Shakhter Karagandy are going to have to face the same brutal flight and partisan crowd next week that Celtic did on Tuesday, but they’ll be doing it with a serious advantage. They denied their visitors an away goal in a 2-0 win that puts them in excellent position to qualify for the Champions League group stage.
Shakhter Karagandy vs. Celtic: Final score 2-0, Hoops on the ropes
It’s going to be a tough task for Celtic to climb back into their Champions League playoff tie back home.
Celtic dominated the opening 10 minutes of the game, but the tables turned dramatically when they conceded a terrible set-piece goal in the 12th minute. Off a throw in, Nikola Vasiljevic won a header in the box and flicked backwards towards Andrei Finonchenko, who was in an excellent position to finish and give his team the lead.
James Forrest thought he had Celtic’s equalizer in the 73rd minute, but Shakhter goalkeeper Alexandr Mokin came up with a brilliant save on Forrest’s header. Less than four minutes later, Sergei Khizhnichenko headed in his team’s second, nodding in what looked to be a poor shot turned brilliant cross by Vicius.
The Scottish champions now face a serious uphill battle to get back into the tie at Celtic Park, but they shouldn’t be counted out yet. Both teams were always going to have very significant advantages at home in this tie.
Shakhter Karagandy: Mokin, Simcevic, Mally, Vasiljevic, Dzidic, Poryvaev, Finonchenko, Canas, Vicius, Ghazaryan, Khizhnichenko
Goals: Finonchenko (12’), Khizhnichenko (77’)
Celtic: Forster, van Dijk, Mouyokolo, Mulgrew, Izaguirre, Lustig, Brown, Commons, Forrest, Ledley, Samaras
Goals: None
More in Soccer:
See More:
