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Juve drawn 0-0 Thompson goal gives Celtic 1-0 win over Rosenborg
Updated: Thursday October 11, 2001 5:39 AM
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) -- Alan Thompson scored from a free kick to give Celtic a 1-0 win over Rosenborg and the lead in Group E of the Champions League Wednesday. Thompson scored in the 21st minute after Celtic was awarded a free kick on the edge of the area after Stilian Petrov was brought down. Henrik Larsson ran over the ball to allow Thompson to hit a left-foot drive through the Rosenborg wall and past Arni Arason to score. Celtic could have doubled its lead in the 39th minute, when Didier Agathe pulled the ball across the face of goal, but Chris Sutton was unable to connect. Celtic had several more chances in the second half. Sutton's powerful shot in the 76th minute bounced off Arason's outstretched hand. Arason then had to dive to his left to save a Sutton long range drive. Petrov also headed a Steve Guppy cross wide. Rosenborg had a chance to equalize late in the game, but Celtic 'keeper Robert Douglas saved a Frode Johnsen header. While Rosenborg is leading Norway's soccer league, it's yet to find a win in the Champions League. The club has a poor record in Europe, losing its last seven away games. The game was postponed from Sept. 12 as a mark of respect for those who had died in the terrorist attacks on the United States the day before. Promising debut Celtic coach Martin O'Neill refused to get carried away by the 1967 European champion's promising Champions League debut. "It is a great night for the club," declared the Celtic manager. "But we are still a long way, away from the ten points that are need to qualify. "We have two hard games coming up, against Porto and Rosenborg away, but we know if we can get something from those games, then we will give ourselves a chance before we meet Juventus in Glasgow. "That was only our third game in the Champions League and we are a million miles away from the finished article but we are showing plenty of determination and ability," he said. O'Neill's belief was shared by Rosenborg coach Nils Arne Eggen, who stated: "Celtic can compete with the best in Europe. They are a very well-composed team." "It was on a knife-edge for the last 15 minutes and this was as hard a game as the ones with Juventus and Porto. But we had immense performances from Paul Lambert, Chris Sutton and Didier Agathe," O'Neill added. Eggen said Agathe's pace troubled Rosenborg and admitted his team faced a tough task to qualify after earning just one point from three games. "We are only five points behind Celtic at the top, however we have a tough game at Juventus next but I was satisfied with the performance." Porto, Juventus in cautious goalless drawOPORTO, Portugal -- Porto drew 0-0 with Juventus in a lackluster Champions League Group E clash on Wednesday which saw both sides betting on counter-attacks while playing safe in midfield. The visitors saved a point from the game but lost their leadership of Group E to Celtic, while Porto remain in third place. Coach Octavio Machado's aim of qualifying for the second round of the Champions League looked a little more remote. Juventus missed injured striker David Trezeguet and saw Porto take the initiative early in the first half, when a combination of poor finishing by the home side and saves by Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon kept the score level. Porto's best chance came after 25 minutes when Jorge Andrade had a shot cleared off the Juventus line after a goalmouth scramble. Nuno Capucho hesistated and shot the ball wide of the far post when he found himself unmarked in the sixth minute with only Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to beat. Brazilian striker Jesus Pena also missed opening the scoring for the home side in the 17th when he hit a shot from inside the area straight into Buffon's hands. Porto were dangerously exposed at the back when 'keeper Sergei Ovchinnikov ran out of the penalty area and failed to block a long forward pass to unmarked Chilean forward Marcelo Salas, which was only stopped by Andrade. The visitors had more possession in the second half. Salas blasted goalward at a corner in the 46th, but Ovchinnikov was forced to produce his first real save of the match and tip the ball just wide of the far post. Machado brought on Swedish player Fredrick Soderstrom in a late bid to reorganize the Porto midfield, but the home side did little to please a near-capacity 38,000 crowd at the Antas stadium. SummariesCeltic 1 Rosenborg Trondheim 0 - result Scorer: Alan Thompson 21 Halftime: 1-0; Attendance: 57,000 Teams: Celtic: 20-Robert Douglas; 5-Joos Valgaeren, 6-Bobo Balde, 7-Henrik Larsson, 8-Alan Thompson (30-Steve Guppy 66), 9-Chris Sutton, 14-Paul Lambert, 17-Didier Agathe, 18-Neil Lennon, 19-Stilian Petrov, 35-Johan Mjallby. Rosenborg Trondheim: 12-Arni Arason; 2-Odd Olsen (9-Frode Johnsen 86), 20-Bent Inge Johnsen, 3-Erik Hoftun, 5-Christer Basma, 13-Janne Saarinen; 10-Bent Skammelserud, 7-Orjan Berg, 6-Roar Strand; 22-Harald Brattbakk (18-Christer George 74), 28-Sigurd Rushfeldt Referee: Alain Sars (France). Porto 0 Juventus 0 - result Attendance: 38,000 Teams: Porto: 55-Sergei Ovchinnikov; 17-Hugo Ibarra, 30-Mario Silva, 13-Jorge Andrade, 4-Ricardo Carvalho, 6-Francisco Costinha, 5-Carlos Paredes (14-Fredick Soderstrom 70), 10-Deco Sousa, 28-Clayton Cruz, 21-Nuno Capucho (15-Dmitri Alenitchev 77), 31-Jesus Pena (41-Helder Postiga 65) Juventus: 1-Gianluigi Buffon; 15-Alessandro Birindelli (3-Michele Paramatti 15), 21-Lilian Thuram, 4-Paolo Montero, 7-Gianluca Pessotto (14-Cristian Zenoni 64), 19-Gianluca Zambrotta, 5-Igor Tudor, 20-Alessio Tacchinardi, 26-Edgar Davids, 9-Marcelo Salas (6-Fabian O'Neil 84), 10-Del Piero Referee: Manuel Gonzalez (Spain)
Reuters contributed to this report.
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