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Mins 01 Lambert threads ball through to Sutton - just offside. 03 Speculative attempt by Rushfeldt drifts past post. 05 Thompson crosses from left, Agathe gathers, shoots; corner. 08 Agathe breaks through again, shot blocked. 11 Rosenborg press through Begg; Bratbaak fails to read pass. 12 Foul on Thompson, left of area. Penalty claim from free kick. 15 Bratbaak drifts across area, but ball cleared. 19 Great interplay between Henrik and Petrov. Stan fouled outside box. 20 Thommo takes free kick. Wall fails to stop shot, keeper beaten. Celtic go one up! 25 Great passing move by Celts, but Sutton’s flick doesn’t come off. 28 Corner to Rosenborg on right. Douglas flaps at ball. 33 Break by Henrik; Sutton can’t get to cross. 37 Surging run by Agathe. Gets to bye-line, but no takers. 40 Petrov tries long range effort. Well over. 45 Petrov through to Larsson; half-time whistle. 51 Sutton plays Henrik in, but defender does well. 53 Stan tries again, but easy for keeper. 59 Good move by Rosenborg; great block by Mjallby. 62 Thommo’s free kick flicked on by Sutton; Henrik foiled by keeper. 67 Lambert chips into box. Sutton furiously claims he was held. 70 Rosenborg attack again; Baldé stands firm. 75 Balde cuts out dangerous ball at expense of corner. 76 Douglas punches well from resulting corner. 77 Great run by Lambert. Shot blocked; Sutton tries his luck from edge of box. Keeper saves. 81 Another good attempt by Sutton. Keeper holds well. 84 Claims for hand-ball from Agathe’s cross. 87 Baldé gives ball away; Lambert cuts out danger. 88 Great run by Didier; just over does it. 89 Guppy (Thompson) swings in cross; Petrov dives. Heads wide. 90 Fabulous one handed save by Douglas, but free kick given. 4 minutes added time. 93 Another fine save by Rab, but whistle had gone. 94 Final whistle! Celtic go top of the group! Graeme's GameCeltic rocketed to the top of group E at the half way stage with a 1-0 win over the Norwegian champions after another thrilling European night at Celtic Park. After the despair in Turin it is with a sense of elation that all fans view the group table this morning showing the bhoys sitting proudly atop. Every game seems to be of almost unbearable, tension filled, importance but the trip to Porto next week may be the biggest yet. Anything other than defeat would surely have us heading for the second group stages. Amazing !! Celtic started with the same eleven that had cruised through the game at legoland ten days ago; Bobby Petta still injured so Thommo continued in the left wing back role. Once again us telly viewers had Archie to contend with and he got straight into it by informing us that the noise inside the ground was like a "volcanic surge". It did, once again, sound like a very special atmosphere and the team started in a very positive mood forcing the visitors back into defence. Both Agathe and Thomson were getting good early space and Didier was obviously in the mood as he went at the Rosenberg defenders at every opportunity. Again, there were signs that the opposition were very comfortable on the ball as they moved quickly from defence into attack with Harald drifting into some good areas down the Celtic right hand side. I wondered if he'd still be as popular if he managed to get his team a goal. Once again the back three looked capable of handling most of the threats and Lennon and Lambert in front of them were breaking up and harrying as they always do. Further up Petrov was getting stuck in like someone who'd never had a serious injury and the front pair were moving and chasing everything that came their way. Celtic scored what turned out to be the only goal of the game in 21 minutes when a surging run by Stan was halted inside the 'D' at the edge of the box by a lunging Norwegian. Larsson and Petrov looked to be contemplating a re-run of their free-kick routine, but Henke ran over the ball and Thommo slammed a low shot through the wall and into the net. Further half chances failed to add to the lead and the teams went in at the interval with Douglas not having had a save to make, although he had done his standard 'flap' at a corner. No Celtic changes at half time and the second half was a fairly open affair with Rosenberg pushing three men up front. They still couldn't penetrate the Celtic defence and there wasn't the same tension as there had been during the Ajax and Porto games. Still at only 1-0 you always felt a wee bit jittery. A great cheer midway through the half when Harald was subbed, he looked a bit bemused at the level of noise. It was good to see him back, just glad he didn't score. Celtic brought on Guppy for Thommo and Douglas made his first save of the match inside the last fifteen minutes with a great dive to his right. The ref had blown for a foul but it was an excellent stop considering how little he'd had to do in the game. He made another shortly after but, again, there had been a free kick awarded to Celtic. After a lengthy extra four minutes the final whistle sounded and we had another three points in the bag. Two very tough away games to come, don't think going to Norway will be a stroll, but let's just keep on enjoying the ride and who knows, it might be longer than we thought. Porto and Juve drew 0-0 so the Celts top the group by a point from the Italians. Man of the match. Sorry. Couldn't separate Lambert and Sutton.CELTIC (3-5-2): Douglas; Balde, Mjallby, Valgaeren; Agathe, Lambert, Lennon, Petrov, Thompson (Guppy 66); Larsson, Sutton ROSENBORG (4-4-2): Arason; B Johnsen, Hoftun, Basma, Saarinen; Olsen (F Jonsen 85), Strand (Winsnes 81), Skammerslrud, Berg; Brattbakk (George 74), Rushfeldt Booked: Rosenbrog: Saarinen 19 |