti into another slip in the box and slid a low shot into the net from a tight angle.
The victory was the perfect way for the Bhoys to prepare for Wednesday's trip to Iceland to face FC Stjarnan and gave the travelling support the entertainment their backing deserved.
CELTIC (4-2-3-1) Bailly; Fisher (Janko 60), Boyata (Ambrose 46), van Dijk, Mulgrew (Izaguirre 46); Brown, Bitton (Rogic 60), Forrest (Tierney 60), Ciftci (Stokes 46), Armstrong (Lindsay 60), Griffiths
Not used: Fasan, Scepovic
SD EIBAR starting XI: Irureta; Gayoso, Corral, Silvestre, Errasti, Etxaburu, Nieto, Arandilla, Iriarte, Luna, Keko

[stew]

The winner of Celtic versus Stjarnan will play Qarabag or Rudar Pljevlja in the Champions League third qualifying round.

Celtic or Stjarnan will be at home in the first leg of the third round on the 28 or 29 July.

Qarabag are the champions of Azerbaijan while Rudar Pljevlja triumphed in Montenegro's top flight in 2014-15.

Celtic lead the Icelandic champions by 2-0 going into the second leg of the second qualifying round on 22 July.

The result of the first leg between Qarabag and Rudar Pljevlja was 0-0 in Azerbaijan.

They could come to regret that argument over the penalty and subsequent miss.

[illdecide]

Don't think so this time Stew...against better opposition yes. Celtic will get a draw at the very least on Wednesday but i expect them to win.

[reddgnhand]

Don't think so this time Stew...against better opposition yes. Celtic will get a draw at the very least on Wednesday but i expect them to win.

BT sports showing it live.

[lynchbhoy]

Caught asleep at the start but a good result and performance thereafter
Hope the form continues to improve and the rustiness is addressed for the next round of CL
Spl starts in another week or two as well. That will help!

[theyellowbus]

Thought they were comfortable enough. I'm not impressed with the signing of Cifti.
Easy option taken by Celtic again to sign the scoring threat of one of their league rivals.Granted they have bought muck in that position in recent years but i cant see this lad being any addition in any future European campaign.
The line of armstrong,mackey steven and joahansen look impressive all the same.

[clarshack]

Good win last night despite the early scare but Celtic will get it a lot tougher against Qarabağ. Qarabağ had some decent results in the Europa league last season knocking out Twente in the playoffs and then beating Dnipro away and drawing with Inter Milan and St-Étienne. they don't seem to concede a lot at home so Celtic will need to be taking any kind of lead to Azerbaijan.

[illdecide]

When the draw was first made I was rubbing my hands but now i'm not so sure. I didn't realise they were decent enough and going by the results they got last year they'll def be a handful...

[T Fearon]

Celtic should be seeing off teams like this without too much trouble.The Europa League is a poor guide as it isn't taken seriously by the majority of teams.Defence is still shaky, that Icelandic team came very close to scoring at Celtic Park as well,and to lose a goal at home in the next round will make things difficult.

[stew]

Don't think so this time Stew...against better opposition yes. Celtic will get a draw at the very least on Wednesday but i expect them to win.

Good call illdecide, that said it was hairy  enough for a while.

To be honest I was never the biggest Celtic fan until this past few years,  young Jay and Samaras got me interested and as I studied them more and learned more about the Characters in the club I became a huge fan.

I intend to go to Paradise in the new year a few times when I am home, I intend to meet young Jay and I am going to experience  a European football night at Paradise, top of the bucket list since I jumped out of a plane on me own last August 16th.

[illdecide]

Who is televising the game tonight?

[charlieTully]

Don't think so this time Stew...against better opposition yes. Celtic will get a draw at the very least on Wednesday but i expect them to win.

Good call illdecide, that said it was hairy  enough for a while.

To be honest I was never the biggest Celtic fan until this past few years,  young Jay and Samaras got me interested and as I studied them more and learned more about the Characters in the club I became a huge fan.

I intend to go to Paradise in the new year a few times when I am home, I intend to meet young Jay and I am going to experience  a European football night at Paradise, top of the bucket list since I jumped out of a plane on me own last August 16th.

European nights at parkhead are special special nights. Amazing. You will love it.