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Larsson denied Boavista frustrates Celtic in 1-1 UEFA Cup drawPosted: Thursday April 10, 2003 8:09 PM
GLASGOW (Reuters) -- Celtic's Henrik Larsson scored once but had a penalty saved as Portuguese underdogs Boavista held the Scottish champions 1-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Cup semifinal at Celtic Park on Thursday. With either Italian club Lazio or Porto awaiting the winners in next month's final, Boavista silenced the 60,000 Celtic Park crowd by taking a shock lead three minutes into the second half. Filipe Anunciacao scampered down the Boavista right and his cross was inadvertently diverted past his own goalkeeper by Celtic defender Joos Valgaeren. But Celtic, seeking to reach their first European final since 1970, were level within a minute when Larsson fired low into the Boavista net. The Swede, though, was denied a second in the 75th minute when Boavista goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira produced a plunging stop to keep out his penalty kick awarded after Eder's unfortunate handball. That save meant Boavista finished much the happier of the two sides with their away goal giving them the advantage for the second leg in Oporto in two weeks' time. So far in their European run, Celtic have scored away goals against FK Suduva, Blackburn Rovers, Celta Vigo, VfB Stuttgart and Liverpool. Martin O'Neill's side will need to do so again in Portugal to maintain their hopes of reaching the final in Seville on May 21. There was little to separate the sides in a tight and often tense opening period but Jaime Pacheco's Boavista side were never over-awed. Celtic started in a positive mood and Larsson wriggled free from John Hartson's intelligent pass on seven minutes but the Swede's final effort bounced wide. Wild celebrations Boavista, lying 10th in the Portuguese league fully 40 points behind leaders Porto, responded with a couple of long range shots before cutting open the home defense on 18 minutes. Luiz Claudio found space in the box with Celtic's towering defense wrong-footed. His cross was perfect for Duda but the Boavista player's shot was somehow deflected wide when a goal seemed more likely. Celtic attempted to engineer some pressure but found Boavista in an uncompromising mood for the rest of the first half. A few hopeful claims for handball in the box and an effort from Bulgarian Stilian Petrov that flew wide were indicative of the home side's inability to create any real chances. Celtic were then stunned when they fell behind only three minutes into the second period. Erivan released Anunciacao whose cross was poked into his own goal by a stretching Valgaeren. The goal prompted wild celebrations from the visitors' bench but Celtic responded quickly to their predicament. Neil Lennon fed Petrov who showed great awareness to find Larsson and the Sweden striker slammed the ball past Ricardo. Hartson then had the chance to hand Celtic a vital lead on 65 minutes but failed to connect properly and Ricardo gratefully clasped his shot. Ricardo was turning into a key figure for the visitors as he then brilliantly saved Larsson's penalty, diving to his right to stop with the home fans ready to celebrate. Celtic threw men forward in the dying moments but the winner would not come as Hartson was denied twice more. O'Neill confident Celtic can still reach finalCeltic manager Martin O'Neill still believes his side can reach their first European final since 1970 despite only managing a 1-1 draw with underdogs Boavista in Thursday's UEFA Cup semifinal first leg.O'Neill's side have scored away from home in every round of their UEFA Cup campaign and the Northern Irishman remains optimistic about facing either Lazio or Porto in the final on May 21. "The players are disappointed at the end and feel a little frustrated but I'm not disappointed," O'Neill told reporters. "This is not a bravado speech or anything, I just believe we're capable of winning over there. I firmly believe we're capable of scoring there and we can still go through," he said. The Scottish champions fell behind to an unfortunate own goal from Joos Valgaeren on 48 minutes before Henrik Larsson equalized within a minute. Celtic then missed a chance to take the lead when Larsson had a penalty brilliantly saved by Ricardo 15 minutes from time. Celtic were awarded the spot-kick when Boavista's Eder appeared to handle in the area but O'Neill felt his side could have had two more penalties in the first half for similar incidents. "You need a wee bit of luck and that deserted us tonight. There were a couple of clear-cut penalty decisions that I've just seen," he said. "That's disappointing because the referee is in a decent position and those were major decisions. "But we went to Liverpool and won and it's still there for us. "Henrik's disappointed at missing the penalty but he felt confident after scoring earlier and I think we will score over there. Tonight, we've had a lot of bad luck but we'll put it behind us," O'Neill said. Boavista manager Jaime Pacheco was satisfied with the result and with his side's performance but says Celtic are still a big threat. "It is still 50-50 and the tie is still in the balance. We didn't play great football to watch but that is because Celtic are such a great team," Pacheco said. "I'm as optimistic as I was before the match but Celtic had a great result against Liverpool and that is still fresh in the memory so it will be difficult for us."
SummaryCeltic (Scotland) 1 Boavista (Portugal) 1 - result UEFA Cup semifinal, first leg Scorers: Celtic - Henrik Larsson 49 Boavista - Joos Valgaeren 48og Missed penalty: Henrik Larsson (Celtic) 75 Halftime: 0-0; Attendance: 60,000 Teams: Celtic: 20-Robert Douglas; 35-Johan Mjallby, 6-Dianbobo Balde, 5-Joos Valgaeren; 8-Alan Thompson, 17-Didier Agathe (3-Momo Sylla 74), 19-Stilian Petrov (12-David Fernandez 78), 18-Neil Lennon, 14-Paul Lambert; 7-Henrik Larsson, 10-John Hartson. Boavista: 1-Ricardo Pereira, 3-Fernando Avalos, 4-Paulo Turra, 5-Eder Silveira, 19-Mario Loja, 26-Luiz Claudio (22-Cafu 46, 17-Bosingwa 81), 27-Luis Pedrosa (2-Rui Oscar 90), 96-Filipe Anunciacao, 16-Joaquim Martelinho, 6-Erivan Lima, 8-Duda Ventura. Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium) Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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