UEFA Cup Thursday 26th February 2004

Celtic 1

Barcelona 0

1:0 Thompson 64

Att: 59,539

Ref: Wolfgang Stark (Ger)

Celtic: Douglas Agathe Balde Varga McNamara Lennon Petrov Pearson Thompson Larsson Beattie
subs
Marshall for Beattie 45
Sylla for Thompson 83

10 years and one week after Fergus got the club here we are beating Barcelona. Stuff we wouldn't even dare dream of back in those days.

The events back in Spain obviously overshadowed the game. Both teams would have happily postponed, but UEFA decided to plough on.

The good points of the game were the fact that we won, we kept a clean sheet, Larsson, although alone up front, gave them all sorts of trouble and Stephen Pearson had the game of his life. Rieziger won't be looking forward to having Pearson to deal with again.

The bad points were that they could have scored at least three if they had a forward who could hit the target and obviously we are going out there with a slightly unusual line up to say the least.

What happened at half time? No one really knows but the TV evidence certainly seems to paint Rab as the peacemaker and not the aggressor. David Marshall appeared for the second half and did nothing wrong, although his cute chip over the head of an in rushing forward did nothing for the nerves. If the only other option for the return game is Hedman then hopefully Marshall will get the nod. That said, if the goalkeeping options were Hedman or a bag of sand, I'd have the sand.

The goal was another Euro cracker for Alan Thompson to bore his grandchildren to death about, a chest high volley after Henrik had nodded to ball perfectly into his path. Again England were apparently watching, but really isn't it time they hit the highway? The way he has been playing over the past few years is no secret, but it would appear that rampant jingoism is the order of the day at the FA, hence no one from SPL can gain an England cap. Not that I'm in a raging panic to see him play from them, but every time they announce that he'll be watched it seems to affect him slightly, and enough is enough.

So we head into one of Europe's toughest arenas with a teenage goalkeeper and without our main central defence. Should be a doddle.