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Europa League | Group Stage
Nov 5, 2015 at 6pm UK
 
ML

1-2

Commons (26')
FT(HT: 1-2)
Elyounoussi (21'), Hestad (37')

Live Commentary: Celtic 1-2 Molde - as it happened

:Headline: Live Commentary: Celtic 1-2 Molde - as it happened: ID:256019: from db_amp
Relive all the action from Molde's 2-1 victory over Celtic in their Europa League Group A clash at Celtic Park.

Celtic and Molde met in their Europa League Group A clash at Celtic Park.

The Bhoys were left in desperate need of a win from the match following the Norwegian club's win in the last meeting between the sides two weeks ago as they recorded a 3-1 victory at Aker Stadion.

However, Ronny Deila's men fell to their second defeat on the spin to Molde as strikes from Mohamed Elyounoussi and Daniel Hestad fired Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men to the three points, despite a first-half goal from Kris Commons for the home side.

The result leaves Celtic bottom of the group and their bad evening was compounded when Nir Bitton was sent off late in the contest, meanwhile the Norwegian side have all but secured their place in the knockout round following their 2-1 win.

Read how all the action unfolded in our commentary below.

Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the Europa League clash between Celtic and Molde.
Celtic are in dire need of a victory this evening to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the competition alive following their defeat two weeks ago to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men on the Norwegian's return to the club.
The result against Molde last time out left the Bhoys bottom of Group A on two points after three matches, while the Norwegian team are top of the table on seven points. Celtic need to secure a victory tonight to close the gap and keep their fate of reaching the latter round of the competition in their hands.
Molde can take a large stride towards sealing their place in the knockout stage of the competition this evening, so Solskjaer's men have great incentive to go all out to defeat the Bhoys at Celtic Park. Their performance in the last match was dominant as they were able to pick apart the Celtic defence with ease, and the scoreline could have been more than the three goals they scored at Aker Stadion.
The team news has been announced and we'll start with the home side.
CELTIC STARTING XI: Gordon; Lustig, Boyata, Simunovic, Tierney; Bitton, Johansen; Commons, Rogic, Armstrong; Griffiths
Subs: Bailly, Ambrose, Forrest, Ciftci, Blackett, Mackay-Steven, Izaguirre
MOLDE STARTING XI: Horvath; Linnes, Rindaroy, Forren, Toivio; D. Hestad, Singh, Hussain, Mostrom; Hoiland, Elyounoussi
Subs: Neydson Da Silva, Semb Berge, Gabrielsen, Flo, Kamara, E. Hestad, Agnaldo
Deila has made three changes to his side from their last match between the sides. Jozo Simunovic, Kiernan Tierney and Tomas Rogic come into the starting lineup to replace Efe Ambrose, Emilio Izaguirre and Scott Brown from the team that lost 3-1 at the Aker Stadion.
Solskjaer has made one change to his side from the 3-1 win in Norway. Ola Kamara has dropped to the bench, with Tommy Hoiland replacing him in the centre of a front three as Mohamed Elyounoussi and Mattias Mostrom continue in the wide areas.
Deila has told his team to rise to the occasion tonight to secure a positive result and get their Europa League campaign back on track.

"We want to step up and show everybody what we are capable of doing," he told BBC Sport.

"We've done that the whole week and we have to get the best out of ourselves on the pitch."

Solskjaer is adamant that his side will have to be at their best to secure a positive result this evening as he is wary of a backlash from the Bhoys.

He told reporters: "Of course 3-1 is a great result, but the boys can perform better.

"But we will play against a team that is hitting form. Ronny Deila's team, since the last game, is scoring goals, won three games and they need to win.

"We arrive here not expecting to be turned over away from home, but we know it's going to be a tough game."

A big night for both of these men as we approach kickoff at Celtic Park.


The players are out on the pitch so we should be underway shortly.
KICKOFF! We're underway at Celtic Park.
An early opening for Griffiths as he tries to latch on to a cross from Armstrong from the left, but the cross is high for the forward and his attempted header goes wide of the target.
Simunovic is down for the Bhoys after receiving a nudge from Hoiland. There was barely any contact, but the defender appears to have gone over on his ankle. However, he should be okay to continue.
Simunovic looks to be making way here in the early stages in what looked to be an innocuous challenge, but seems to have been enough to end his night as Tyler Blackett prepares to come on to the pitch.
Molde look to capitalise on their numerical advantage by retaining possession, but Rindaroy's cross from the left is well blocked by Lustig as Celtic manage to keep their shape.
SUBSTITUTION: Blackett can come on to the field now to replace Simunovic to go straight in alongside Boyata.
DISALLOWED GOAL! Celtic are denied the lead in controversial circumstances. A cross from the back post travels to Commons at the back post and the midfielder lays the ball into the path of Bitton on the edge of the box. The Israeli fires a first-time effort which sails a throw a crowd of players and under Horvath into the net. However, the goal is chalked off as Griffiths was deemed to be interfering with play in an offside position, which looks to be the correct decision, but Deila is not happy.
DISALLOWED GOAL! Celtic see another goal chalked off for offside. Tierney causes havoc down the left and his ball across the face of goal finds Commons in the box. The midfielder's effort is well saved by Horvath, but Griffiths pounces on the rebound to slot the ball into the net. However, the linesman's flag is up again for offside, which is once again the correct decision.
CHANCE! A mistake from Boyata presents the ball to Mostrom in the box, and the winger feeds his teammate Elyounoussi, who fires a powerful strike at goal. However, Blackett senses the danger and manages to fling himself in the way of the ball to divert it behind for a corner.
CHANCE! Hoiland gets in behind the Celtic defence by latching on to a long ball over the top, and is through one-on-one with Gordon. However, he takes an awful first touch in the box which carries the ball away from him and into the arms of the keeper. Poor finishing from the forward and a huge let off for Celtic.
GOAL! Celtic 0-1 Molde (Elyounoussi)
Molde take the lead and it has been coming over the past few minutes as Celtic have been woeful at the back. Rindaroy is allowed to raid down the flank and send in a cross. Blackett manages to head the ball away, but only as far as Elyounoussi on the edge of the box. No player in green and white goes to close down the winger and he has space and time to bring the ball under control before rifling a volleyed effort into the top corner. An excellent finish, but abject defending from the hosts.
Celtic try to respond immediately and Commons's cross into the box almost finds its way into the path of Griffiths, but Horvath manages to get his hands on the ball under pressure to abate the danger.
The Bhoys threaten again as Tierney raids down the flank and sends a cross to the edge of the box. Commons gets above Toivio to head at goal, but he cannot get enough power on his effort to trouble Horvath.
GOAL! Celtic 1-1 Molde (Commons)
Celtic level the scores in fortuitous circumstances, but Deila and his men will take anything they can get at the moment. Tierney sends a cross into the box, which is headed clear but only as far as Bitton 25 yards from goal. The Israeli lets fly with a powerful strike, and Commons sticks out a leg to make contact. The deflection proves to be enough to wrong foot Horvath and allows the ball to travel into the bottom corner.
YELLOW CARD! Lustig goes into the book for the home side as he catches Elyounoussi with his arm. The winger makes the most out of the contact, but the visitors have a free kick in a promising position down the left flank.
Toivio blasts the ball at goal, but his effort only does damage to Bitton in the wall as the Bhoys managed to clear the danger.
CHANCE! Horvath makes a huge mistake as he tries to clear the ball and Griffiths takes possession in the box. The forward plays the ball to Johansen and he in turn finds Commons well placed on the edge of the box. However, his blast his blocked by Toivio to send the ball over the bar for a corner. Lucky escape for the Molde keeper.
Tierney makes a huge challenge for the home side as he is put in an all or nothing situation when Hoiland breaks alone on the counter. The defender has to time his tackle to perfection otherwise he will be sent off, but he rises to the occasion to make an inch-perfect challenge to win the ball.
GOAL! Celtic 1-2 Molde (Hestad)
Celtic fall behind again as they are exposed at the back, allowing Hestad to find the back of the net from close range. Molde win a corner and the Bhoys do not clear their lines as a ball to the back post finds Elyounoussi, who beats the challenge of Tierney to send a ball across the face of goal. Hestad outbattles his man at the post to force an effort over line to hand his side the lead for the second time of the game.
An instant response from Celtic as Commons raids into the final third and gets brought down right on the edge of the box by Linnes to hand the Bhoys a free kick in a dangerous area.
YELLOW CARD! Linnes goes into the book for his tackle on Commons.
Armstrong takes the free kick, but Molde manage to clear the ball behind for a corner. From the resulting set piece there is a scramble in the box to win possession, and the ball almost lands at the feet of Johansen, but the visitors manage to hack the ball clear.
CHANCE! Armstrong sends a deep ball to the right side of the box and Lustig makes a well-timed run to latch on to the ball, but he loses his footing at the vital moment and can only scuff his strike wide of the post.
CHANCE! Rogic collects the ball on the edge of the box from Commons and drives an effort at goal, but Forren makes a crucial block to send it behind for a corner. Molde have just done enough at the back to quell Celtic at the vital moments in the game.
There will be two minutes of added time.
HALF-TIME: Celtic 1-2 Molde
Molde take a 2-1 lead into the break as a result of their clinical finshing in the first half and some poor defending from the Bhoys. On the balance of play Celtic do not deserve to be behind as they have dominated possession, but the threat of the visitors on the counter has been deadly twice to hand Solskjaer's men the advantage going into the half.
Deila will be extremely disappointed by his side's defending in the first half as they have been cut open with ease. Molde have had four good chances in the match and have taken two of them, but had Hoiland and Elyounoussi been able to take their simple opportunities the game could be out of the reach of the home side. Celtic have showed promise in the final third and were unlucky to see two goals disallowed in the opening 12 minutes of the match, on another day they may get the rub of the green with those decisions. However, they kept going and did get some luck when Commons diverted Bitton's strike past Horvath. Deila will have to inspire his side at the break as they need to put in an impressive second-half display to get a positive result out of this match.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Kamara replaces Hoiland for the visitors, while Forrest comes on for the home side as Kris Commons is forced off with an injury.
RESTART! We're back underway at Celtic Park.
CHANCE! A mistake by Blackett allows the visitors to break down the right. A long ball finds Kamara in space and he raids past Tierney to get into the box before rifling an effort at goal from a tight angle, but Blackett atones for his error by blocking the strike behind.
CHANCE! Tierney comes within inches of firing the home side level as he gets down the left flank and is allowed to raid into the box unchallenged. The left-back strikes with venom and his effort looks to be heading into the net before Horvath gets a hand to the ball to turn it over the bar.
CHANCE! Molde break on Celtic following a string of fine passes in midfielder and Singh releases the run of Linnes down the right. The defender sends a dangerous ball to the back post along the ground, and with Kamara lurking behind him, Boyata is forced to put the ball behind for corner.
CHANCE! Kamara should head the ball into the net from his side's second corner from the left. The striker beats Gordon to the ball in the air from Toivio's delivery, but he can only head his close-range effort wide of the post.
Linnes gets in behind the Celtic defence down the right again and Blackett comes across to put the ball behind for a corner. From the resulting cross, there is a scramble in the box as Forren tries to divert the ball past Gordon, but Rogic and Tierney manage to clear the danger. Celtic are all over the place at the back.
CHANCE! Horvath comes for the ball from Armstrong's cross from the right and misses the ball. Griffiths tries to pounce but Rindaroy and Toivio manage to back the ball clear.
CHANCE! Horvath denies Celtic an equaliser with an impressive save as he gets down low to his left to palm away Lustig's powerful header towards the bottom corner after the defender latched on to Armstrong's cross from the left. Huge moment in the game.
SUBSTITUTION: Eirik Hestad replaces Mostrom, who has been stretchered off with a leg injury.
CHANCE! Horvath makes another fine stop on the line from a corner as Bitton heads Griffiths's corner towards goal, but the keeper gets his body in the way to make the block and once again the visitors clear the danger before a Celtic player can react to the loose ball.
YELLOW CARD! Johansen brings down Elyounoussi as he raids past the midfielder down the flank, which results in a booking for the Norwegian.
CHANCE! Molde continue to display their prowess in the box as Daniel Hestad beats his man off the ball to a corner from Hussian and tries to turn his effort in at the near post, but his strike goes wide of the target.
SUBSTITUTION: Deila makes an attacking change as Blackett, who came on in the early stages of the game to replace Simunovic, is himself replaced by Ciftci.
Elyounoussi advances down the left for the visitors and is afforded space and time to strike the ball at goal, but his effort sails harmlessly over the bar.
CHANCE! Griffiths should bring the Bhoys level as he is played through on goal by Johansen. The Molde defenders all stop expecting the offside flag to be raised, but the decision does not come, an Griffiths has time and space to pick his spot. However, he can only volley his effort wide of the post. Huge miss by the forward.
RED CARD! Kamara breaks through up the middle and Bitton is in a foot race with the forward as he breaks to the box, but the midfielder can only bring him down, resulting in a red card. Molde have a free kick on the edge of the area with Toivio to take.
OFF THE POST! Toivio takes the free kick and lifts his effort over the wall and towards the net. The ball looks to be nestling in the top corner, but it curls away at the last moment to clip the outside of the post and go wide.
Molde are taking the pace out of the match by keeping posssesion between their backline and midfield. Celtic look out of energy as they are not pressing the ball, despite being behind late in the game.
OFF THE BAR! Kamara comes within inches of sealing the game for the visitors as he cuts in from the left and fires a vicious strike towards goal, which beats the outstretched hand of Gordon and crashes off the top of the bar before going over. So close to a deserved goal for the forward.
Forrest raids into the box and tries to fire at goal from a tight angle, but his touch before his strike proves to be too heavy and Linnes fires the ball off his shins to win a goal kick.
Celtic look completely out of energy in the contest and are whimpering towards defeat at home. There is no atmopshere inside Celtic Park, bar the noise from the visitors' supporters.
There will be four minutes of added time.
Boyata saves Celtic and gives them a glimmer of hope for the final two minutes as he races back to win the ball from Kamara after the forward looked to be racing away downfield to score a third goal for the visitors.
Tierney lifts a hopeful long ball forward from the back, looking for Lustig, but Horvath comes through a crowd of players to claim the ball.
SUBSTITUTION: Final change to take more time off the clock for the visitors as Gabrielsen replaces Hussain.
FULL-TIME: Celtic 1-2 Molde
Celtic fall to defeat for the second game on the spin in the Europa League at the hands of Molde, which has certainly put a huge dent in their hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the competition. Goals from Mohamed Elyounoussi and Daniel Hestad were enough to fire the visitors to the three points, despite an effort from Kris Commons in the first half. The Bhoys' defensive display was poor, while they failed to show a clinical edge in attack. Boos echoed around Celtic Park at the final whistle, which will heap a lot of pressure on Deila in the coming weeks.
Molde move top of Group A and have all but secured their place in the knockout round of the competition. They were not at their best this evening, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be delighted to see his side come away with the three points from what could have been a tricky evening.
Thanks for joining our commentary this evening. Until next time, goodbye.

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