Charity the winner as Paradise rocks to Larsson's treble

IT was the friendliest of games, where the final outcome was never important, but, in many ways, the events at Celtic Park tonight will be remembered as one of the uplifting episodes in the club’s history.

The final score in the Legends Match between Celtic and Manchester United read 5-2 to the Hoops but the important end result was the difference being made to millions in a desperate situation.

This game raised much-needed funds for Oxfam’s East Africa Famine Appeal. And through the incredible show of support from the Celtic faithful, many lives will be saved.

Remarkably, a near-capacity crowd crammed into Paradise, creating a carnival atmosphere under the early-evening summer sunshine, and given the charitable ethos behind Celtic’s formation, it was a sight which would have made the club's founding fathers very proud.

And while there was a serious side to the night, those in attendance certainly enjoyed themselves as well.

They heard the strains of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ tune being aired three times, as Henrik Larsson demonstrated his legendary goalscoring prowess once again, they bowed in adulation as Lubo Moravcik performed his old tricks, and they roared in appreciation when current manager, Neil Lennon, showed there was no diminution in his insatiable will to win on the pitch.

The sight of former managers Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan in opposing dugouts also won a tremendous ovation. And the cheers rang out for former favourites including Chris Sutton, John Hartson, Alan Thompson, Johan Mjallby, Didier Agathe, Frank McAvennie, Packie Bonner and Roy Keane.

A host of celebrities including Gerard Butler, Steve Collins and Nicky Byrne had also lent their support for the event, whilst achieving a lifelong ambition of wearing the Hoops.

The match had been initially organised, in part, as a testimonial game for former Celtic defender John Kennedy. Beforehand, the former Celtic defender had won universal acclaim for the magnificent gesture of donating his share of the gate receipts to Oxfam Appeal. And he managed to play the opening 10 minutes, going off to a fitting and emotional farewell.

The event began on a high note with singing star, Russell Watson, treating the crowd to a rousing rendition of the Puccini classic, Nessun Dorma. And it set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Played in a competitive yet friendly spirit, Larsson raised the roof by scoring a hat-trick, with Bobby Petta bagging a brace to seal the Hoops' Legends victory.

And as ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ reverberated around the stadium at the end, with the Legends taking their final bows of the night, the famous song had a special resonance.

Grzegorz Sandomierski is determined to secure a switch to Celtic and follow in the footsteps of fellow Pole Artur Boruc.

The SPL giants remain in the market for a new goalkeeper, with Neil Lennon having spent much of the summer casting an eye over several targets.

He is believed to be keen on Jagiellonia Bialystok shot-stopper Sandomierski, with scouts having been sent to watch him in action over the weekend.

Two offers from the Bhoys are reported to have already been knocked back, but a deal could still happen.

Sandomierski is hoping an agreement can be reached, as he admits he has set his heart on making a move to Parkhead.
Legend

The 21-year-old Poland international said in the Daily Record: "Artur is a legend at this club and I couldn't even dream of coming close to matching his status there.

"I can't be compared to him and I wouldn't want to be because everyone wants to make their own mark.

"But I hope everything will be sorted out soon. I am still getting conflicting information about this transfer.

"What I know is that the first offer from Scotland was rejected by Jagiellonia last week and I don't know if they will accept another offer. I have to admit that I don't know my future - it's getting a bit ridiculous.

"I get linked with clubs all the time but I never seem to move."

Meanwhile, Celtic's Europa League clash with FC Sion could be rendered meaningless as the Swiss side face being booted out of their domestic league.
Reports in Switzerland yesterday suggested Sion were facing the axe after league chief Thomas Grimm received death threats in a bitter row over the club's transfer embargo.
Sion owner Christian Constantin has launched a £17m compensation claim after Swiss league bosses refused to let him field six summer signings, including former Hearts stopper Jose Goncalves. And furious blazers are now considering expelling the club from the league.
If that happens UEFA would exclude Sion from the Europa League, handing Celtic a place in the group stage irrespective of what happens in their tie.

Poland goalkeeper Gregorz Sandomierski looks likely to join Genk instead of Celtic after Jagiellonia Białystok agreed a fee with the Belgian club.

A spokesman for his Polish club told BBC Scotland that the player is travelling to discuss personal terms with the Belgian champions.

And they assume Celtic have dropped their interest as they have not heard from the Glasgow club for three days.

Celtic had an offer for 21-year-old Sandomierski rejected this week.

Jagiellonia are believed to be seeking £2m for the player, with Celtic's bid being about £700,000 less than that demand.

A club spokesman told BBC Scotland: "We have had an offer from Celtic, but it falls well short of what we want.

"It is now up to Celtic to decide if they want to meet our asking price."

Celtic manager Neil Lennon confirmed his interest in Sandomierski at the weekend and expressed his hope that a deal was close to completion.

Lennon is looking to add a goalkeeper after last season's first choice, Fraser Forster, returned to Newcastle United at the end of his loan spell.

Lukasz Zaluska, another Poland international, has not lost a goal as Celtic won their first two games of the Scottish Premier League season.

However, there were question marks about the form of the ex-Dundee United keeper and American understudy Dominic Cervi during pre-season.

Stipe Pletikosa, the Croat who was on loan to Tottenham Hotspur from Spartak Moscow last term, was on trial during pre-season.

Sandomierski has already played in this season's Europa League as Jagellonia, who finished fourth in Poland's top flight, suffering a surprise defeat by Kazakh outfit Irtysh Pavlodar.

"He's a goalkeeper we do like and we feel he has huge potential," said Lennon, who had originally said on Friday that Celtic had not gone further than expressing an interest in the player.

Yeh wouldn't be surprised to see another keeper loaned in.

[size=6]Five-star showing for Celts at Paradise[/size]

13 August 2011
Scottish Premier League
Celtic Park

CELTIC 5
(Stokes 4, Hooper 33, Ki 58, Ledley 71, Forrest 90)

DUNDEE UNITED 1
(Russell 31)

THE first competitive match at Celtic Park of the new season produced a comprehensive and entertaining 5-1 victory against Dundee United to continue the Hoops 100 per cent start to their SPL campaign.

Anthony Stokes opened the scoring with his third goal in as many league games four minutes into the match, before Johnny Russell equalised for the visitors on the half-hour mark.

But Gary Hooper responded almost instantly, putting the Hoops ahead again with his first goal of the new season. And Neil Lennon's side sealed the victory in the second-half through goals from Ki Sung Yueng, Joe Ledley and an injury-time finish from James Forrest.

The manager made three changes from the side which beat Aberdeen last weekend, welcoming back Scott Brown to the captain’s role after the midfielder had missed the first two matches of the season through suspension.

Overcoming the injury he picked up in Scotland’s midweek friendly, he returned to the side along with Mark Wilson who also missed last weekend with a hip injury. Charlie Mulgrew was the other change, as he slotted in for the injured Emilio Izaguirre at left-back.

Celtic looked confident from the start and Kris Commons had the first shot on target after just three minutes. United’s keeper Dusan Pernis could only block the effort without catching it, though, which allowed Stokes to win a corner.

The striker was looking sharp in front of goal and the resulting corner led to his opener. Daniel Majstorovic headed the ball down and the Irishman slotted it under the keeper with his left foot, putting the Hoops ahead on four minutes.

And boosted by his goal, Stokes then attempted to double the home side’s advantage shortly after with a powerful effort from 35-yards out.

Dundee United came more into the game as the first-half settled and equalised on the half-hour mark. Gary Kenneth mis-hit a shot which rolled into the path of Russell who slotted the ball home to make it 1-1.

But Celtic responded almost instantly with Hooper putting his side back in the lead again less than two minutes later. Stokes' header came back off the bar and the Englishman was on hand to nod the loose ball over the keeper and into the net.

Celtic started the second-half as promisingly as the first, with Mulgrew threatening down the left and Mark Wilson attempting a one-two with Stokes inside the box.

But it was Commons who came closest to stretching the advantage on 53 minutes when his low drive came off the far post.

Peter Houston’s men continued to push play into Celtic’s half but on the counter attack, Commons broke down the left wing. Playing in Ki, the South Korean charged into the box and slammed his shot into the top corner, extending Celtic’s lead just before the hour mark.

Dundee United didn’t let their heads go down after losing the third goal, and Zaluska made two excellent saves within four minutes to maintain Celtic's two-goal advantage.

Making another break from a United attack, Hooper charged through the centre of the pitch to unleash a powerful drive just wide of the post. In the process he was taken out by Paul Dixon, though, and had to be stretchered off on 66 minutes. The Dundee United defender was lucky to escape punishment for his late tackle.

It was his replacement, Shaun Maloney, who set up Celtic’s fourth, playing in Ledley at the near post. The Welshman slotted the ball into the bottom corner of Pernis’ net to kill the game as a contest on 71 minutes.

And Maloney then had his own chance when his shot went agonisingly wide of the far post, missing the target by inches.

But it wasn’t the final effort on target as substitute Forrest finished proceedings with an injury-time strike, sealing the 5-1 victory for Celtic.

CELTIC (4-4-2): Zaluska; M. Wilson, Majstorovic, K. Wilson, Mulgrew; Brown, Ki, Ledley, Commons (Forrest 63); Stokes (McCourt 77), Hooper (Maloney 66)
Subs not used: Cervi, Matthews, Wanyama, Samaras

DUNDEE UNITED (4-4-2): Pernis; Dillon, Kenneth, Watson, Dixon; Flood (Gunning 77), Allan (Armstrong 68), Robertson, Rankin; Daly, Russell
Subs not used: Banks, Swanson, Douglas, Mackay-Steven, Dow

Website man of the match: Scott Brown
http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=1410

https://twitter.com/#!/Agent_ITK

"Carlo going to #Celtic on Monday for talks. #thfc #spurs"

"Carlo move to #Celtic being held up slightly over wages. Perm deal, fee agreed. #thfc"

Celtic's Europa league opponents Sion are at the centre of a row with Fifa.

The Swiss League had initially enforced a Fifa transfer ban on the club, meaning six players signed by the club this summer were unable to play.

The league backed down at the weekend after the players took their case to a civil court in Martigny and three of the players then took part in the weekend's draw with Lucerne.

On Monday, Fifa warned the Swiss League they must adhere to its ruling.

Celtic striker Gary Hooper will definitely miss Celtic's away Europa League tie against Sion on Thursday due to an ankle injury.

Following a scan on Monday, Celtic have confirmed the Englishman could be out for "a few weeks".

Hooper was carried off during Celtic's 5-1 against Dundee United on Saturday after a challenge from Paul Dixon.

Celtic have reduced their bank debt by more than £5million after turning a loss into a small profit in the year to 30th June.

The Parkhead club made a profit of £100,000 before tax despite a significant fall in revenue, not helped by the fact they only had two home European matches last season.

The club's net bank debt stood at £530,000 - well down on the previous year's total of £5.85m and the half-year figure of £9.1m that Celtic subsequently reported.

Chairman John Reid commented in his annual statement: "Both of these higher debt figures, sanctioned by the board in order to finance player investment for the incoming new management team, and the subsequent reduction in debt levels were planned as part of our maintenance of financial stability and the independence that comes with it."

Also some talk of Tomasz Kuszczak being of interest to us, and Mohamadou Idrissou coming in for trial.

Celtic have agreed a deal to bring Newcastle keeper Fraser Forster back to the club on a season-long loan, with an option to make the move permanent.

The 23-year-old played 44 games for Celtic last season.

And manager Neil Lennon hopes to include him in the squad for Thursday's Europa League qualifier with Sion.

"There are a few little snags to overcome but we hope to have him registered in time for tomorrow night," said Lennon.

Celtic failed with a £1.5m bid for Forster, who picked up a Scottish Cup winners' medal during his previous spell in Glasgow, in June.

"He has been the main target since the end of last season," added Lennon.

"We did put a bid in but it was knocked back but we worked hard in the background to try to bring him in so I'm very, very pleased."

Lennon has been searching for a back-up to Lukasz Zaluska and Dominic Cervi and is considering putting Forster straight in against the Swiss side.

He said: "We will have to see his condition.

"The form of Lukasz has been very good so we will weigh these things up.

"But it has given myself and the squad a boost.

"We have three very good goalkeepers so there is great competition in that area which is what we wanted."

Would have been better off with Pletikosa. But that goes without saying.

I think this confirms they wil be signing a keeper next year. No more loans. Just didn't find the right man.

[size=6]Disappointment as Celts lose to Saints[/size]
Scottish Premier League
Celtic Park, Glasgow
Sunday, August 21, 2011

CELTIC…0

ST JOHNSTONE…1
(Mackay 60)

CELTIC were left to rue several missed opportunities as they suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to St Johnstone.

Saints’ defender Dave Mackay netted the only goal of the game in the 60th minute, firing home from an acute angle with the aid of a deflection.

Kris Commons missed an early penalty and struck the post from a free-kick, while Paddy McCourt also saw an effort hit the frame of the goal, but it was to prove a frustrating afternoon for Neil Lennon’s men as they slumped to their first reversal of the season.

The manager had made three changes from the team which started against FC Sion on Thursday night. Victor Wanyama made his first competitive appearance since his summer switch from Germinal Beerschot, with Adam Matthews joining him in the backline at right-back. In attack, Shaun Maloney made his first start of the season alongside Anthony Stokes.

And the Hoops nearly enjoyed the perfect start. A wonderful long pass from Matthews inside the first two minutes allowed Stokes to run in behind the visitors’ defence. The striker beat Peter Enckelman to the ball and was caught by the keeper as he tried to flick it towards the net.

Referee, Brian Winter, had no hesitation in pointing to the spot but Commons spurned the opportunity, with Enckelman diving to his right and pushing his low effort away.

That gave the Derek McInnes’ side a boost and they enjoyed some lengthy spells of possession without ever seriously troubling Fraser Forster’s goal apart from several corners.

And the next opening fell the Hoops’ way as Charlie Mulgrew’s determined dive at the far post saw him connect with Ki’s corner, only to see his header hacked off the line.

Employing a five-man defence, the Perth side were aiming to frustrate Celtic but first Stokes and then Maloney managed to find some space, darting down the right and sending two dangerous cutbacks into the box.

Commons did get a foot to the latter but was unable to steer it on target under strong pressure from Alan Maybury.

Celtic continued to probe for an opening and a reverse pass from Maloney picked out Stokes’ clever run. From an acute angle, the Irishman’s low shot flew narrowly past the far post.

Matthews had demonstrated plenty of enterprise down the right. But Maloney was unable to direct his ball towards the net. On the opposite flank, Mulgrew skipped inside one challenge and his rasping drive was smothered by Enckelman as Neil Lennon’s men mounted the pressure.

Ki nearly made the breakthrough with a trademark shot from distance which shaved the post, before Commons came even closer as his free-kick from a similar position hit the inside of the post and bounced clear.

As half-time approached, Stokes passed up two decent chances, heading wide from Ki’s corner and then being robbed of the ball by Enckelman as he tried to round the Saints’ shot-stopper.

The Hoops came out after the break full of intent and Commons shot wide after a matter of seconds, before Scott Brown saw a shot deflected over.

However, Celtic suffered a scare in the 55th minute as former Celt Cillian Sheridan came within inches of turning Liam Craig’s knock-down in at the far post.

There was a swift reply as Stokes headed Commons’ delivery from the byline on target but Eckelman was able to stop it on the line.

At the other end, Murray Davidson tested Forster with a stinging drive from 30-yards. And on the hour mark, the visitors took a shock lead.

Craig sent a deep ball towards the far post and Sheridan looked to have impeded Mark Wilson – on as a half-time substitute for Mulgrew – as he tried to challenge for the cross.

However, play continued and the ball fell invitingly for David Mackay, and his powerful shot deflected into net past the helpless Forster.

The Hoops boss responded immediately by sending on Paddy McCourt for Commons, and the Irishman soon embarked on one of his mazy runs towards goal but was just unable to get the critical final touch.

James Forrest also entered the fray for Joe Ledley in another positive substitution as Celtic desperately sought a way back into the match.

In the 80th minute, McCourt came agonisingly close to a leveller, skipping inside past several chances before seeing his low shot cannon off the post. Forrest fastened on to the rebound but saw his shot blocked.

And from the resulting corner, Stokes flicked a header towards the far post but Enckelman made a smart stop as the Hoops’ frustration continued.

McCourt was felled on the edge of the box after another driving run. Maloney’s free-kick curled wide of the post, however.

But, despite some intense pressure, the Perth side hung on for all three points.

CELTIC (4-4-2) Forster; Matthews, Majstorovic, Wanyama, Mulgrew (Wilson 45); Brown, Ki, Ledley (Forrest 74), Commons (McCourt 61); Maloney, Stokes
Not Used: Zaluska, Samaras, Cha, Murphy

ST JOHNSTONE (4-4-2) Enckelman; Mackay, Maybury, McCracken, Wright, Craig; Morris, M. Davidson, C. Davidson; Sheridan (Higgins 63) Sandaza (Haber 72)
Not Used: Mannus, Adams, Moffat, May, Caddis

http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=1448