Look away now: Celtic players look dejected after the second goal. Pic: © SNS Group
Celtic’s miserable away record in Europe continued on Wednesday evening when they went down 3-0 to Braga in the Estadio AXA. Goals from Alan, Elderson and Matheus gave Celtic manager Neil Lennon a European debut to forget.
Celtic fielded four of their new signings in the starting line-up but it wasn’t Cha Du-Ri, Efrain Juarez, Joe Ledley or Charlie Mulgrew who dominated the pre-match chat. Aiden McGeady, who Lennon had insisted would play despite speculation that he would be leaving the club, was not even named on the bench, indicating a transfer may be imminent.
The Republic of Ireland winger’s input may have been helpful as Celtic struggled to hold possession from kick-off. Like the SPL side, Braga were playing their first competitive match of the season and were also fielding a new look side but they looked the more composed from the off.
Prompted by Alan, the effervescent Brazilian with the mundane name, Braga had Celtic on the back foot repeatedly in the opening spell. When Lennon’s side did have the ball, a long pass to Georgios Samaras seemed the preferred option but it was without success.
Despite the Portuguese side’s superiority, they were not getting shots on in target and that offered hope to a Celtic side who looked disjointed and clearly hadn’t had enough playing time together. After 25 minutes they faced an uphill task though, when Braga were awarded a penalty.
A cross from the right was blocked in the box by Ki Sung-Yueng and though the majority of the ball hit his chest, an arm drawn in to help was enough for the referee to award a penalty. Alan stepped up to take the spot kick and his top corner finish was exemplary.
Celtic continued to be second best for the remainder of the first half but the break gave Lennon an opportunity to sort out the obvious problems. Initially, that appeared to work, with Ledley and Brown, virtual spectators in the opening period, seeing more of the ball and Juarez providing a lot of the play from a deeper position.
Despite enjoying far more of the ball Celtic were unable to fashion clear chances. Braga were not as adventurous as they had been but still looked dangerous on the break and when their chance came they took it.
A corner in the 76th minute was whipped in by Matheus but Celtic’s defence allowed it to bounce in the box. Nigerian defender Elderson was quick to react and swept the ball past Lukas Zaluska to make it 2-0.
By that point Lennon had already replaced Shaun Maloney with Daryl Murphy and following the second goal he threw on James Forrest for Juarez. The plan was obviously to push for the away goal that would have swung the balance of the tie ahead of next week but what followed made the Parkhead job all the more difficult.
Matheus, who had been a handful since his introduction, was brought down 35 yards from goal with two minutes to go. He elected to take the set piece himself and fired in a powerful shot that flew past Zaluska. The Braga fans celebrated wildly but the goalkeeper, who would have been hoping to stake a claim for the number one jersey while Lennon looks to sign a new keeper, will not enjoy watching the replays.
Murphy had a shot from distance tipped over the bar in stoppage time but the resultant corner came to nothing and the referee signalled full time second later. Celtic trooped off dejected but will have to lift themselves quickly in order to prolong their Champions League campaign past the first stage.
