Rennes 1 - 1 Celtic: Sloppy Celts forced into another salvage job

Lamentable own goal puts Lennon’s men on back foot before Ledley rescues point

DIFFERENT competition, same script. For the second match running, Celtic fell behind because of their own deficiencies only to fight back and claim a point – although the significant saving grace last night compared to Kilmarnock was the fact they only went a goal down before fighting back.

Cha Du-Ri did the damage with a calamitous own goal after half an hour, putting the ball past Fraser Forster, who should at least have made a visible effort to get back and save even if he knew the attempt would be futile. Joe Ledley performed the salvage act with a headed equaliser 20 minutes from time which proved that, no matter their glaring deficiencies, Celtic still have the desire and the ability to fight back.

Whether the point gained will do them any good in Europa League Group I is another matter. This result seems more likely to be less than either team needs in their bid to reach the knockout stages, and has heightened the probability that Atletico Madrid and Udinese will progress instead.

With Gary Hooper and Georgios Samaras among the absentees because of injury, Celtic manager Neil Lennon opted to play Anthony Stokes as the lone striker in a 4-3-2-1 formation, leaving Mo Bangura on the bench.

Daniel Majstorovic was dropped after his poor showing against Kilmarnock, being replaced in the back four by Glenn Loovens, while the replacement of Hooper by Victor Wanyama was the only other change to the team which had begun the draw at Rugby Park.

Rennes manager Frederic Antonetti had made eight changes from his team’s last league match, but hedged his bets somewhat by including potential match-winners such as Jonathan Pitroipa among his substitutes. It appeared a curious team selection nonetheless for a match which the Breton club had targeted as one they had to win.

Like Celtic, they had won only one point from their first two matches in the group, while joint leaders Udinese and Atletico Madrid had garnered four apiece.

Celtic enjoyed an encouraging start in which a Ki Sung-Yeung shot produced a confident save from Benoit Costil, but after that it soon became evident that Rennes still very much regarded this as a must-win game. The French team pressed consistently and at a high tempo, particularly down the right, where Razak Boukari was a constant threat.

Good work down that flank almost opened Celtic up midway through the first half, as Julien Feret cut back from the byeline to Yacine Brahimi, only for the latter’s shot to be deflected for a corner.

Although they were very much on the back foot at this stage, Celtic hit back almost immediately through Stokes. The Irishman latched on to a ball down the left channel, turned Kader Mangane, and fired in a right-foot shot which Costil palmed over the crossbar.

It was the most encouraging moment of the game up to that point for the Scots, but within minutes they undid their good work by putting through their own net. After Costil easily saved a free-kick from Ki, he spotted Boukari free down the right, and tried to launch a clearance towards him only to misdirect his punt towards Cha instead.

With no opposing player close to him, the midfielder elected to pass back to Fraser Forster, but, having failed to realise that the goalkeeper had advanced towards the edge of the penalty area, Cha overhit the ball.

Caught flat-footed, Forster turned and looked on aghast as the ball trundled beyond him and into the net. Coming after what had been a steadily improving opening half-hour, it was a sickening blow.

Things could have got worse for Celtic in Rennes’ next attack, but fortunately for them Youssouf Hadji’s back-post header was just too high. The French team continued to threaten for the remaining ten minutes of the half, but without producing any really incisive moves.

That was one optimistic aspect of the contest for Celtic, and Stokes’ sharpness up front was another. But as the opening spell of the second half showed, the striker was in need of support up front if he was to really unsettle the home defence – and the more players Celtic threw forward to assist Stokes, the more vulnerable they would become at the back.

That susceptibility was exposed when a one-two down the left between Feret and Chris Mavinga sliced Celtic open. The return pass put Mavinga through on Forster, but the keeper narrowed the angle well and produced a confident save

With the game still not put to bed, Pitroipa and Jires Kembo-Ekoko came off the bench for the final half-hour, and swiftly injected some zest into their team’s play, to which a certain sluggishness had crept in.

Celtic responded, however, and had two good chances to equalise in the space of a minute. The first fell to Stokes, who had more time than he thought after a cross from Cha, and hit a rushed shot straight at Costil when he could have placed it.

The second, more difficult opportunity arose when a ball into the box was only cleared to Ki. From 20 yards out, the midfielder failed to keep his shot down.

If there was a temptation to despair at those chances going a begging, it was one Celtic resisted manfully.

Sticking to their task, they grabbed the equaliser in the 70th minute through a perfectly timed run and header from Ledley.

The Rennes defence appeared to have Charlie Mulgrew’s free-kick from the right covered, but, distracted by Glenn Loovens’ run across the box, they failed to match Ledley’s own run.

The Welshman met the ball about eight yards out, and directed a looping header over Costil and into the far corner of the net.

That equaliser provoked a frantic response from Rennes, who should have had the points in the bag.

An overhead kick by Hadji with a dozen minutes to go was saved acrobatically by Forster. Pitroipa had another attempt saved at the death as Celtic held out.

Lennon celebrated the point as if it had been a victory, though relief rather than simple joy was surely the main reason for such a display of delight.

Rennes: Costil, Jebbour, Mangane, Kana Biyik, Mavinga (Theophile-Catherine 76), Pajot, Tettey, Brahimi (Pitroipa 58), Feret, Boukhari (Kembo-Ekoko 58), Hadji. Subs not used: Diallo, Dalmat, Montano, Doumbia.

Celtic: Forster, Matthews, Mulgrew, Loovens, Cha, Ki (Bangura 89), Wanyama, Kayal, Ledley, Forrest, Stokes. Subs not used: Zaluska, Majstorovic, Mark Wilson, McCourt, McGregor, George.