February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The Irish international, presumably still recovering from the shoulder injury that saw him miss the end of the English season last May, could see some action in Chelsea’s second match, tomorrow (Thursday) against AS Roma at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh (kick-off 8 p.m., Fox Sports World cable network).
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho also opted to keep his $44 million record signing, Didier Drogba, in street clothes but saw a number of his new recruits make strong claims for starting positions ahead of the English season.
One of them was Dutch international Arjen Robben, who may have upped the ante in his contest with Duff for the attacker’s role on Chelsea’s left wing after a sterling second-half appearance.
Robben made an instant impact five minutes into his debut when he broke away on the left and squared for Eidur Gudjohnsen to shoot the wealthy Londoners into a 2-1 lead.
Robben displayed a deft left foot, speed and the type of incisiveness that should endear him to the Stamford Bridge faithful.
With enough quality players on their books to field two top-class teams, Chelsea were always the more dangerous side against the Neil Lennon-captained Celtic, although the Bhoys were denied a clear penalty when young striker Craig Beattie was fouled in the box by John Terry (6th).
At any rate, Chelsea continued to create the better chances and cashed in when Russian Alexei Smertin, back from a loan spell at Portsmouth, crashed in a powerful left footer in the 16th minute.
Celtic hit back 11 minutes later when Beattie sprinted away from big German defender Robert Huth and scored. By the end of the sweltering afternoon, the 20-year-old Beattie would evoke memories of the departed Henrik Larsson with a brace that left Mourinho mulling a bid for a new defender or two.
In the end, forward Mateja Kezman, another newcomer to Stamford Bridge, struck twice (59th, 87th) to hand Mourinho his first win since replacing Claudio Ranieri.
Aiden McGeady, the 18-year-old striker capped at senior level by Ireland last month, came on in the 66th minute for Celtic and showed why he is a promising talent.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill, back home with his ailing wife, offered his views on the match to coach Steve Walford via telephone.
“I have spoken to Martin after the game and he was satisfied with the game but not the performance,” Walford told reporters. “The defending was poor. You can’t play and defend like that against a quality team like Chelsea.
“We were all over the place and there was a lack of communication among our defenders which we will have to work on.”
Celtic wind up their schedule States-side against Manchester United at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia tonight at 8 p.m. before flying to Canada where they face AS Roma in Toronto on Saturday.
POOL TOP CELTIC
Djibril Cisse, a possible Ireland foe in the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers, netted twice at Rentschler Field in Hartford, Conn., on Monday night as Liverpool thrashed Celtic 5-1 in the Bhoys? second ChampionsWorld Series outing.
The French youngster, a recent acquisition from Auxerre, came on after the interval to heap more grief on Celtic, who trailed by 2-0 after strikes from Norwegian John Arne Riise (4th) and Michael Owen (17th).
Cisse, who was suspended from Euro ’04 but could partner Arsenal’s Thierry Henry in the World Cup qualifiers, connected in the 62nd and 75th minutes, while another player likely to line up against Ireland, Swiss defender Stephane Henchoz, volleyed in the other goal (69th).
Craig Beattie bagged Celtic’s face-saver, his third goal in two matches, from the penalty spot (71st).
CHI-TOWN YAWNER
In a far cry from the swashbuckling side that dazzled opponents and spectators alike last year, Manchester United began this year’s ChampionsWorld Series tour with a whimper in Chicago last Sunday.
Not even Roy Keane’s presence could lift a young United team against old rivals Bayern Munich in a drub goalless tie that drew boos from sections of the 58,000 plus crowd at Soldier Field. The Germans prevailed 4-2 in the ensuing penalty shootout.
John O’Shea, who wasn’t expected to play, featured after all. But several big names, among them Ruud van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers Gary and Phil were all conspicuous by their absence.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had to dig deep into his roster to patch up a side that included 18-year-old Chicago area defender Jonathan Spector, new boy Alan Smith, and bit players Eric Djemba-Djemba, David Bellion, and Kieran Richardson.
Northern Ireland goalie Roy Carroll started ahead of American Tim Howard, who may return to the side to face Italian champions AC Milan at Giants Stadium on Saturday.
REMAINING FIXTURES
The following are the remaining ChampionsWorld Series fixtures. All the matches will be televised live on the Fox Sports World.
Man. United vs. Celtic (tonight, 8 p.m. — Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia); Chelsea vs. AS Roma (Thursday, 8 p.m. — Heinz Field, Pittsburgh); FC Porto vs. Liverpool (Friday, 8 p.m. — SkyDome, Toronto); Man. United vs. AC Milan (Saturday, 1 p.m. — Giants Stadium, New Jersey).
Celtic vs. AS Roma (Saturday, 8 p.m. — SkyDome, Toronto); FC Porto vs. Galatasaray (Aug. 1, 2:45 p.m. — Giants Stadium); AC Milan vs. Chelsea (Aug. 2, 8 p.m. — Lincoln Financial Field), and AS Roma vs. Liverpool (Aug. 3, 8 p.m. — Giants Stadium).