FULL TIME: Stjarnan 1-4 Celtic (agg 1-6)
And that’s that. Ultimately easy for the Scottish champions, though they lived on their nerves for a while after conceding that early goal. But they recovered well, and finished strongly. Mackay-Steven, Johansen, Bitton, Ciftci and Griffiths were all highly impressive, as Celtic pinged it around in a very pleasing manner at times. They’re only four games away from the group stage of the Champions League! Time for a wee snifter in Reykjavík, then. The bars should get going in about three or four hours.
GOAL! Stjarnan 1-4 Celtic (Johansen 90+4)
Mulgrew chases after a Mackay-Steven sliderule pass down the left. He cuts it back to Johansen, to the left of the D. Johansen slides a gorgeous first-time shot into the bottom left, and Celtic have finished with a flourish!
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90 min: In three minutes time, Celtic will be in the third qualifying round, where they’ll face Qarabag of Azerbaijan.
GOAL! Stjarnan 1-3 Celtic (Griffiths 88)
A brilliant goal, this. Johansen, out wide right, embarks on a determined bustle into the middle of the park. He draws three blue shirts, then slips a diagonal ball through the back line and towards Mackay-Steven, racing down the inside-left channel. Mackay-Steven slips the ball into the middle, past Nielsen, rushing out rashly, and giving Griffiths a tap-in from the penalty spot.
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86 min: Mackay-Steven is magnificent to watch in full flow. He romps down the left touchline, then cuts inside and whips a ball straight through the box. Nobody’s in there.
84 min: The home fans keep on keepin’ on. They’ve been a credit to their team tonight. As indeed have Celtic’s travelling support. It’s been a great atmosphere.
82 min: No goal for Ciftci tonight. He’s replaced by Rogic. That’s an industrious and skilful showing from Ciftci, though. Always busy, always willing, always running. A cut-price Luis Suarez, if you will. I’ll not insult your intelligence by labouring the comparison any further.
81 min: Stjarnan’s best player and goalscorer, the highly impressive Finsen, turns on a sixpence to the left of the Celtic D and fizzes a shot towards the bottom left. Gordon claims.
80 min: Barddal comes on for Hansen.
79 min: A free kick for Celtic, 30 yards out, just to the right of goal. Mulgrew goes for the bottom corner. Nielsen gathers, though he makes a nine-course tasting menu of it. Griffiths nibbles at the ball, loose as it is for a couple of nanoseconds. The striker’s within his rights to go for that, though the keeper springs up wearing a greeting face. He calms down quickly enough, perhaps realising he really shouldn’t be kicking off about that.
77 min: Ciftci is desperate for this first goal of his Celtic career. He snatches at one while scampering down the inside-left channel. The ball screws across the face of goal and harmlessly out on the other side. File that one under Trying Too Hard. It’ll come, though: he’s playing very well otherwise.
75 min: Mackay-Steven is released into acres down the inside-left channel. He wheechs into the area, and should score, but batters a witless shot straight at the keeper. A little dink, saucy slide or composed curl, and that was Celtic’s third goal. Nielsen might have taken that one straight in the coupon, actually. Brave goalkeeping.
74 min: Incidentally, the winner of this tie will face Qarabag of Azerbaijan, who ended 1-0 victors over Rudar Pljevlja.
72 min: Also, there’s still a blazing atmosphere in this small stadium. The home fans are giving it plenty. Their side, while ultimately outclassed, are giving a proud account of themselves here. As indeed they did at Parkhead.
70 min: Griffiths tears down the right and curls a cross into the middle, hoping to find the head of Ciftci. Not quite. Given this match is over as a contest, and has been for quite some time, this is riotous end-to-end fun.
69 min: It’s been a lively, entertaining match, this. The impressive Finsen cuts in from the left and blooters a low shot towards the bottom left. Gordon blocks, and then the flag goes up for offside, Hansen with the unacceptable advantage in the resulting scramble.
68 min: A free kick hoikced into the Stjarnan box from the right. Bitton bursts ahead of the defence, and pokes the dropping ball past the advancing Nielsen and into the bottom-right corner. But he made his run far too early, and is a mile offside.
66 min: A couple of half-decent chances for the home side. Hansen nearly flicks home a left-wing cross, low at the near post, but has to make do with a corner, Ambrose refusing to give way. Then from the set piece, the ball’s worked to the other flank, Bjornsson curling one in from the right, Brynjar Gudjonsson rising highest and heading powerfully for the top-right corner. But it’s a wee bit wide.
64 min: Celtic are in the mood to add to their total. Ciftci ghosts in from the left before lashing a spectacularly awful effort 20 miles high and an equal distance to the right. Then Griffiths dribbles in from the right and batters a low effort from 20 yards straight at the keeper.
62 min: Griffiths comes on for Armstrong. He’s immediately into the action, chasing a flick-on down the right channel. He’s clear, and flashes an insouciant effort inches left of the left-hand post.
61 min: Brynjar Gudjonsson is booked for a ludicrous late lunge into the back of Ciftci.
60 min: Gunnarsson is immediately into the action. Finsen is in a bit of space down the right. He swings a low ball into the middle. Gunnarsson, on the penalty spot, swivels and shoots, but his effort is blocked. A corner for the home side, but it comes to nothing.
59 min: The home side swap Runarsson for Gunnarsson.
57 min: Bitton tries his luck from the best part of 3o yards. His shot is blocked and loops high into the air. Nielsen scrambles across and does very well to save a corner. The home side are in damage-limitation mode now.
53 min: Ciftci is hungry for his first Celtic goal. He bursts clear of the Stjarnan back line, down the left channel, and blasts a shot over the bar from a tight angle. He’s flagged for offside again, though that’s an unfair flag after a well-timed run. Not that it really matters, of course, though the striker could do with a confidence-boosting first goal in Celtic green.
52 min: Ambrose comes on for Lustig.
51 min: van Dijk jinks in from the left and dinks a ball down the channel to release Ciftci. The striker’s clear in the box, albeit with his back to goal, and when he brings the ball down he tries to back-heel a volley into the top-left. Ten out of ten for ambition, zero for execution, though. Nielsen plucks a soft waft out of the air, and in any case he’s a mile offside.
GOAL! Stjarnan 1-2 Celtic (Mulgrew 48)
Mackay-Steven is a bag of tricks, and he causes all manner of confusion down the right. He eventually slips the ball inside for Brown on the edge of the D. Brown shuttles the ball further to the left for Mulgrew, who rushing in hits a first-time pearler of a daisycutter across the planted Nielsen and into the bottom-right corner. That’s a lovely strike. Celtic take a 4-1 aggregate lead, and this is over.
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46 min: Celtic nearly get a flying start to the half, as Mackay-Steven flicks the ball to his former Dundee United team-mate Ciftci. The striker, just inside the box and level with the right-hand post, has a snapshot while leaning back, but it’s blocked.
And we’re off again! Stjarnan get the ball rolling for the second half, having swapped Bjorgvinsson for Bjornsson.
Half-time entertainment: Before winning their first Icelandic title, Stjarnan’s main claim to worldwide fame was their penchant for imaginatively choreographed goal celebrations.
The Rambo one is, ahem, well executed. A charming spree.
HALF TIME: Stjarnan 1-1 Celtic (agg 1-3)
And that’s that for the first half. Not particularly impressive stuff from Celtic, but it’ll more than do. They’re 45 minutes away from the third qualifying round, and what looks like a tie with Qarabag of Azerbaijan, who are currently winning at Rudar Pljevlja.
44 min: Praest kicks Bitton on the ankle. Bitton rolls about for a bit. Then he gets up. This half is slowly petering out.
42 min: A long free kick is humped into the Celtic area. Celtic don’t deal with the knockdown, and Laxdal, just to the left of the D, lashes a first-time effort just wide of the bottom-left corner. That was decent. Gordon was scrambling, and it’s not 100 percent certain that he would have got there had it been on target. Celtic have been worryingly dozy in defence on occasion this evening.
41 min: Celtic ping it around the front of the Stjarnan box. The ball’s slipped wide to Ciftci, who pulls a hard and fast ball back from the byline. Bitton, on the edge of the area, connects first time and skelps a low shot goalwards. There’s some venom in that, but it’s straight at Nielsen, who snaffles.
40 min: Finsen makes good down the inside-left channel, and very nearly breaks into the box. But Lustig sticks to him like he’s made out of glue.
39 min: Armstrong has his tail up right now. He zips down the left and stands one up in the middle for Ciftci. Nielsen anticipates the cross well, and is out quickly to claim.
36 min: Celtic are beginning to turn the screw now. Armstrong jinks down the left and nearly breaks into the box. The ball’s spirited away. But seconds later, Mackay-Steven is causing bother down the right. He reaches the byline and pulls the ball back. Armstrong, leaning back, tries to screw a shot into the bottom-left corner. Think Gerd Muller’s winning goal in the 1974 World Cup final, only it’s a mirror image, and an ersatz version, and the ball squirts wide left of the post. Erm. But that wasn’t a bad effort, and Celtic were inches away from taking the lead.
GOAL! Stjarnan 1-1 Celtic (Bitton 33)
Yet another corner for Celtic down the right. And this is as easy as it gets. Johansen whips a high one to the near post. Nielsen comes off his line with a view to punching clear, but Bitton nips in ahead of him, rising to slap a header into the unguarded net. A precious away goal for Celtic! We can’t have extra time now.
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31 min: Lustig once more causes some bother down the right. He very nearly breaks clear into acres of space, but is denied by some staunch battling by Runarsson.
28 min: Another corner for Celtic, this time down the right. Johansen takes. There’s an almighty scramble in the six-yard box. The ball is trapped between Ciftci’s feet, and he’s facing the wrong way as well. He can’t sort out his legs to backflick the ball into the net. Boyata attempts to help but just confuses the situation. Stjarnan clear.
25 min: Celtic are beginning to ping it around nicely. Quite a lot of triangulation going on, the ball shuttled from wing to wing in the aesthetic style. Stjarnan are holding firm, though. Mackay-Steven, his patience lost, has a whack from 25 yards. It’s deflected out for a corner on the left, and the set piece is mopped up with ease.
22 min: Celtic get the ball in the Stjarnan net, but it’s not going to count. Ciftci is upended as he diddles down the left. The free kick, to the left of the box, is a training-ground move: Ciftci shapes to cross, only to slip a pass towards the penalty spot for Johansen, who sidefoots goalwards. The ball’s blocked on the line, and Boyata bundles it in, but the defender was offside when Johansen shot. Celtic don’t bother complaining much.
20 min: Punyed bustles down the inside-left channel and flicks the ball inside. Bitton, facing his own goal to the left of the D, flicks the ball backwards. It clatters into poor Boyata’s trouser arrangement. Ooyah, oof. Punyed adds insult to injury by claiming a penalty for handball. But it was ballball, and the referee quite rightly tells Punyed to wind his neck in.
19 min: Stjarnan are making a good job of snapping at Celtic’s heels. The visitors are pinging plenty of passes together in the middle of the park, but they’re finding space at a premium further up the field.
16 min: Lustig has been highly visible so far. He romps down the middle of the park and slides a pass forward for Ciftci, who prepares to burst through the offside trap but decides not to bother when the ball takes a huge deflection into no man’s land.
14 min: Armstrong shuttles the ball down the inside-right channel for Ciftci, who from a tight angle whips a shot over the bar. Celtic still with the lion’s share of possession, though they’ve done little to trouble the keeper Nielsen so far.
12 min: An away goal for Celtic would change everything, of course. But they’ve lost a little of their confidence in the wake of that early blow. The passes aren’t quite sticking right now. “Excuse my Icelandic, but Bjork me!” splutters our resident Dundee United fan Simon McMahon. “GMS, Armstrong AND Ciftci in the starting XI. They were all in a United jersey less than six months ago. Still, at least we got top dollar for them, eh? That’s right, £3 million the lot. Remind me, how much will Celtic earn if they qualify?” A manic rant there. Imagine it being delivered by Einar Örn.
9 min: Well, that’s put the cat among the puffins. Celtic were in total control before Stjarnan put that little move together. Just before the goal, Lustig had been bundled over down the right, allowing Mulgrew to lash a cross-cum-shot towards Nielsen in the Stjarnan goal. But it wasn’t accurate enough. And now ... now we’ve got a game on!
GOAL! Stjarnan 1-0 Celtic (Finsen 7)
This is a brilliant goal! Punyed strokes a pass down the left to release Hansen down the channel. Hansen hooks a pass inside for Finsen, who drops a shoulder to slide past a confused van Dijk, and slams the ball into the left-hand side of the net! What a stunning start for the Icelandic champions! What a nightmare for their Scottish counterparts! That was as easy as you like. A brilliant move, but non-existent defending.
5 min: Mulgrew hoicks the second corner long for the head of the first-leg hero Boyata. The big man is all over Brynjar Gudjonsson, and concedes a free kick. A lovely, boisterous atmosphere in Stjarnan’s little stadium. It’s not quite the Maracana in 1950, but everything in context. There’s a lovely bounce in the stands.
4 min: Lusting earns a corner down the right. Mulgrew whips it into the mixer, and there’s a fair bit of churn. Bedlam. Head tennis. The ball’s hacked out for another corner.
3 min: It’s all Celtic in the early stages. In terms of possession; they’re not threatening much up front yet. But plenty of time, and it’s a nice confident start.
And we’re off! Celtic get the ball rolling, and stroke it around a bit. A row of trees behind Craig Gordon’s goal. Shades of the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, 1967 and all that.
Anyway, the teams are out. Way too early, it would seem. Celtic line up, preparing to kick off, only for the referee to notice it’s only 7.11pm. Stjarnan are in all blue, Celtic all green. “They might not be world beaters, but judging by the surnames most of their boys are Icelandic,” notes Seamus Devlin. “I certainly didn’t go to school with too many Ciftcis or Bittons. I like our model of buying cheap abroad and selling on, but seeing a teamsheet like their’s makes me long for some Scots boys coming through the ranks.” Well, it’s never going to be like 1967 again, with everyone born within 30 miles of Parkhead. But five Scots out of 11 ain’t too bad. And Gary Mackay-Steven is from Thurso, and you can’t get any more Scottish than Thurso. They’ve tried their best.
Tonight's teams
Stjarnan: Nielsen, Aegisson, Daniel Laxdal, Gudjonsson, Arnason, Thorri Runarsson, Praest, Punyed, Bjorgvinsson, Hansen, Finsen.
Subs: Svinn Johannesson, Johann Laxdal, Gunnarson, Barddal, Atli Palsson, Knutsson, Halldor Bjornsson.
Celtic: Gordon, Lustig, Boyata, van Dijk, Mulgrew, Brown, Bitton, Mackay-Steven, Johansen, Armstrong, Ciftci.
Subs: Izaguirre, Ambrose, Griffiths, Stokes, Rogic, Forrest, Bailly.
Referee: Jonathan Lardot (Belgium).
Gary Mackay-Steven, who jiggered himself while warming up before the first leg, is back. He replaces James Forrest, while Virgil van Dijk replaces Emilio Izaguirre, Charlie Mulgrew shifting to left back.
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For the second year in a row, Celtic travel the best part of a thousand miles north to Iceland in their quest for Champions League football. Last season they took on KR Reykjavík, and won 1-0 in the second qualifying round. This time they’re just outside Iceland’s beautiful capital, in the garden town of Garðabær, to take on Stjarnan at the same stage.
Things to know about Stjarnan. They’re the reigning champions of the Úrvalsdeild, the top division in Iceland. They won their title last year by going the whole season unbeaten, and racking up a record points total. They nearly made it to the group stage of the Europa League last year, after beating Bangor City, Motherwell and Lech Poznan in the qualifiers, only to run into Internazionale in the play-off round. They gave Celtic a bit of a fright in the first leg of this tie last week, nearly making it to half-time goalless, their goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen playing a blinder, only for Dedryck Boyata to power home a 44th-minute header. They limited the damage at Parkhead to 2-0, Stefan Johansen scoring another in the second half before Leigh Griffiths missed a penalty. Their tiny Stjornuvollur ground has astroturf and may give Celtic a couple of things to think about tonight. They’re an instant David Bowie earworm. And the S on their badge is a pleasing throwback to the old ITV Sport / World of Sport logo.
Celtic should make it through tonight. But the European Cup means everything to this famous old club, who of course won the trophy 1967 and should have done so again in 1970. So there’ll be a few nerves as they attempt to navigate their way to the third qualifying round, where they’d face either Rudar Pljevlja of Montenegro or Qarabag of Azerbaijan. It should make for an interesting evening.
Kick off: 7.15pm in Garðabær, 8.15pm back home in Glasgow.
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