Match Report -
Celtic have a good showing
By Iain Benson
Celtic knew from the off that they were up against a classy opponent. Joan Roman-Angel forced Jan Budtz into good stop, tipping over a drive from the edge of the box, and was then on hand to deny Roman again from the corner.

Celtic got into gear moments later building well, with Phil Marsh latching onto Adam Kay's through ball only to be brought down just inside the box by Kasim Rekik. Marsh took the penalty himself, sending Loris Karius the wrong way.

Moments later, and Craig Bellamy ran the show to put City back on terms, beating the offside trap with a well timed run that put him one-on-one with Jan Budtz. Bellamy didn't hesitate, and curled his shot around the advancing Celtic keeper. Moments later and Celtic were unlucky when Roman's shot took a wicked deflection that had Budtz completely in the wrong place. Budtz performed well when Bellamy again beat the offside trap, only to find the Celtic keeper up to the job. There was precious little Budtz could do when Abdisalam Ibrahim's fancy footwork saw him twisting and turning his way past challenges and tackles before being only a yard from the line before poking the ball out of Budtz's reach.

Moments later and it was four. Angel cruising in on the right completely unseen, but found by Bellamy to smash the ball into the back of the net. It could have been five when Ibrahim's thunderbolt from the edge of box smacked against the bar.

Celtic regrouped at half time with plenty of substitutions by both teams.

Connor Jennings, one of the subs, won a corner, which Callum Warburton another of the subs, whipped in. City struggled to clear, and it came to Rhys Meynell at the near post who scored from a seemingly impossible angle.

If anything, Celtic were the better team in the second half. Certainly they produced some of the better football. A great run by Mitchell Austin saw him find Connor Jennings on the far side of the box. Jennings was completely unselfish when he saw the better pass after beating the keeper, but somehow City got bodies back and in the way of Dennis Sheriff, which was a shame, because 3-4 would have been a more reflective score.

Celtic squad from:
Jan Budtz; Andy Langford; Andy McWilliams; Rhys Meynell; Kristian Platt; Jack Rea; Adam Kay; Greg Wilkinson; Phil Marsh; Lloyd Ellams; Craig Hobson
Subs: Connor Jennings; Dennis Sheriff; Tim Ryan; Joel Bembo-Lita; Arthur Gnahoua; Tom Buckley; Mitchell Austin.

Manchester City squad from:
Loris Karius; Kieran Trippier; Wayne Bridge; Abdisalam Ibrahim; Nedum Onouha; Kasim Rekik; Michael Johnson; Abdul Razak; Craig Bellamy; Gai Assulin; Joan Angel-Roman
Subs: Ian Ormson; Ahmed Benali; Jordy H Mayifuila; Jeremy Helan; Ellis Plummer; Kieran Kennedy