SOCCER/Celtic 1 Manchester Utd 1:IN A ground like this the Champions League can once more be a tournament of raw emotion. It poured down from the stands and very nearly repelled Manchester United. The visitors' equaliser, hugely deserved as it was, did not come until six minutes from the close.
A drive from Cristiano Ronaldo moved so much in the air that the goalkeeper Artur Boruc could do no more than beat it down and the ever-professional Ryan Giggs followed up to head into the net. Substitute Dimitar Berbatov then miscued in front of the target with the last kick of the game. United stepped nearer the last 16 and Celtic continue to battle for an afterlife in the Uefa Cup. This encounter had not lacked resonance.
At one end of the ground there was a banner bearing the message "We won it first". Celtic, the champions of 1967, did beat Manchester United to the European Cup by a year, but there was a certain poignancy to that boast. Two generations ago there was a rough equivalence between the clubs. It is no longer so.
If Celtic hold any sort of advantage on these occasions nowadays it can only be that the fixture holds such an aching significance for them. Alex Ferguson remembers well how his side was jeered out of the ground two seasons ago, but a sense of proportion was still necessary here. With other priorities in mind, he diluted the line-up a little. Wayne Rooney and Berbatov were among the substitutes, while Ben Foster made his European debut.
Inevitably United's selection still harboured the majority of the talent on the pitch, but sheer potential, of course, will not necessarily prevent a side from falling behind. The opener, in the 13th minute, was testimony to Celtic's faith on these occasions that they can overcome the odds. Of their three senior forwards, only Scott McDonald was fit to take part, yet he put Celtic in front.
Paul Hartley's free-kick was half-cleared to the centre-back Gary Caldwell, who slid a composed pass to the Australian. McDonald then showed confidence to lob a finish over Foster. Celtic were the last club to score in the Champions League this season, but the long vigil had ended most sweetly for them. United were bemused rather than traumatised and in the 10-minute spell that ensued Rio Ferdinand could twice have scored at corner kicks. Nemanja Vidic, indeed, would also miss from a set-piece on the verge of the interval.
There was, regardless of that, a steadiness to Celtic that must have pleased Gordon Strachan. The manager has made progress in squad development and he left Nakamura on the bench despite the fact that Aiden McGeady had been ruled out with a calf strain.
As best they could, Celtic eased the strain with intermittent attacks and the callow Cillian Sheridan displayed endeavour. The Glasgow club would have been most troubled by the appearance on the pitch of a fan. It was not clear which side he purports to follow, but Celtic have already been fined by Uefa in recent years for an incident of that sort.
Holding the advantage over Ferguson's side invites heightened danger. No one would have been surprised to see United address the lack of a focal point in the middle of the attack. Little thought was needed to cure that and Berbatov came on for Nani. The initial objective for the visitors had to be to cause enough mayhem to demand excellence from the Celtic goalkeeper. It had been a curiously subdued night for Boruc. An anticipated onslaught was thwarted for a while as Celtic appreciated they could relieve the strain with the patches in which they had possession.
When Berbatov seemed sure to score with a flick following a 57th minute corner, however, Celtic survived as Shaun Maloney was on the line to kick the attempt away. At that stage, United's levels of frustration must have been climbing and they almost went two goals down as a header from Sheridan flew just over the bar.
The Irishman was replaced in the 64th minute by Massimo Donati. Strachan's introduction of a fifth midfielder spoke volumes for the need to attempt some disruption of United's build-up. There had to be a great deal of resolute defending, often from Caldwell.
Ferguson introduced Rooney from the bench in place of the industrious Carlos Tevez. Strachan, for his part, had little option but to think of containment. When midfielder Maloney was removed, his replacement was a centre-half, Darren O'Dea. The scope of the game had narrowed, with United challenged to produce the incisiveness that had eluded them.
CELTIC: Boruc, Hinkel, Caldwell, McManus, Wilson, Hartley, Scott Brown, Robson, Maloney (O'Dea 75), McDonald (Hutchinson 81), Sheridan (Donati 63). Subs Not Used: Mark Brown, Naylor, Nakamura, Caddis. Goals: McDonald 13.
MAN UTD: Foster, Rafael Da Silva (Evra 66), Ferdinand, Vidic, O'Shea, Ronaldo, Fletcher, Carrick, Nani (Berbatov 46), Tevez (Rooney 71), Giggs. Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Anderson, Park, Evans. Booked: Nani. Goals: Giggs 84. Att: 58,903
Referee: Tom Ovrebo (Norway).
