Will Braga be thunder struck at Celtic Park?

No is what most of you will say….

In all likelihood, Celtic will be exiting the Champions League on Wednesday night. A 3-0 defeat in Portugal leaves Celtic with a lot to do and with the backline still needing improvement, it is hard to see Celtic getting the combination of goals and clean sheet they need to progress.

However, it’s not a completely impossible task and Celtic fans of every age have a great European night at Celtic Park to recall and talk about. This is the spirit that Neil Lennon and his team will have to capture on Wednesday night.

One such night came in November 1983 when Celtic travelled back from Portugal with a 2-0 defeat to Sporting Lisbon.

Many felt it would take a lot to progress into the following round but Celtic had turned the entire tie around in the first half.

Club hero Tommy Burns opened the scoring early on and Celtic Park went ballistic when cult hero Tam McAdam volleyed home to tie the aggregate score. The Jungle had barely regained its composure when Brian McLair slid the ball home to put Celtic 3-0 up on the night.

Two late goals gave Celtic a commanding victory and this is the sort of victory Celtic fans will be praying for. The video is of interest because it’s the only time that Rangers fan will have been gutted that the team in green and white hoops got gubbed at Celtic Park.

Fast-forwarding a few years and even though the quality of the team was diminishing; big European nights were still up for grabs in the East end.

Trailing 2-0 to German side Cologne, it was certainly no impossible task for Celtic to get through but doubts about the Parkhead side’s defence led many to believe that the tie was beyond the hoops.

Club captain Paul McStay fired them into a lead and before half-time, Gerry Creaney had levelled the tie as he deflected home a John Collins shot.

The rest of the game settled down into a tense encounter but the aforementioned Collins produced a piece of exquisite skill and composure to give Celtic an aggregate lead which they held onto.

Depending on how young you are, you may not recall these Celtic comebacks but many fans got their first touch of European insanity when Tirol Innsbruck came to Celtic Park.

A 2-1 away defeat gave Celtic an away goal to cling to and most fans turned up hopeful and maybe even confident of getting through to the next round. They wouldn’t have predicted the madness that was to come that evening.

Henrik Larsson got his first goal at Celtic Park, sadly it was into his own goal.

That said, this own goal on the stroke of half-time seemed to galvanise the Swede and his performance in the second half was the first of many masterclasses dished out by the Magnificent 7.

In the end, Celtic won 6-3, gaining a 7-5 aggregate victory over their opponents. Of course, a 6-3 victory of Braga would not be enough for Celtic to progress and would see the Glasgow club exit on away goals.

The atmosphere at Celtic Park (at least up until kick-off) looks likely to be electric, with some mutterings suggesting the crowd will be close to a sell-out. This may be the thunder that Neil Lennon hopes to bring back. You can bet the Celtic crowd will be doing their all to lift the team but then the players have to do the rest.

We think the tie is beyond Celtic but that’s no reason to not be optimistic before kick-off. There can be plenty of time for recriminations and accusations after the match.

Will Braga be thunderstruck?

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