SPANISH PAPERS gave Celtic some credit for their performance at the Mestalla but did have a go at Valencia for being too tentative and not playing with the freedom a 2-0 first leg lead allows.
Celtic lost 1- on the night and 3-0 overall but the game was in the balance during the first half an hour when Celtic looked the more dangerous of the two sides to make something happen. Oli Burke’s pace causing problems, even for his own teammates who couldn’t keep up with the on-loan West Brom man.
Cayetano Ros, writing in local paper Levante said:
“At the end of the meeting,” he said, “the Celtic fans, and despite the elimination, continued to sing and cheer their players as if football, in fact, was just an excuse to be happy. No defeat takes away that happiness.” as cited in The Scotsman.
Super Deporte, Andreu Alberola wrote:
“They came out with the Scottish spirit, attacking Neto’s goal, distancing themselves from the image of semi-amateur team that they exhibited in the first legin Paradise… Valencia felt uncomfortable.
The paper also described Scott Bain “as the most outstanding of the Scots”.
The new Celtic number one made a string of sensational saves to deny Valencia and keep Celtic in the tie that little bot longer.
Celtic did themselves proud in the Mestalla after a very poor home performance back on Valentine’s day. Under different circumstances, perhaps the bhoys could have made the Spanish side sweat more.
The club must take heart from this and aim to get into the further reaches of the competition in the near future.
