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Celtic face Shakhter Karagandy sheep sacrifice before Parkhead match Celtic breathe easy over Shakhter Karagandy sheep sacrifice
(about 4 hours later)
The Shakhter Karagandy manager, Viktor Kumykov, expects his club to repeat their sheep-sacrificing ritual before the Champions League play-off second-leg tie against Celtic at Parkhead. Shakhter Karagandy will not sacrifice a sheep before their Champions League play-off second-leg tie against Celtic at Parkhead on Wednesday.
The Kazakh champions caused a stir when they killed a sheep at the Astana Arena the day before last Tuesday's 2-0 first-leg win over Celtic. The animal rights group Peta expressed its outrage in a strongly-worded letter to Uefa, demanding that Shakhter be punished. The Kazakh champions caused a stir when they performed the ritual at the Astana Arena the day before their 2-0 first-leg win over Celtic, leading the animal rights group Peta to express its outrage in a strongly-worded letter to Uefa, urging the organisation to punish Shakhter.
Kumykov's pre-match press conference at Celtic Park on Tuesday afternoon took a surreal turn when the subject was broached. Speaking through an interpreter, the Russian said: "All I can say is that every team and every club has its traditions and rituals. Celtic must have their own. We will try to respect our traditions and those traditions have been in place even before we came to the club." Viktor Kumykov, the Shakhter coach, had suggested the sacrifice would be repeated but a Celtic spokesman said: "Clearly this would not happen. Shakhter have spoken to the club and said this is a misunderstanding and made it clear they have no intention whatsoever of doing anything like this."
Asked if the ritual would take place, he said: "Possibly, yes." Then, when asked where he planned to get the sheep, Kumykov, to laughter, replied: "As far as we know in Scotland the agriculture is very developed so it shouldn't be an issue to find a sheep." Kumykov's pre-match press conference took a surreal turn when the subject was broached. Speaking through an interpreter, the Russian said: "All I can say is that every team and every club has its own pre-match traditions and rituals.
Neil Lennon has accused Kumykov of over-confidence after he said they would "score a pair of goals" in Glasgow, although Kumykov backtracked by saying his words had been "misinterpreted". "Celtic must have their own. We will try to respect our traditions and those traditions have been in place even before we came to the club." Asked if the ritual would take place, he said: "Possibly, yes."
Then, when asked where he planned to buy the sheep, Kumykov, to laughter, replied: "As far as we know in Scotland the agriculture is very developed so it shouldn't be an issue to find a sheep."
Neil Lennon accused Kumykov of over-confidence after he said they would "score a pair of goals" in Glasgow, although Kumykov backtracked by saying his words had been "misinterpreted".
"I think it is very dangerous and it can always come back to bite you," the Celtic manager said. "This is a two-game tie and it is disrespectful to my team as well. I don't need to motivate my players but if they want to keep talking the way they are doing then that's fine. We know we have to win by three goals. If they score we need to score four, if they score two – according to their manager – then we need to score five.""I think it is very dangerous and it can always come back to bite you," the Celtic manager said. "This is a two-game tie and it is disrespectful to my team as well. I don't need to motivate my players but if they want to keep talking the way they are doing then that's fine. We know we have to win by three goals. If they score we need to score four, if they score two – according to their manager – then we need to score five."
"Looking at the first game in the cold light of day, there is no doubt that we were the better team and created the better chances. We have 90 minutes to score two goals. Regardless, we could score the first goal in the 75th minute or 80th minute and that would still give us 10 or 15 minutes to get another one. There is no rush on our part to come out all guns blazing and try to force the early goal. So we will let the game take its natural course, as long we have control of the game that is the most important thing.""Looking at the first game in the cold light of day, there is no doubt that we were the better team and created the better chances. We have 90 minutes to score two goals. Regardless, we could score the first goal in the 75th minute or 80th minute and that would still give us 10 or 15 minutes to get another one. There is no rush on our part to come out all guns blazing and try to force the early goal. So we will let the game take its natural course, as long we have control of the game that is the most important thing."
Lennon insists he was encouraged rather than frustrated by Celtic's performance in Astana, where they failed to convert a series of chances while giving away two cheap goals. Lennon insisted he was encouraged rather than frustrated by Celtic's performance in Astana, where they failed to convert a series of chances while giving away two cheap goals. "There are deficiencies in the way Shakhter play, we exposed them in the first game but couldn't take advantage of it," said Lennon, who gave a firm "no" to one Kazakh journalist who asked if he would step down if Celtic fail to get through.
"There are deficiencies in the way Shakhter play, we exposed them in the first game but couldn't take advantage of it," said Lennon, who gave a firm "no" to one Kazakh journalist who asked if he would step down if Celtic fail to get through. "So what we have to do is take advantage of the opportunities that we create. I need my players to play their best and if they play their best then I think they will win this tie."
"So what we have to do is take advantage of the opportunities that we create. I need my players to play their best and if they play their best then I think they will win this tie. We know we had by far and away the bulk of possession and by far and away the bulk of the best chances over there. Lennon remains riled by accusations of complacency before the trip to Kazakhstan. "I have plenty of respect for Shakhter," he said. "They play with a lot of heart, spirit and organisation and have certain high-calibre players.
"That gave me a lot of encouragement rather than frustration. We know we can create chances against this team and hopefully at home we can take those opportunities. "What annoys me is that people are throwing accusations that we have underestimated Shakhter. We certainly didn't. We did all our preparation work as best we could."
"It may be a frustrating evening, so we have to be patient. We might even concede a goal, that means we have to score four. But that is the reality of the game."
While planning what would be a commendable if far from unlikely turnaround in the tie, Lennon remains riled by accusations of complacency before the trip to Kazakhstan.
"I have plenty of respect for Shakhter," Lennon said. "They play with a lot of heart, spirit and organisation and have certain high-calibre players. What annoys me is that people are throwing accusations that we have underestimated Shakhter. We certainly didn't. We did all our preparation work as best we could. Now we have to rectify what isn't an insurmountable situation."