WEDNESDAY APRIL 14th
UEFA Cup

Villareal 2

Celtic 0

Att: 15,964

Ref: Massimo de Santis (Ita)

Celtic: Marshall Varga Balde Valgaeren McNamara Agathe Lennon Petrov Pearson Miller Larsson

subs
Smith for Miller 71
Wallace for Pearson 71

With a full squad this tie was definitely winnable; in the end it turned out to be a real Spain in the Arse ( Villa Real to be precise) and an embarrassing conclusion to this season's European run.

Sadly, Celtic departed the Continental stage with scarcely a whimper, as a depleted squad, robbed of Sutton and Thompson among others, just couldn't get it together against competent Spanish opposition.

It was all a far cry from the heights of the Camp Nou, as a Spanish equivalent of Dunfermline cut open the Sieve as early as 6 minutes, which was when Sonny Anderson put Villa Real one up. At fault, and not for the first time at this level, was Bobo. Despite a solid performance overall, he failed to challenge Anderson and allowed the striker a free header.

All Celtic could do was hope to weather the storm and try and score on the counter. Amazingly, given Viilareal's first half performance at Parkhead, the storm wasn't as great as might have been expected. Petrov and Lennon just dug in and Celtic actually managed to play some football. The big problem was supporting Larsson, who was doing overtime on his own up front. Agathe's contribution to this was negligible. He did a passable impression of lamp post waiting to be visited by a passing dog. Pearson and Petrov worked like Trojans to try and create some kind of openings, but when they came, the finishing was woeful. Pearson managed to head over the bar from close in, while Miller shot wildly off target.

With Celtic pushing for the equalizer, a second for the home side was inevitable. When it came, Valgaeren was left like a lost bhoy looking for his daddy. Villareal grabbed the second when he was caught napping and failed to clear. Despite looking bloated on Paella, clearly unfit and moving like an Orc on the rampage at Ibrox, OFM actually kept him on for the full match; God only knows why.

The less said about this night the better. Celtic looked jaded and the squad's lack of depth was cruelly exposed. The failure to score away in the UEFA Cup hurt us badly. The absence of John Hartson was never more keenly felt.