Celtic’s hopes of qualification to the next round of the Champions League were dealt a blow last night as they were beaten at home by Dinamo Moscow 1-0. With only seven minutes on the clock, Alexander Kokorin got in behind Gary Caldwell and stuck out a toe to divert a low cross through the legs of Artur Boruc. Celtic strike pairing of Marc Antoine Fortune and Scott McDonald both missed great chances to score for the Parkhead side in the first half. McDonald had an effort cleared off the line in the second half before Georgios Samaras failed to hit the back of the net with a point blank header with four minutes remaining.

It was Tony Mowbray’s first competitive debut as Celtic manager last night and the defeat means the Parkhead side must win in Moscow next week or they will drop into the Europa League.

Dinamo Moscow were already 15 games into their domestic season and looked the sharper side, as they tested Celtic goalkeeper Boruc with just four minutes on the clock. Dinamo’s Australian midfielder Luke Wilkshire struck a drive from 30 yards, which had Boruc at full stretch across his goals.

The warning signs were evident and Celtic failed to pay attention to them, and soon found themslves a goal behind just two minutes laters.

Alexander Kerzhakov collected a ball down the left wing, and fired a low cross into the six-yard area where Kokorin nipped in ahead of Caldwell to get the slightest of touches through Boruc’s legs. Celtic’s defensive frailities were once again evident with the goal firmly down to the failure of Hinkel to cut out the cross in the first place.

With Celtic struggling to get into the game, Dinamo continued to press and looked dangerous, especially when Kherzakov got onto the ball, peeling out wide on the left, as Andreas Hinkel looked lethargic at right back.

With the Russians well organised at the back, Celtic were finding it difficult to cause the Russians any problems, and in the opening 15 minutes all the Parkhead side could muster was an effort from new signing Fortune which was easily held by Vladimir Gabulov.

Chances did eventually present themselves to Celtic, however the strike pairing of Fortune and McDonald lacked any cutting edge and never really threatened the Moscow goal, despite some glorious chances to put the ball into the back of the net. With Fortune the biggest culprit, missing two gilt edged chances to score within the space of a minute.

First, the striker failed to connect properly with Aiden McGeady’s cross at the back post with the goal gaping, then, only three yards out, Fortune was unable to divert Shaun Maloney’s excellent ball to the other post. With half an hour gone, McDonald showed good skill to turn the defender but should have done better as he shot straight at the goalkeeper from the corner of the six-yard box.

Celtic pressed straight from the restart and McDonald had a header cleared off the line after more good work by Maloney, who was Celtic’s best player on the night.

Kerzhakov gave the home side reminders of his threat, as twice on the counter-attack he used his strength and pace to trouble Caldwell and Glenn Loovens at the back. Mowbray swapped his front pairing, bringing on Chris Killen and Samaras with 30 minutes left to play. And the Greek striker had a fantastic chance to score with four minutes to go, but he headed straight at the keeper unmarked at the back from a few yards out.

Celtic can take some positives from the game. Landry N’Guemo looks a very capable player on his competitive debut and got stuck into every tackle for the full 90 minutes. He should be partnered with Scott Brown who should return from injury before the second leg in Moscow. Massimo Donati for all his failings in the past couple of seasons, looks to have been revitalised under Mowbray and with more football under his belt could come onto a better game. Maloney and McGeady were threats constantly for Dinamo, but in all honesty they should be on opposite wings as McGeady is more deadly down the left wing rather than the right hand side. Boruc was in fine form, but could do nothing about the goal that was conceded.

However last night proved that the defence is still the weakest point of Celtic. Both full backs were culpable throughout the night of losing possession, being out of position and allowing Moscow free reign at times down the wings to cross into the box. With Danny Fox now in the team, he should have no trouble ousting Lee Naylor from the Celtic side, while Andreas Hinkel has only Paul Caddis to contend with as a threat for his place. As for the central pairing of Loovens and Caldwell, despite the Dutchman’s performances near the end of last season it is save to safe that the SPL is his level and not Champions League football. Darren O’Dea should slot into his position, with the likely departure of Stephen McManus on the cards in the next few weeks.

Dinamo now take a valuable away win into the second leg. With Celtic needing to win away from home in the Champions League for the first time ever to progress into the next round. In all honesty it will be a tough ask of Celtic against a well organised Russian team already half way through their season. It looks more and more likely that the Parkhead side will drop down into the Europa League.

Tagged with: Celtic, Champions League, dinamo, qualifier, uefa

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