Cadete rescues Celtic
Celtic 1 Kosice 0 (Celtic win 1-0 on aggregate)
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Your support makes all the difference.Celtic progressed to the first round of the Uefa Cup after a night their fans will remember for some time and Pierre Van Hooijdonk will find it difficult to forget.
The Dutch striker passed up several gilt-edged chances including a penalty which might have secured the tie for the Scottish side before Jorge Cadete struck a late winner.
Van Hooijdonk saw his penalty saved with 10 minutes remaining when the Kosice goalkeeper plunged to his right to make a fine stop that looked like taking the match into extra time before Cadete struck with the decisive goal. Andreas Thom's cross from the left was knocked on by Morten Wieghorst for the Portuguese striker to shoot home from six yards. After the frustrations of the previous 87 minutes the relief was tangible.
Cadete himself had set the tone within the opening two minutes when his flashing header went wide of the post, but it was to Van Hooijdonk that the main chances fell on the night. In the 17th minute he was ideally placed at the far post but turned a Jackie McNamara cross wide of the post. In the second half, he was offered a similar opportunity, this time from a Tosh McKinlay free-kick, and there was a similar result.
While Celtic were creating and missing chances, the visitors on occasion proved dangerous and they should have taken the lead in the 38th minute. A clearance by Gordon Marshall, the Celtic goalkeeper, fell at the feet of Albert Rusnik, but he directed his shot wide of the unguarded goal.
Martin Obsitnik, the Kosice substitute might have secured the winner in the 66th minute with his first touch but Marshall brilliantly saved his shot after Tom Boyd had been short with a back-pass.
The final 10 minutes proved chaotic as first Van Hooijdonk missed his penalty and then Karol Prazenica was shown the red card for aiming at kick at Cadete. In the dying minutes, it was Cadete who had the last laugh with the goal that everyone at Celtic Park had been waiting for.
Celtic (4-4-2): Marshall; McNamara, Hughes, Boyd, McKinlay; Thom, Grant, Wieghorst, McLaughlin (Di Canio, 52); Van Hooijdonk, Cadete. Substitutes not used: Kerr, O'Neil, Stubbs, Anthony.
Kosice (5-4-1): Juracka; Rusnik, Semanik, Hornyak, Prazenica, Toth; Kozik, Sovic, Zvara (Lalik, 85), Janocko; Koziej (Obsitnik, 65). Substitutes not used: Benko,Moder, Danko.
Referee: J Hireiniemi (Finland).
n Aberdeen also qualified for the first round of the Uefa Cup, but only after being given a fright by Zalgiris Vilnius, of Lithuania, last night. Leading
4-1 from the first leg, the Scottish side went through 5-4 on aggregate after losing 3-1 at Pittodrie to a side who only arrived in Aberdeen in the early hours of the morning, following a 12-hour coach trip from London.
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