By Pearse McLaughlin
Celtic end their preseason tour of Japan in style as they triumph by a goal to nil here at Panasonic Stadium Suita against J-League 1 side, Gamba Osaka. Alexandro Bernabei’s strike five minutes from time proved to be the difference as Celtic snatched victory with just five minutes remaining.
First meaningful opportunity in the game has fallen the way of the away side, Celtic on the 24th minute as Daizen Maeda is brilliantly denied by Kosei Tani with a superb piece of goalkeeping. It all started with a fabulous ball over the top of by David Turnbull which is just in front of Liel Abada who just takes it in his stride before firing a low ball into Daizen Maeda who gets on the end of it but for a tremendous save by Kosei Tani. Almost a carbon copy of Daizen Marsha’s first two goals against Yokohama F. Marinos. Fantastic save.
Daizen Maeda has another golden opportunity to score the game’s opening goal only 60 seconds later as Celtic have a goal wrongly chopped off for offside. It was a lovely, disguised pass initially by Reo Hatate that created the opportunity for Daizen Maeda to score. The pass itself seemed to go through the eye of a needle straight to Daizen Maeda who dispatched it expertly. But it was flagged for offside, and it was the wrong call by the officials as Maeda was at least a yard onside.
Daizen Maeda smashes a shot off the underside of the crossbar on the 41st minute as Celtic come close to breaking the deadlock. Daizen Maeda produced a phenomenal Cruyff turn under pressure and managed to swivel the ball onto his weaker left foot and unleash a shot which was destined for the top right-hand corner but only for the fingertips of Kosei Tani to tip it onto the crossbar. Phenomenal skill and finish. You can see the confidence level that Daizen Maeda is playing at right now. Tremendous stop again by Kosei Tani to keep the score goalless. Tani is in inspired form.
On the stroke of half time and Gamba Osaka had a goal of their own which was wrongly disallowed. It all started with a ball played into Musashi Suzuki who takes a lovely touch with his back to goal, spins, and fires the ball low and hard underneath Joe Hart. Again, it was flagged for offside and again it was the wrong call as Musashi Suzuki was at least three or four yards onside. Terrible call by the officials again. Should be 1-1. But it remains 0-0.
It remains goalless at the break in what has been a dominant half by Celtic here at the Panasonic Stadium Suita. The pick of the chances has fell the way of Daizen Maeda who is flying now back in his homeland playing a more central role. Daizen Maeda could easily have had another first half hattrick but for superb goalkeeping from Kosei Tani and a goal wrongly disallowed. Gamba Osaka have remained compact and look to spring counterattacks on Celtic with the aim of causing damage from set pieces. They haven’t created too many clear-cut opportunities but did have a goal of their own which was wrongly chopped offside. Highly entertaining match for a game that has yet to see a breakthrough.
First half chance of the second half fell the way of Celtic on the 51st minute as Oh Hyeon-Gyu somehow misses inside the six-yard-box. It was great initial play by Matt O’Riley to beat a couple of men in the box before looking up and finding Oh Hyeon-Gyu in space at the centre of the goal, but the ball bounces off him and trickles wide as Oh just couldn’t sort out his feet. Big chance squandered by the South Korean international.
Gamba Osaka should have taken the lead on the 68th minute if it wasn’t for a double save from Benjamin Siegrist to first deny Takashi Usami and then Musashi Suzuki on the rebound. Phenomenal reflexes by Benjamin Siegrist. It all started with Takashi Usami dangerously cutting in from the left wing on his favoured right foot. He feigned to shoot a couple of times before trying to place the ball in the far corner but Siegrist made a meal of the initial effort as it wasn’t hut with real venom, the ball spun kindly for Musashi Suzuki who looked destined to smash home the ball into the empty net but Benjamin Siegrist somehow stuck up a leg and diverted it back off of Musashi Suzuki and out for a goal kick. It somehow remains 0-0.
With just 10 minutes left to play Gamba Osaka are millimetres away from taking the lead through Issam Jebali’s acrobatic left foot volley crash off the inside of the right-hand post and agonisingly roll across the line and bounce clear. Fantastic invention from Issam Jebali. All Benjamin Siegrist could do is stand and stare and hope it didn’t go in and the luck was on his side this time. How did that not go in?
The deadlock is finally broken five minutes from time courtesy of Alexandro Bernabei’s high press which led to the mistake by Gamba Osaka’s Kei Ishikawa. Alexandro Bernabei initially gave up possession in Gamba Osaka’s half but never gave up and continued his high press to regain possession and in doing so dispossessed the goalkeeper after a heavy touch and slotted the ball into the back of the empty net. Reward for his hard work and determination. A player who continues to impress in preseason under Brendan Rodgers’s tutelage. 1-0 Celtic.
A highly competitive matchup between the Scottish treble winners and one of the founding members of the J-League 1, Gamba Osaka. It was a match that produced moments of brilliance from an attacking perspective, but also fabulous goalkeeping displays from Benjamin Siegrist and Kosei Tani to keep the score line level. Both sides had a goal chopped off in the first half as VAR wasn’t in use due to the fact it’s a preseason friendly but doesn’t take from the poor officiating. Celtic nicked the win with the unlikeliest of goal scorers in Celtic’s Argentine left back Alexandro Bernabei. His endeavour and determination to chase a lost cause made Kei Ishikawa panic and make a costly error.
Celtic round off their Japan Tour 2023 with a 1-0 win here at Panasonic Stadium Suita, Osaka. Following Wednesday’s 6-4 defeat to Yokohama F. Marinos, Brendan Rodgers will be more than happy to keep a clean sheet and win. It is the perfect ending to their time in Japan as Brendan Rodgers will have a better idea of where his squad is at having played two great sides in Yokohama F. Marinos and Gamba Osaka who are both half way through their season.
Gamba Osaka must wait two weeks until their next competitive fixture on Sunday the 6th of August when they face Kawasaki Frontale. The following week doesn’t get any easier as they face Yokohama F. Marinos on Saturday the 12th of August. Celtic FC proved to be the perfect test for when they return to domestic action but prior to this evening’s game they have been in terrific form having won 5 out of the last 6 games, 2 straight wins, and undefeated in 6 matches.
Next up for Celtic FC is a friendly against Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday the 29th of July. This a rearranged fixture from Celtic’s South Korea part of their Asian tour before it got cancelled by the sponsors Coupang for a lack of payment. The fixture will now take place in the AVIVA Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.
Gamba Osaka: Kosei Tani (Kei Ishikawa 46’), Ko Yanagisawa (Ryu Takao 46’), Shota Fukuoka, Genta Miura (Dawhan 77’), Keisuke Kurokawa (Hiroki Fujiharu 46’), Naohiro Sugiyama (Jiro Nakamura, Neta Lavi (Yuki Yamamoto 46’), Yuya Fukuda (Hiroto Yamami 46’), Hideki Ishige (Juan Alano 62’), Musashi Suzuki (Issam Jebali 62’), Takashi Usami (Ryotaro Meshino 62’). Subs not used: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Dai Tsukamoto.
Celtic FC: Hart (Siegrist 46’), Iwata (Oh 46’), Starfelt (Kyogo 46’), Welsh (McPherson 46’ Summers 90+2’), Taylor (Scales 46’), McGregor (Lawal 46’), Hatate (O’Riley 46’), Turnbull (Holm 46’), Abada (Haksabanovic 46’), Maeda (Bernabei 46’), Forrest (Vata 46’). Subs not used: Bain, Kelly.
Reporter: Pearse McLaughlin
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