commons the key as celtic defeat dinamo zagreb published: thursday 2 october 2014, 23.17cet celtic fc 1-0 gnk dinamo zagreb kris commons scored an early goal to earn the hosts the three points which moves them top of group d alongside fc salzburg. by alex o'henley from celtic park
• an early kris commons strike gives celtic all three points • craig gordon denies dinamo zagreb with a series of fine saves • the croatian champions have now lost in three encounters against the hoops in glasgow • celtic's win means they join salzburg on four points at the top of group d • next games: celtic v astra, salzburg v dinamo zagreb (23 october)
an early strike from kris commons was enough to give celtic fc their first win in uefa europa league group d although only the brilliance of goalkeeper craig gordon prevented gnk dinamo zagreb from taking a point in glasgow.
the hoops wasted no time in taking the initiative and were ahead after six minutes. left-back emilio izaguirre played the ball into the box and a clever step over by commons allowed anthony stokes to play the ball back into the midfielder's path and he drilled it into the bottom corner past eduardo.
it took the visitors until the 28th minute to threaten gordon's goal. wilson eduardo emerged from a tussle with stefan johansen in midfield before unleashing a long-range effort which cracked off the crossbar with gordon beaten. at the other end some casual play by his portuguese compatriot ivo pinto presented the ball to commons almost on the goal line but the scorer miscued a simple pass to stokes who would have been left with a simple tap in.
the game was opening up now and wilson eduardo was denied an equaliser when gordon brilliantly parried the striker's volley to safety. the croatian champions continued to press for an equaliser after the break and only another point blank save from the scottish international denied the no28 again. zoran mamić rang the changes as dinamo chased an equaliser in the closing minutes but celtic held on for the victory which sees them join salzburg on four points.
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