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Mowbray not concered at Celtic home form

Tony Mowbray says he isn’t concerned by Celtic’s home form after watching his side lose top spot in the Scottish Premier League following a goalless draw against Motherwell.

The Celtic coach was visibly frustrated after watching his side waste a host of chances against Jim Gannon’s side, who also held Rangers to a goalless draw at Fir Park earlier in the season.

The pressure was on the Hoops going into the game after Old Firm rivals Rangers moved top of the league with a 2-1 away win to St Johnstone but the shot-shy Celtic strikers could not find a way past a well-organised Motherwell defence.

The result means that the Hoops have won just two of the seven games played at Celtic Park in all competitions so far this season.

Along with the draw against Motherwell the Bhoys have dropped points to Dundee United, lost to Arsenal and Dynamo Moscow in the Champions League and needed a last-minute winner to see off Hearts.

Celtic face German giants Hamburg at Parkhead on Thursday as they attempt to kick-start their Europa League campaign but Mowbray shrugged off suggestions of a crisis in confidence at home.

“You can massage the stats all you want. I think we have drawn against Dundee United and now Motherwell,” Mowbray said.

“I’m not interested in Arsenal at home in the Champions League or Moscow. You can throw stats at me all you want but our league form is fine.

“It’s the first time we’ve failed to score a goal in the league this season. I defy anyone to say there was a lack of effort and lack of determination about the way the team went about the job.

“If we had scored two of our 15 efforts on goal we would have been sitting here saying job done, let’s move on to next week.

“But we missed them so we are disappointed and frustrated. The centre-halves have kept a clean sheet today after a little bit of flak they have taken in recent weeks so the strikers might score a hatful next week.”

Rangers had to come back from a goal down at St Johnstone after falling behind to a 17th-minute strike from Collin Samuel and Gers boss Walter Smith praised his opponents’ industriousness.

“We were always going to have to work hard for a win today and St Johnstone made us do that,” he said.

“In spells they played well and so did we play well in spells.

“Although St Johnstone had possession of the ball at times, there weren’t that many opportunities for either side.”

The champions hauled themselves level shortly before half-time through Kris Boyd before Bosnian defender Sasa Papac secured all three points with a fine curling shot in the 83rd minute.

“It was a good finish for a full-back, getting himself into that position,” said Smith. “Last season and this season Sasa Papac has shown he is capable of getting forward.

“That’s back-to-back wins for us and that is something we have struggled to do this season and hopefully we can keep it going.

“We’re struggling to find consistency of performance but the signs are getting better with each game.”

GLASGOW (AFP)

Tags: bhoys, Boyd, celtic park, champions league, Collin Samuel, dundee united, dynamo moscow, Europa, Fir Park, flak, giants, Glasgow, Hamburg, hoops, jim gannon, league campaign, minute winner, Moscow, motherwell, parkhead, premier league, rivals, Scottish Premier League, seven games, st johnstone, strikers, tony mowbray, walter smith

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Zheng gets Celtic go-ahead

China captain Zheng Zhi was given the green light on Friday to start his career with Scottish giants Celtic after being granted a work permit.

The 29-year-old arrived in Glasgow on Thursday to sign a reported two-year deal.

However, Zheng will not be able to play in Celtic’s Europa League games after UEFA confirmed he was not registered in time.

GLASGOW (AFP)

Tags: captain Zheng, celtic, China, Europa, giants, Glasgow, League, league games, permit, Scottish, target, uefa, zheng zhi, Zhi

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Peixoto left out of Braga line up

Portuguese side Sporting Braga’s midfielder César Peixoto has been left out of the line-up, for the club’s Europa League qualification against Elfsborg.

The move would fuel further speculation regarding the transfer of the former Porto FC player to Benfica, as the 29-year-old has been accused of engineering a move to the Lisbon based club.

While, Braga’s club officials have denied that Benfica are interested, it is being reported that Peixoto’s name has not been included in the submission of the final list of players to the officials for tonight’s match.

This could mean that the clubs are negotiating a transfer for the left-back, who has been capped once for Portugal.

Had Peixoto, who began his career with Caçadores Taipas, featured for Braga tonight, it would have rendered him cup-tied, if Benfica would hav attempted to register his name, following their entry to the competition.

Abhimanyu Rajput

Tags: benfica, Braga, club officials, competition, Elfsborg, Europa, Lisbon, match, midfielder, padding, peixoto, porto fc, portugal, portuguese, speculation, Sporting, sporting braga, submission, transfer

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Ricardo Costa set for Zaragoza move

Portuguese international Ricardo Costa will arrive in Spain on Sunday to sign a four-year contract with newly-promoted Real Zaragoza.

The 28-year-old, who had spent the last two seasons with Wolfsburg, having left Porto for Germany in 2007.

But Costa couldn’t command a first team place as injuries marred his stay at current Bundesliga champions, following impressive performances for the side.

However, the Costa revealed he had offers to leave at the end of the season, but insisted that his club would decide his future, and Wolfsburg have agreed a fee believed to be in the region of 2m euros for the six-time Portugal international to move to La Romareda.

“Everything is done between me and the club, and between the two clubs,” Costa told Maisfutebol. “Tomorrow (Sunday) I leave for Spain and hopefully I’ll be in training on Monday.

“The club’s project is interesting. Zaragoza want to be in the top places in the best league in the world and fight for the Europa League. It is a historic and ambitious club and I just hope to not have any more injuries. I had two good seasons in Wolfsburg which could have been better had it not been for the physical problems I had.”

The move to Spain could also provide Costa with the exposure needed to further his international career. Having been involved with the Seleccao under Luiz Felipe Scolari, the stopper is yet to feature for his country since the appointment of Carlos Queiroz.

“I want to be a good option, despite the fact that it is a strong group. I know I have quality and can be a part of the squad. I thought about it when considering the move to Zaragoza. I will be closer to Portugal and hope to be seen.”

By: Abhimanyu Rajput

Tags: ambitious club, appointment, Bundesliga, Carlos Queiroz, Europa, Germany, good seasons, group, impressive performances, international career, Luiz Felipe, luiz felipe scolari, move to spain, PORTO, portugal, portuguese, rajput, Ricardo Costa, Spain, target, time portugal, two seasons, Wolfsburg, Zaragoza

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