Rapid Wien 3-3 Celtic: Fortune Double Launches Stunning Bhoys Fightback

Rapid Wien vs Celtic: Line-up & Stats
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Celtic got off to the worst possible start and found themselves a goal behind within 30 seconds. Captain Stephan McManus, under pressure from  Nikica Jelavic gave the ball away to Steffan Hoffman. He then found the Croatian Jelavic on the edge of the box, turning smartly on to his favoured left side he smashed a shot low into the left hand corner, leaving Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc no chance.

Willo Flood then had Celtic’s first chance of the half. Niall McGinn tricked his way down the left flank and squared the ball to the former Manchester City player Flood. Using his quick feet he managed to find some space and got a shot away from the left hand side of the box, only to see it trickle into the hands of Raimund Hedl.

From the goalkeeper’s quick distribution, Wien then went up the other end and instantly doubled their lead. The shaky Celtic defence were again under pressure and the effective Branko Boskovic released Hamdi Salihi inside Celtics 18 yard box. He pulled the ball across the box to a waiting Jelavic for the easiest of tap-ins and probably his easiest goal of the competition

A disheartened Celtic looked out of sorts and lost the ball far too easily. Wien looked very comfortable on the ball, passing the ball with ease and were three goals to the good on 19 minutes. Marc-Antoine Fortune showed some promise for Celtic down the flank but his cross failed to beat the first man. A long clearance up field fell to Jelavic who turned Glen Loovens inside out and traveled in to the Celtic box. A pinpoint ball landed at the feet of an unmarked Salihi who tripled his teams lead by also scoring the simplest of goals from the edge of the six-yard box.

With the danger of it becoming embarrassing for the Scots, they were handed a lifeline on 24 minutes. Marc Crosas played a sublime ball over the top of the Wien back-four to McGinn, he then laid it off to left-back Mark Wilson who hit a first time ball into the box. It fell to Fortune who had all the work to do with his back to goal. He shimmied one way and swiveled the other and then hammered the ball into the top corner from 10 yards out, leaving the defender and goalkeeper standing.

McManus again left his side in trouble when he played a soft pass across the middle of the park that Boskovic latched on to, he brushed away the challenge from Caddis and unleashed a shot from 25 yards that Boruc had to smartly tip around the post.

The last chance of the half fell to the away team, the ever-promising McGinn picked up the ball 25 yards out and wriggled his way across the box. After escaping some desperate challenges from the central defender’s he smashed a shot that was heading for the top corner. Only to see the opposition Goalkeeper make an outstanding one handed save and palm it out for a corner maintaining his side’s two goal advantage at the break.

Celtic’s liveliest player in the first half McGinn had three glorious chances early on in the second half. He nearly brought the Glasgow-based outfit Celtic back into the game after being release into the Wien box from a slick through ball, only to hit the ball into the floor, helping Hedl to parry the ball for a corner

His second chance came just minutes after. Following a neat passing move McGinn found himself 10 yards out with only the keeper to beat, which he failed to do and fired straight at the feet of the reliable Hedl.

Again McGinn received the ball on the right hand side of the pitch, using some trickery he cut inside the Wien defense and hit a left-footed shot straight along the floor into the arms of the keeper.

On the 67^th minute Fortune burst through the middle of Wien’s half and was brought down by Jurgen Patocka. A quick free kick from flood out wide to Mcginn left the Austrian team’s defense standing. The outstanding McGinn fired a ball towards the back post where an onrushing Fortune tapped in his second of the game from three yards out.

Wien really struggled to put more than five consecutive passes together during the second half and often looked very nervous on the ball. Celtics complete dominance of the second half was rewarded a minute into stoppage time when some nice interplay between the midfield ended  up with the ball at youngster Paul McGowan’s feet inside the Wien box. Throwing himself at a bouncing ball, he volleyed the ball into the back of the net grabbing a late equalizer and lifting his side off the bottom of the table.

Joshua Hayward, Goal.com

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