Glasgow Celtic crushed by Artmedia Bratislava

On Wednesday evening Artmedia Bratislava played the first leg of the second qualifying round of the Champions League against Celtic Glasgow in Bratislava. The result was a 5 – 0 victory for Artmedia Bratislava in front of 17, 632 fans. Halenar scored a hat-trick with Vascak and Mikulic scoring the other goals. The return match is scheduled for Tuesday, August 2, at Glasgow's Celtic Park Stadium.

The Tehelne Pole stadium saw one of the greatest-ever football achievements on Wednesday when FC Artmedia Bratislava thrashed the famous Glasgow Celtic team 5-0 in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the Champions League. The match took place in front of 18,000 spectators. The capital city was abuzz with football fever throughout the day, with Celtic supporters making their presence felt everywhere. From early morning they were roaming the Bratislava city centre, wearing the Celtic colours of green and white sitting in pubs and restaurants opposite the stadium, they displayed their flags and were obviously enjoying the Slovak beer.

In a press conference after the game both managers were in shock but for different reasons. Vladimir Weiss from Artmedia:

This was of course a wonderful dream, fortunately a reality. We performed in an excellent way, it was not easy, but the opposition was surprised. We believed before the game in our abilities and I thought we could beat them. 5 – 0 is an excellent result and we believe in our strengths, and though anything can happen, we believe we will go forward.

And now Gordon Strachan, the Celtic manager:

I’ve been in football management for 8 years and as a player for 25 years and this is without doubt the worst football night. I thought I had been tested quite a lot as a manager before – this is a big test – a disappointment is not the best adjective for tonight. At this moment after a result like this we are all in shock, to be honest. It is very hard to be coherent after this result.

The return match is scheduled for next Tuesday, August 2, at Glasgow's Celtic Park Stadium.