The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Celtic

  • uefa CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Ambrose marches on with Celtic

    uefa CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Ambrose marches on with Celtic

    Nigeria international defender, Efe Ambrose was in action for all 90 minutes for Scottish Premiership club, Celtic on Tuesday in the UEFA Champions League.

    Ambrose was a rock in defence as Celtic cruised to a comfortable 4-0 win against Icelandic champions, Knattspyrnufelagid-Reykjavik in a second leg, second round qualifying game.

    Celtic had won the first leg 1-0 in Reykjavik and thus completed a 5-0 aggregate success following the thumping victory at Murrayfield Stadium on Tuesday.

    The reward for Ambrose and his Celtic teammates for the crushing win over the Icelandic side is a third qualifying round tie against either St. Patricks (Republic of Ireland) or Polish champions, Legia Warsaw.

    Both sides go into their second leg, second qualifying round game on level pegging after a 1-1 draw in Poland last week.

  • Celtic defender hails Efe Ambrose partnership

    Celtic defender hails Efe Ambrose partnership

    Celtic defender hails Efe Ambrose partnership

    Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk says he’s proud of his debut season in Scotland and believes his defensive partnership with Efe Ambrose will continue to get better.
    The 22-year-old joined the Scottish champions from FC Gronigen in the summer and has played his part in helping Fraser Forster set a new club clean sheet record.
    Van Dijk has been paired with Nigerian defender Ambrose for the majority of the campaign, seeing Neil Lennon’s men 21 points ahead of Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership table.
    However the club suffered disappointment in the Scottish Cup, going down 2-1 to the Dons at Parkhead.
    Despite the cup exit, the Dutchman views the campaign as a success on a personal level and spoke about how he’s adapted to his new surroundings.
    He told the Celtic View: “It feels very good to be unbeaten in the league so far and I’m very proud of it.
    “I think the whole team should be proud. It’s a big team performance to do this and also a personal achievement for me too because I’ve never experienced this before in my life, so I’m very happy.
    “It’s a good partnership I have with Efe Ambrose – he’s a good guy. Off and on the pitch I talk with him a lot and I learn from him and I think he can learn from me too.
    “It’s definitely me who is the talker, though. It’s something that is natural for me, to talk a lot during the game, not only to Efe but to all the other players.
    “Fraser Forster communicates well, just like any other goalkeeper but he is exceptional in his qualities. He’s an unbelievably good goalkeeper. I’ve never trained or played with a keeper like him. He’s a good guy too who is enjoyable to play with.
    “You hope that when you come to a club like Celtic that you can do well. You have something in mind, you hope that it goes to plan and so far for me, winning games and breaking records means it has, so I’m happy.”

  • Ambrose shines in Celtic’s win

    Ambrose shines in Celtic’s win

    Efe Ambrose was on duty for 87 minutes and got a yellow card for his contributions, as Scottish Premiership side, Celtic secured a 3-0 win over Motherwell to continue their unbeaten run.

    Celtic were reduced to 10 men after Anthony Stokes was sent off with 10 minutes left, but the league leaders were rarely troubled.

    Kris Commons pounced on a Anthony Stokes shot to open the scoring inside the first five minutes.

    A foul by Motherwell keeper Gunnar Nielsen on Stokes allowed Commons to convert from the spot on 39 minutes.

    Then,Stephen McManus turned the ball into his own net on 68 minutes, before Stokes was dismissed for a lunge on Keith Lasley.

    The win is Celtic’s tenth in a row with Commons’ two first half goals making him the star of the show and puts Celtic 13 points clear at the top of the league table.

    Motherwell hung on to third place on 43 points, just one behind Aberdeen, who lost at Inverness.

  • Champions League: Ambrose promises Celtic’s ‘fightback’

    Champions League: Ambrose promises Celtic’s ‘fightback’

    Efe Ambrose has backed Celtic to turn the tables against Shakhter Karagandy of Kazakhstan to reach the group stage of the Champions League.

    The Kazakh giant killers shocked Scottish double champions Celtic 2-0 win in the first leg of the Champions League playoff and Scots are now under pressure to score three unreplied goals on Wednesday to scale through to the mini-league stage of the Champions League.

    “I am very sure we will go through to the group stage of UEFA Champions League at the expense of Shakhter,” predicted Nigeria international defender Ambrose, who was on the bench for the duration of the first encounter.

    “I am not having any special feelings about the game or taking the game more seriously than others, it is just like every other game that we have played and will still play.”

    Last season, Celtic reached the Round of 16 of the Champions League before losing to Italian champions Juventus.

    MTNFootball.com reports that history favours Celtic as the club had upturned such first leg result three times in the past.

    The Kazakhs, on the other hand, are aiming to make history as the first club from the country to reach the group stage of the prestigious Champions League.

     

  • UEFA Champions League: Fenerbahce test for Arsenal

    UEFA Champions League: Fenerbahce test for Arsenal

    English Premier League side Arsenal would face Turkish giants Fenerbahce in the Champions League play-off round after the draw was made on Friday at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon.

    The Gunners, who lost the 2006 final 2-1 to Barcelona, travels to Istanbul for the first leg to be played August 20-21 before returning to London for the second leg a week later, AFP reports.

    However, Fenerbahce’s potential participation in the group stage depends on a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, expected at the end of the month, having been banned from European competition by UEFA for match-fixing in domestic competition.

    In the other pairings, AC Milan faces Dutch runners-up PSV Eindhoven — a rematch of the 2004-05 semi-finals which the Italians won on away goals — while French side Lyon would play Real Sociedad of Spain.

    German outfit Schalke was paired with Ukraine’s Metalist Kharkiv, who faces a UEFA hearing into match-fixing claims next Tuesday.

    Scottish champions Celtic was drawn against Kazakhstan challenger – Shakhter Karagandy.

     

     

  • Efe’s Celtic wins in Scotland

    Efe’s Celtic wins in Scotland

    Super Eagles defender, Efe Ambrose and his Celtic teammates got off their Scottish Premier League title defence to a perfect start with a 2-1 home win over Ross County on Saturday.

    The victory was hard earned as the Hoops had to come from behind to secure all three points at the Parkhead and stay in tune for the midweek UEFA Champions League clash, futaa.com reports.

    Graham Carey gave the visitors a dream start when he slotted in the first goal of the night with barely three minutes of action.

    Anthony Stokes then levelled up with a scrappy goal in the 27th minute and Celtic pounded the Dingwall team for most of the game thereafter, hitting woodwork twice amid a litany of missed chances before the Irishman grabbed his second in the 87th minute.

     

  • CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFIER: Celtic recall Ambrose from holiday

    CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFIER: Celtic recall Ambrose from holiday

    •Says Nigerian in super shape 

    Celtic Manager, Neil  Lennon is banking on Super Eagles defender to ginger the side to achieve a good result today against Cliftonville in the Champions league qualifier

    The Irish coach had originally approved extra rest for Ambrose after his return from the Confederation Cup in Brazil, but injuries to defenders Adam Matthews, Charlie Mulgrew and Virgil van Dijk has forced him to recall the Nigerian to checkmate Cliftonville

    Although Celtic recently signed Steven Mouyokolo he is not likely to be available until the Champions League qualifying round second leg next week. Lennon admitted that he called upon the services of Ambrose earlier than expected for Wednesday’s first-leg clash.

    “Efe Ambrose is in contention,” said the Northern Irishman, who has also seen Victor Wanyama leave for Southampton.

    “He looks great, he looks in good condition. These guys play almost 12 months a year. He has had a couple of weeks off.

    “He had a heavy schedule with the Confederations Cup, had a holiday, did a little bit of training in Nigeria and then joined us and he looks fine.

    “It probably would have been ideal for him to do a little bit of conditioning, but looking at him on Monday, he looks fine.”

    Lenon said though some of the players may not perform a 100% because of fatigue, it is important that that the side rise to the occasion because of the importance of the tie and the challenge that will be posed by a motivated opponent.

    “Cliftonville will be highly motivated but the Champions League is so important to us as well.

    “It is our first competitive game, we have only been back two and a half weeks and some players less than that, so it is a big task but that is the reality. “he added

  • Ambrose’s Celtic celebrate title in style

    Ambrose’s Celtic celebrate title in style

    Super Eagles defender, Efe Ambrose and his Celtic mates celebrated lifting the Scottish Premier League trophy in style as they eased to a 4-0 win over St Johnstone at Parkhead on Saturday.

    The Nigeria international played no part in the match as Joe Ledley had the Hoops in front with barely a minute on the clock and Charlie Mulgrew added a second direct from a free-kick in the 36th minute.

    St Johnstone hadn’t previously tasted defeat against Celtic in the league this season, having come from behind in their three previous meetings to win one and draw two.

    However, they never looked like maintaining their unbeaten record against the Hoops and James Forrest made it 3-0 with a fine strike in the 52nd minute before Frazer Wright scored an own-goal in stoppage time.

    It sealed Celtic’s 12th win in a row at home in the league, a run of form that helped propel Neil Lennon’s side to their second successive league title.

    There was further good news for the Hoops as captain Scott Brown returned from a three-month injury absence to collect the SPL championship trophy following what is their final home game of the season before next weekend’s finale away to Dundee United and then the Scottish Cup final against Hibernian.

    “It is a very significant day when you pick the championship trophy up. I put out a strong team in preparation for the Cup final and I thought we were fantastic,” Lennon said.

    “There was a flow and energy to us and there was a freshness about the team and that was the pleasing aspect of the day and then obviously there was the celebration afterwards.

    “These are days you want to cherish and it’s important for the players to appreciate what they’ve done as it goes very quickly.”

  • Ambrose nears Scottish title with Celtic

    Ambrose nears Scottish title with Celtic

    SUPER EAGLES returnee, Efe Ambrose was in action for Celtic as Kris Commons help the Scottish topflight campaigners ran out comfortable 3-0 winners against Hibernian – but the Nigeria international must wait to be crowned champions as they need to avoid defeat in their next league match for the title win to be declared a mathematical certainty after second-placed Motherwell’s 2-2 draw with St Mirren put the Bhoys’ celebrations on hold until at least their next game.

    James McFadden equalised for Motherwell six minutes from time in their 2-2 draw with St. Mirren to deny Ambrose and his Celtic pals but revive their hopes of playing Champions League football next season.

    Former Scotland boss Craig Brown’s final game as a manager ended in defeat as his Aberdeen side conceded the only goal of the game right at the death at Dundee United.

    Michael Ngoo netted two goals in the day’s early kickoff in Hearts’ 4-2 defeat of Ross County and bottom side Dundee picked up a rare victory at Kilmarnock.

  • ‘Ambrose has made Celtic better’

    ‘Ambrose has made Celtic better’

    Celtic manager Neil Lennon has praised his centre back pairing, saying that Efe Ambrose has caught the attention of “top clubs in different countries”.

    Nigerian Ambrose, 24, played in Celtic’s 3-0 defeat to Juventus in the Champions League last 16, with the former receiving considerable flak following a poor performance that saw him make vital mistakes in defence and attack, just a few days after he had helped Nigeria win the African Cup of Nations.

    Speaking to The Scotsman, Lennon said: “Efe is strong-minded regarding the criticism. He is very humble and was extremely disappointed after last Tuesday night.

    “I don’t think we will lose him in the summer as he is just in the door and there is more he can add to his game. But he has a few admirers out there with his performances this season.

    “Efe has been a great signing for us. He has also brought the best out of Kelvin Wilson, who has been magnificent this season. At European level, they have made us better.”