Glasgow Celtic managed a 2-0 victory in the midweek first leg of their UEFA Champions League qualifying showdown against FC Stjarnan of Iceland.
The Scottish side took a while to get going and it took until stoppage time in the first-half for Dedryck Boyata to head home from a well worked corner. Stjarnan stood strong for much of the latter stages, before being undone by a Stuart Armstrong pass which allowed Stefan Johansen to slide the ball past helpless goalkeeper Gunnar Neilsen.
Outside90’s Darren McConhacie takes a look at the best performances on both sides of the pitch.
Celtic
Craig Gordon – 7: Solid showing, but in reality was never tested.
Mikael Lustig – 6: Did well to provide extra width on the night and helped stretch Stjarnan on the width.
Dedryck Boyata – 7: Fantastic debut goal for Celtic, disappointed to limp-off in the last 10 minutes.
Charlie Mulgrew – 6: An easy night for the Scotland international.
Emilio Izaguirre – 6: The Stjarnan defence will still be having nightmares about him.
Nir Bitton – 6: Alongside Scott Brown, kept the Icelanders in their own-half with a number of key tackles.
Scott Brown – 7: The Celtic captain proved once more why he is so crucial to their European ambitions.
James Forrest – 7: Created chances aplenty for his team, played well as late a replacement for Gary Mackay-Stevens.
Stefan Johansen – 7: Took his goal well but did not cover himself in glory with the controversial penalty debacle.
Stuart Armstrong – 7: Effortless assist for Johansen’s goal, always a classy player to have on the pitch.
Nadir Ciftci – 7: Incredibly unlucky not to score with a wonderful spinning shot in the first-half.
Substitutes
Griffiths (58th minute) – 5: If you take the ball for a penalty, you need to score it.
Stokes (74th minute) – 5: Almost claimed a late assist on the break as Stjarnan pushed forward.
Ambrose (82nd minute) – 4: Managed to pick up a caution for a body check.
Stjarnan
Gunnar Nielsen – 8: It is rare that a losing goalkeeper will make as many important saves.
Heloar Aegisson – 5: Struggled to keep the Celtic attack at bay for most of game.
Brynjar Gudjónsson – 5: Worked hard but loose marking at corners cost his team the opening goal.
Daniel Laxdal – 5: Tried his best to keep the defence steady.
Horour Arnason – 5: Worked for the full 90 minutes but could not keep Celtic from penetrating the dangerous areas around goal.
Michael Praest – 6: Showed no fear in a midfield battle against Brown and Bitton.
Atli Johannsson – 6: Much like Praest, worked hard to try and move Stjarnan forward.
Anar Mar Björgvinsson – 6: Never going to see much of ball in game like this but did his best.
Olafur Karl Finsen – 5: Never got going on the big stage, the game largely passed him by.
Halldor Björnsson – 4: Replaced with nine minutes to play, basically summing up his outing.
Jeppe Hansen – 5: Played the full game and did well not to become frustrated with lack of chances.
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Substitutes
Þorri Geir Rúnarsson (74th minute) – N/A
Velgar Pall Gunnarson (81st minute) – N/A
Atli Freyr Palsson (86th minute) – N/A
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