Latest Sports Stories

Football News

A stunning double from the summer signing Camilo Durán helped Celtic open up a commanding lead against Lask in their Champions League playoff. Benjamin Nygren also produced a superb finish to send Martin O’Neill’s side on their way to a 3-0 first-leg win over their Austrian opponents in Glasgow.The visitors had two goals disallowed for offside and created chances throughout in an open encounter but Celtic were clinical as they continued their strong start to the season. Nygren has been at the heart of it with four goals and four assists in as many games and he opened the scoring in the 26th minute. The Swede readjusted his body to volley into the top corner from 20 yards after a weak clearance from Kieran Tierney’s cross.Durán scored an almost identical goal 12 minutes later, firing into the same top corner from the same spot after Tierney’s cross was headed out. The only major difference was the Colombian struck his volley first time.The former Qarabag forward netted his third Celtic goal midway through the second half, exchanging passes with Nygren after a flick from another summer signing, Kasper Høgh, and stroking the ball into the top corner from inside the box.O’Neill said of his double goalscorer: “He was exceptional. Really exceptional. He’s been fantastic for us since he’s arrived at the football club. His goals were terrific, his play was great. His running back, helping full-backs, helping Colby [Donovan] out on a number of occasions. It was just a magnificent performance.“And if he stays clear of injury, he’s going to be a really, really good player. Whatever we paid for Durán, I think he has paid his ticket by now. I don’t think it was an awful lot of money when you consider some of the fees that they’re talking about for the Premier League.“I think he’s a real bargain – £4.5m or something like that there. The centre-forward [Hogh] has given us a bit of presence there, which I don’t think we had last year, despite Daizen [Maeda] probably winning the league for us single-handedly. It’s nice to have that.”The victory puts Celtic firmly in the driving seat before the second leg in Linz next Tuesday and eased nerves among home fans after more transfer tribulations.Celtic went out at this stage last year, drawing a blank against Kairat Almaty after failing to sign a proven striker. The arrival of Durán and Høgh solved that problem but other signings were slow to come and the German midfielder Mika Baur was handed a start in his Celtic Park debut.The 22-year-old’s inclusion was necessitated by the departure of Arne Engels to West Ham at the weekend, which caused more anxiety among Celtic fans who have seen their team fail in their last five Champions League qualifying campaigns. The playoff defeat against the Kazakhstan side followed losses in earlier rounds against AEK Athens, Cluj, Ferencvaros and Midtjylland in recent seasons.The Celtic fans were in full voice in the buildup but there were early worries. Moses Usor sent a brilliant volley into the top corner inside 30 seconds but was flagged offside, before Samuel Adeniran scuffed a shot wide when clean through.The Lask forward soon forced a save from Viljami Sinisalo with Celtic looking very open in central midfield without Engels, but Durán threatened twice from half-chances before Nygren opened the scoring.Lask had a headed goal chalked off for offside before Durán struck his first and Sinisalo made another couple of saves before the break.The Celtic captain, Callum McGregor, fired a deflected 20-yard shot off the inside of a post as chances kept coming in the second half, and Usor squandered two excellent opportunities.Reo Hatate came on to huge acclaim in what could be one of his final Celtic Park appearances before Durán came close twice from long range before his second goal of the night.The goal hero got another massive cheer for sprinting back to his own byline to make a challenge and Sinisalo continued to look assured as Celtic maintained their clean sheet.

Football News

Larne defender Dan Bent has played in two European competitions this summer and now faces a former team in a Conference League tie that could earn his club vital fundsLarne, the champions of Northern Ireland, began their European crusade on the day Argentina beat Egypt in the World Cup last-16, Dan Bent’s penalty in the second leg a week later helping them overcome Tre Fiori of San Marino in the Champions League. Larne’s reward was a meeting with former European champions Red Star Belgrade. They were beaten 9-0 on aggregate by the Serbian giants, but it is an experience Bent will treasure for ever.“Red Star was probably the biggest game in the club’s history,” says the centre-back. “When the draw came out, we were ecstatic. You want to play those games in those stadiums. Everyone tells you about how long the tunnel is and how intimidating it is, and then you’re there and a part of it. There were 27,000 fans and the funny thing is, for them, that’s a medium-sized crowd. The stadium was only half-full.” The population of Larne could have fit into the rest of it with room to spare.“Red Star were just another level,” he says. “You don’t realise until you’re in amongst it. You do your best, but sometimes there are gaps that are hard to bridge. But to play in that competition, at that ground, against a team as big as that, was amazing. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”The European qualifiers move fast, with teams given little time to prepare or analyse opponents. “It’s a privilege to play in Champions League qualifiers but a lot of uncertainty comes with that,” says Bent. “In early June you know your first Champions League game would be around the first week of July, so you can gear up for that. But after that, each week will just change depending on results.“One minute, we could be heading to Rangers or Slovakia, the next we’re going to Gibraltar or Cyprus. You might be playing one team who could play in a totally different way to the other, or we might want to play in a different way against them. You need to pick up things quickly. It’s a quick turnaround. Logistically, it is pretty crazy. You have to plan for all eventualities.”If players find it unnerving, imagine the stress for the clubs’ operations managers and the players’ families. “I’ve got a partner and two children and it is hard for them,” says Bent. “She’s very supportive and understands, but it doesn’t get any easier knowing I’m away for three days, then the week after I could be flying out again to another country. It helps when you have a good family around you who understand the demands of football. They know it’s a positive thing because not many people are able to play in Champions League qualifiers.”Bent is used to living out of a suitcase and jumping on a plane every few days. He grew up in Kent and started his career at Gillingham. After being released in 2015 when he was a teenager, he took a scholarship in America. He played college and semi-professional soccer in Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina before moving to Gibraltar to play for Magpies, Manchester 62 and then Lincoln Red Imps – who are Larne’s next European opponents.After losing to Red Star in the Champions League, Larne dropped into the Europa League qualifiers where they were narrowly beaten in extra time by Georgian club Iberia 1999. Now they face the Gibraltan champions over two legs for a place in the Conference League group stage, the first leg on Thursday seeing an emotional return for Bent, who spent long enough in Gibraltar to become eligible for the national team and earn 17 caps.The tie is a huge opportunity for both clubs. Larne beat the Red Imps at this stage two years ago and booked their place in the Conference League group stage, securing €2.6m in prize money. Considering that clubs are awarded around £50,000 for winning the league in Northern Ireland and just £20,000 for winning the cup, that is transformational money for the club and players – who earn hefty bonuses for European victories.“There’s a big core of boys who were here when they got to the group phase, so they talk about that,” says Bent. “They played games all the way up until Christmas. They’ve been there and they want to go back.” The group stage is also a prominent shop window. It’s not just Bodø/Glimt players who are earning transfers off the back of repeated impressive performances in European competitions.Being able to drop through Uefa’s three tiers can be a gamechanger for players’ careers. “That’s where the hard work of winning the league previously comes to fruition,” says Bent. “You go through the whole year to win the league, to make sure you’ll have a summer of European football. If you go out of the Champions League, you’re going to be dropping down and having a few games. I do enjoy that.”These second and third chances mean a lot of players are racking up considerable European records. “I’m probably up there in terms of European experience,” says Bent, who will play in Europe for the 21st time when Larne visit Gibraltar on Thursday night. “Our goalkeeper, Rohan Ferguson, has something like 40 appearances in Europe. We have boys who’ve been great servants in the league but haven’t played a lot of European football, and young lads with that fresh hunger, wanting to play in it. It’s a well-balanced group.”Larne kicked off their title defence with a hard-fought goalless draw at Coleraine over the weekend and the second leg of their tie against Lincoln Red Imps next week will be their 10th match in five competitions this season. But you won’t hear them complaining. They are having life-enriching experiences on their European expeditions.This is an article by Gavin Willacy for Playing in the Shadows