UEFA Cup Thursday February 27th 2003

VfB Stuttgart 3

Celtic 2

0:1 Thompson (12); 0:2 Sutton (14); 1:2 Tiefert (37); 2:2 Hleb (76); 3:2 Munzel (87)

Att: 50,348

ref: Jan Wegereef (Hol)

Celtic: Douglas; Valgaeren, Balde, Laursen; Agathe, Lambert (Maloney 83), Lennon, Petrov, Thompson; Hartson, Sutton (McNamara 87)

VE Night once again as the Celts make up in no small measure for the debacle in Basel by stomping all over Stuttgart and storming into the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup. A travelling band of at least 12,000 Bhoys from all over Europe turned the town square into a green and white ceilidh that eventually spilled over into the Gottleib Daimler Stadium and cranked up to full effect as the Hoops ran into a 2:0 lead after just 16 minutes. Fuelled by a heady mix of German drink and adrenaline, the incessant noise of the travelling fans was unrivalled in intensity as it wafted down in an alcoholic fog from the terraces. It was, at the same time, a joyous affirmation of support for the Bhoys and a desperate attempt to drown out the sound of Bonnie Tyler.

Not wanting to become football's answer to the ageing queen of Euro-rock dinosaurs, the players dug in under early Stuttgart pressure, though the Sieve did show a few signs of the nervous defending to come. Celtic did, however, settle fairly quickly and Agathe began to terrorise the German rearguard, who looked as much in control as Fernando Ricksen doing a three point turn in the vicinity of a lamp post.

It wasn't long before a decent cross was met by John Hartson, who knocked the ball on for Thompson. Thommo's dive on the blind side of a defender sent the ball into the net to put Celtic one up. Cue the kind of bedlam not seen in this part of the world since Germanic tribes wiped out the Roman army of the North.

Two minutes later and Agathe did the same again, only this time Sutton met the ball as it was cut back in the box to make it 2:0. It was all over bar the shouting. Stuttgart needed to score five to go through. The German fans were temporarily stunned into silence while TFOD must have been having coronaries, throats choking up with bile, at the stunning realisation that Celtic were on their way to the UEFA quarter finals!

At this point in time, while the wives in Govan were cleaning up the broken crockery and getting out the toilet paper, Hartson could have easily made it three. Incredibly, Celtic were strolling majestically around the park.

Things went somewhat awry following an injury to Thompson. As he was being treated for an injury at the side of the pitch the Sieve went to sleep and allowed Stuttgart to pull one back. The half finished 2:1, although the pause in the on-field action did not signal any such respite for the partying Hoops in the stands.

The second period saw a Celtic safe in the knowledge of qualification, but sloppy in defence nonetheless. An equaliser from Stuttgart was on the cards - and duly arrived - but no one expected the winner three minutes from time. However, not even this could dampen the spirits.

Celtic may have lost the battle, but we won this particular war. This was one of our finest nights in Europe for many years and every player deserves credit for their efforts. A true team display, even in the absence of the talismanic Larsson. OFM will surely learn form the mistakes in this match and will take comfort from the battering ram performance of Hartson. Long may this continue.