Celtic 2-1 Milan: A Pyrrhic Victory?

By: JT | October 3rd, 2007

Celtic defeated European Champions AC Milan this evening at Parkhead, but all the news will be about the idiot fan who ran onto the pitch and smacked Milan’s Brazilian keeper Dida on the neck after Scott McDonald fired home the decisive goal in the 90th minute.

Dida proceeded to chase the perpetrator for a few steps, realize what happened, and fall to the ground as if someone had lashed him on the ankles with a bullwhip. Dida took his farcical antics all the way though to the end, allowing himself to be carried off the field on a stretcher with an icebag on his face.

We’ll see what UEFA will do about this, and I really hope that the three glorious points that were earned by the Hoops today are not lost due to the actions of one undoubtedly intoxicated imebcile. Well, really two if you count Dida, though he probably wasn’t drunk. He seems to be a real magnet for this kind of stuff, eh?

As far as the game went, the first half was pretty nondescript. There was some up-and-down action, but no real chances of note. Milan dominated possession as you would expect, though neither side looked likely to score.

As the second half got rolling along, Milan appeared to be settling for a nil-nil and Celtic were struggling to come up with anything dangerous on the attack. A corner from Paul Hartley turned the match on its head.

Massimo Donati headed the ball on from the front post and past a sprawling Dida. The ball was loose at the far post, and Stephen McManus guided it into the net with his hip, although it could just as easily have been an own goal from the Milan defender who I think was Marek Jankulovski, but I’m not 100% sure on that.

Milan came on strong after Celtic’s goal, and were applying consistent pressure. You got the feeling it was just a matter of time until they got a great chance, but at the same time, McManus and fellow center-back Gary Caldwell were dealing well with everything coming their way.

A high cross from Yoann Gourcuff, who came on in relief of an injured Clarence von Seedorf, drew an incredibly weak penalty call from German referee Markus Merk. Massimo Ambrosini crumpled like a rough draft and Merk pointed to the spot. Kaka sent Artur Boruc the wrong way, Milan were even, and Merk looked set to grab the headlines that all referees seem to desperately crave these days.

Milan again decided to play for the draw, and it looked to be heading in that direction until Celtic got a corner very much against the run of play. Shunsuke Nakamura, who wasn’t fit to start but came on as a sub, took control of the ball on the far right hand side after his corner was cleared, made a few moves, and laid the ball off for an incredibly wide open Scott Brown right in the middle of the penalty area. While the pub screamed “SHOOOOOT”, Brown passed back to Caldwell at the top of the box who tried to bend a shot into Dida’s lower left corner. Dida parried the shot into McDonald’s path, the Aussie fired it across his body into the net, and craziness ensued.

A wonderful, historic win which I pray is not washed away by the actions of one stupid fan and one goalkeeper aiming for an Oscar. There will be more to come.