Celtic defeated by Dukla in entertaining friendly

St Mirren Park, Paisley
Pre-season friendly
Saturday, July 4, 2015

CELTIC…3
(Griffiths pen. 28, Mackay-Steven 43, van Dijk 83)

DUKLA PRAGUE…5
(Hanousek 13, 36, pen. 49, Mares 59, Prikryl 85)

A HAT-TRICK from Marek Hanousek helped consign Celtic to a 5-3 defeat to Dukla Prague in an entertaining pre-season friendly at St Mirren Park.

The midfielder struck twice in the opening 45 minutes but a Leigh Griffiths penalty and a fine goal from Gary Mackay-Steven ensured the sides went in level at the break.

Hanousek completed his treble from the spot early in the second half, before Jakub Mares put Dukla 4-2 up.
Substitute Virgil van Dijk reduced arrears in the closing stages but there would be no grandstand finish as Tomas Prikryl added a fifth for the visitors to give them the spoils.

Captain Scott Brown, Craig Gordon, Stefan Johansen, Emilio Izaguirre Charlie Mulgrew, James Forrest and Leigh Griffiths all came into the starting XI as Ronny Deila selected a strong side, making seven changes from the team who took on Den Bosch on Wednesday night.

New Bhoy Dedryck Boyata continued in central defence and Tom Rogic, who impressed against the Dutch side on Wednesday night kept his place in midfield.

Both teams wore black armbands to honour the great Josef Masopust, who sadly passed away earlier this week.

And Dukla seemed to be inspired by the memory of their legendary midfielder as they made a positive start to the contest, with Jakub Mares particularly prominent down the left. He had the first effort on goal in the fourth minute, his shot deflected narrowly wide.

It was end-to-end stuff in the opening period of the game, and Griffiths signalled notice of his intent, smashing a shot into the side-netting via a deflection.

But it was the Czech side who struck first as Marek Hanousek sent a thumping drive beyond Gordon from the edge of the area.

Celtic responded through a shot from Rogic, which took a touch off a defender before going over, before Tomas Berger fired high and wide at the other end.

Moments after Mares was off target for the visitors, Griffiths tested Filip Rada meaningfully for the first time with a blistering shot after cutting onto his favoured left-foot.

The away side remained a threat on the break but Celtic restored parity in the 28th minute from the spot. Lustig was barged in the back as he chased a return ball by Matej Hanousek and referee John Beaton awarded the penalty.

Griffiths stepped up and found the corner, despite Radas best efforts.

The lively Griffiths tried his luck again after combining with Johansen on the edge of the area, though his final attempt lacked power to trouble Rada.

However, just as Ronny Deilas side looked to be building some momentum, Dukla restored their advantage. After a shot was blocked in the box, Marek Hanousek on hand to bury the rebound and claim his second of the match.

The midfielder then came within inches of grabbing a hat-trick as his ferocious drive from 20 yards cannoned off the bar.

And the Hoops capitalised on that let-off by levelling the match two minutes beore the interval with a wonderfully-worked goal.

Johansen was the architect, skipping away from one challenge before picking out Mackay-Stevens run with a sublime pass. The winger took a touch and made no mistake, finishing with conviction beyond Rada.

It was a positive way to end the half but the Czech side hauled themselves back in front four minutes after the restart.

Mulgrew fouled Daniel Tetour in the box as they chased a long ball and it was left for Marek Hanousek to dispatch the resultant penalty and seal his treble.

Rada denied Johansen a quick-fire equaliser with an excellent save after the Norwegian had been teed-up by Mackay-Steven in the box.

It was proving a frustrating afternoon for the Scottish champions and they fell further behind before the hour-mark as Mares guided Josip Jurendics precise cross past substitute Leo Fasan.

Despite showing no shortage of endeavour or effort, the hosts couldnt plot a path to goal until seven minutes from time when van Dijk planted a header in the top corner from Johansens set-piece.

But any hopes of a late comeback were extinguished when Prikryl rifled a shot into the corner to secure the spoils for Dukla.

After another valuable workout, Ronny Deilas men return to action against Real Sociedad next Friday, July 10, as they continue to step up their preparations for the UEFA Champions League qualifiers.

CELTIC (4-2-3-1) Gordon (Fasan 46); Lustig (Fisher 46), Boyata (Ambrose 46), Mulgrew (Tierney 63), Izaguirre (Henderson 63); Brown, Rogic (Van Dijk); Forrest (Donnelly 70), Johansen, Mackay-Steven (Stokes 63); Griffiths (Scepovic 70)

Not Used: OConnell, Lindsay, Nesbitt, Trialist, Thomson, Boerrigter, Hazard

DUKLA PRAGUE (4-2-3-1) Rada; Stetina, Jerabek, Gedeon, Povzanec, Matej Hanousek, Jurendic, Beger, Marek Hanousek, Mares, Beaguel