Shakhtar Donetsk 2 - 0 Celtic
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Celtic
| Scoring Summary | |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | Celtic |
| Brandao (6) | |
| Cristiano Lucarelli (8) | |
| Match Stats | ||
| Shakhtar Donetsk | Celtic | |
| Shots (on Goal) | 19(7) | 10(4) |
| Fouls | 14 | 12 |
| Corner Kicks | 5 | 5 |
| Offsides | 2 | 0 |
| Time of Possession | 50% | 50% |
| Yellow Cards | 1 | 1 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
| Saves | 4 | 5 |
| Match Information |
|
Stadium:
Shakhtar Stadium
Attendance: Match Time: 15:45 ET |
| Teams | |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | Celtic |
| 30 Andriy Pyatov | 1 Artur Boruc |
| 3 Tomás Hubschman | 12 Mark Wilson |
| 5 Olexandr Kucher | 5 Gary Caldwell |
| 11 Ilsinho | 3 Lee Naylor |
| 18 Mariusz Lewandowski | 18 Massimo Donati |
| 26 Razvan Dinca Rat | 44 Stephen McManus |
| 33 Darijo Srna | 25 Shunsuke Nakamura |
| 7 Fernandinho | 11 Paul Hartley |
| 8 Jadson | 10 Jan Vennegoor |
| 99 Cristiano Lucarelli | 8 Scott Brown |
| 25 Brandao | 27 Scott McDonald |
| Substitutes | |
| 20 Oleksiy Byelik | John Kennedy 41 |
| 4 Igor Duljaj | Maciej Zurawski 7 |
| 19 Olexiy Gay | Darren O'Dea 48 |
| 9 Nery Castillo | Aiden McGeady 46 |
| 1 Yurii Virt | Evander Sno 15 |
| 21 Olexandr Gladkiy | Mark Brown 21 |
| 55 Vladimir Yezerskiy | Chris Killen 33 |
| Substitutions | |
| Nery Castillo for Jadson (65) | Aiden McGeady for Shunsuke Nakamura (65) |
| Olexandr Gladkiy for Cristiano Lucarelli (71) | Chris Killen for Scott McDonald (68) |
| Igor Duljaj for Fernandinho (86) | Maciej Zurawski for Jan Vennegoor (85) |
| Yellow Cards | |
| Darijo Srna (30) | Scott Brown (17) |
| · Club Rosters: Shakhtar Donetsk | Celtic | |
Updated: September 18, 2007, 5:35 PM ET
DONETSK, Ukraine, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Shakhtar Donetsk struck twice in the first eight minutes to record a 2-0 victory over Celtic in their Champions League Group D opener on Tuesday. • Strachan laments poor startBrazilian striker Brandao opened the scoring for the Ukrainians in the sixth minute, beating keeper Artur Boruc with a rising shot from the edge of the box after Celtic's defence gave the ball away.
Italy forward Cristiano Lucarelli added a second with a diving header two minutes later following a pin-point cross from Razvan Rat.
Shakhtar could have increased their goal tally in the next 20 minutes, the unmarked Lucarelli wasting a good chance and Brandao having an effort disallowed for offside.
The pattern continued after the break, with Shakhtar again dominating for long stretches.
At the other end Vennegoor of Hesselink came close with a header, providing the Scottish champions with their only real chance in the second half.
'We wanted to put pressure on them right from the start and we executed our game plan to perfection,' Shakhtar's Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu told a news conference.
Celtic, who squeezed into the Champions League by beating Spartak Moscow in a penalty shootout in the third qualifying round, have now lost 13 of their last 14 away matches in Europe's premier club competition.
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan admits his side were left in shock after their disastrous start to the Champions League Group D campaign against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Olympiyskiy Stadium.
A Stephen McManus mistake after five minutes when he was caught in possession at the edge of his own box by Fernandinho led to Brandao's opener.
Three minutes later a stunned Celtic side found themselves two down when Cristiano Lucarelli headed past Artur Boruc.
Brandao had a third goal ruled out for offside and without the heroics of Boruc it could have been a romp for the Ukrainians.
The Hoops are still looking for their first away win in the group stages of the tournament after 13 attempts and look forward to AC Milan visiting Parkhead in their next Group D match.
Strachan said: 'We came a long way to play and prepare and after eight minutes we are climbing a mountain which we never expected.
'We expected to play against a good side - which they were - and the better side won on the night, there is no doubt about that.
'I didn't expect that to happen as easily as it did, the first goal especially.
'It was a basic mistake for the first goal and it was like Gary Caldwell's own goal against Benfica last season.
'If it is a bit of brilliance you hold your hands up but to give away a goal like that?
'The players were in shock after that but after they recovered they rolled up their sleeves and said 'you will score again over my dead body.'
'I thought the game was running away from us at one point.
'I came with two strikers which might have been naive but I thought we could have got a win.
'We are disappointed for the first 20 minutes but we had chances and if we had scored one I think we could have got back in to the game.'
Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu insists his side should have hit Celtic for six.
The Romanian, who guided the Ukrainian club to a 3-0 win over the Scots three years ago, believed his side should have scored more than the two goals they did.
Asked what at a fair reflection of the game would have been in terms of the score, Lucescu said: '6-2. A 2-0 win didn't show the game, we had much more opportunities than Celtic.
'I emphasised to my players that we had to have a moment at the beginning of the game, a corner or something, to get Celtic defending and then our technique would take over.
'I congratulate my team because three points are very important.
'If you want to qualify through to the group stages you have to win your home games.
'I was impressed not just by the scoreline but by the way we played.'
