FINAL Celtic gained a point in a match where they clearly underperformed. Injuries or not, they should be beating teams like Ross County (no disrespect to them, they played great beyond their possibilities). The Bhoys look a bit shaky at the back when teams pose a threat, while they look predictable in front. Today, at least, they showed some spirit to rescue a point at the end when all looked like a County's fair win. Cruel final on Derek Adams' men, they have showed today that any team playing at Dingwall will have a tricky game ahead. Celtic will now travel to Sweden, where Helsingborgs will try to shock them in their Champions League adventure. If they sent a scout to Scotland today, they will have plenty of points to think they are capable of doing it. Thanks for being with us, see you on Tuesday, a day when Scottish football, once again, will have one of its latest chances to show Europe what their teams are capable of. Make or break, glory or failure. We will start to know the answer on Tuesday's first leg. Stay tuned to Vavel and follow Celtic_Vavel to have Celtic's latest news ahead of the game in Sweden.
90+3' GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!! COOOOOMMOOOONS TO THE RESCUE AGAAAAAIN! Watt shoots and Fraser parries the ball, Commons collects the ball and scores with the goal at his mercy. 1-1. Final whistle just after that.
90+2' Long ball from Mulgrew, from his own half, it ends in Fraser's arms.
90+1' Watt crosses from the right hand side, Wanyama heads the ball... way off target. So far that it ends in a throw in for Ross County.
90' We are on added time now. It looks like Ross County will claim a memorable win today.
89' Kayal tries an acrobatic shot from inside the box but Fraser reacts well again. He is looking in top form in the dying minutes of this match.
88' Mulgrew dances around the left hand side and sends in a good cross. Samaras heads a low ball but Fraser reacts in a sensational manner.
87' Kayal shoots from distance and it's a corner. No danger, but Izaguirre's cross from long distance ends in another corner.
85' Samaras' shot is deflected. He was inside the box and received the ball from the right flank. All County's players were inside their own box.
82' Samaras could have scored there! The Greek is looking for an easy tap-in, but he can't connect with the ball. He heads the ball out one minute later. It has not been Samaras best match on a Celtic shirt...
80' What a chance! Brittain's shot from long distance hits the crossbar!
77' Paul Slane is in to replace Kelvin Wilson. It's his first team debut.
76' Watt controls well and gives the ball to Commons on the left hand side, he shoots with his right foot and the ball is deflected to corner. No danger but Celtic remain in possession. Izaguirre's cross from distance is caught by Fraser.
74' Corner for Ross County after Quinn's shot is deflected to corner by Mulgrew. No danger for Celtic.
72' Nearly a disaster for County after their keeper fails to collect a long cross, his own defender headed the ball. Corner for Celtic, once again, not productive at all.
70' 20 minutes for the final whistle and the plot has not changed an comma. Celtic look for a goal but fail to break down Ross County's defensive line. The Staggies could score a shocking second in a counter attack too.
67' Celtic have the ball now, but County's defensive line are well organised. The Bhoys will need something special to score.
63' Mulgrew shoots again, it crashes against the crossbar and goes out. Unlucky. Meanwhile, Watt replaces Lustig.
61' Rash tackle on Ledley after Celtic were trying to build up an attempt on County's goal. Good position for a left-footed player. Mulgrew will shoot... and it rebounds on the wall. Commons is fouled now in a similar position.
59' Celtic want to play the ball on the ground now, County's defence will be tight now. Tony Watt is warming up.
57' Commons long range shot finds Fraser well positioned to repel it.
55' Celtic clear Brittain's delivery and start a counter attack. It looks fine but Commons cross fails to find Izaguirre on the left. Goal kick.
54' Lustig commits a foul in the left hand side. Celtic are losing the strings of the match...
52' Wanyama heads a corner out. All Commons' corner deliveries are looking for the Kenyan's presence.
50' Quick reaction from Celtic. Samaras gets inside the box and dribbles... until he is brought down by County's defence. Celtic claim for a penalty, but Thomson isn't listening them...
50' GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!! BRITTAIN SCOOOOOOOOORESSSS! Top class strike from the midfielder, who directs the ball to the top corner. Ross County are ahead. Dingwall erupts.
49' Corcoran is fouled near the edge of the box. It's on the left side of the box. Brittain will be the shooter.
48' Good dribbling by Kayal near County's box, his shot is way off target though...
46' And the game is underway again! Celtic have the first possession.
"Despite poor first half, still confident in Celtic, although Ross County's home record is truly excellent" says @Celticmindedcom
13:15. The Celtic bench today includes the following players. Some of them might come over to change the game if the result continues like this: Zaluska, Rogne, Chalmers, McGregor, Slane, Keatings, Watt.
HALF TIME Celtic are failing to bury their chances, and they have not created lots of them so far. Today they are playing without their preferred strikers partnership, but they should still be able to beat Ross County. The locals are a brave, no nonsense, compromised team, they can play the ball a bit and have shown their desire from start to finish, but Celtic's quality in the final third should punish them soon. Most of the Bhoys playing today will be in the starting lineup in Sweden, so Neil Lennon has to be a bit worried over his side's lack of creativity. Their game plan consists of playing from the wings, overplaying the ball at times, and then cross to the rivals' area, hoping that some towering presence will head all the balls home. A statistic shows Celtic's lack of luck in front of goal. They have played 4 official games now, and they have ended 0-0 at half time in all of them. Will Celtic rescue the 3 points in the second half? Will Ross County shock them with a stunning goal to trash the Bhoys' morale? Let's wait and see what happens in the second half.
45' Celtic start a good counter attack that ends up to Izaguirre. The Honduran crosses with his left foot and (once again) it finishes into Fraser's arms. No creativity.
43' Great cross from the left hand side and Rocco Quinn fails to connect with the ball. It could have been a glorious chance for the Staggies.
39' Izaguirre's left-footed cross is caught by Fraser. No problems for the local keeper today. He hasn't had a lot of work to do and the crossbar saved him when it was needed.
37' Commons clashes with Boyd when the ball was out of play. The referee refuses to show any card. County's defender overreacted a little bit too much, but that's only my opinion.
35' Another corner. This time Wanyama heads the ball. The Kenyan almost scored there, but the crossbar appeared to deny the match its first goal.
34' Hardly a breath-taking match, but anyone could be in front. Tokely gives away a corner on the left hand side. No danger once again, the ball ends up in an attacking throw-in.
32' Good position for Ross County. Izaguirre gives away a foul on the right side, just in front of Celtic's box. Vigur's shot rebounds off the wall and goes back to him, he shoots again, and the ball goes out wide...
30' Another Izaguirre's cross. Another missed chance. Samaras fails to connect with the ball and the goal attempt passes away.
28' Wanyama is dispossed in the middle of the park and Vigurs tries a shot from long distance. He can't surprise Forster, who saves well the long-range try.
25' Great chance. Celtic's best goal scoring opportunity. Mulgrew crosses the ball and Samaras heads it to Commons, the Scot shoots but Fraser saves his team. Clear chance for Celtic. Meanwhile some replays show McMenamin was onside on the build up of his "goal".
23' Izaguirre runs down the left hand side. His cross goes towards Kayal... but the Israeli fouls his marker.
22' Kayal looks like Celtic's most creative player right now, but he can't find someone who can be a serious threat to County's goal.
20' Celtic get a corner after a few string of good passes involving Lustig, Kayal and Matthews. Commons cross is headed, by one of his teammates, but Fraser saves comfortably.
17' Good chance for Celtic! Kayal crosses from the right and Izaguirre assists Samaras. The Greek is quick to react but he can't direct the ball home.
15' Ross County look the hungrier side right now. They are solid on the back and get quickly enough in dangerous positions on the wing. They are a yard faster than Celtic in every aspect.
13' McMenamin scores, but his goal is disallowed for a previous offside. The locals cheer on anyway.
11' Celtic look to c ontrol the ball more, but they are failing to do it so far. Ross County look dangerous on the break.
8' Kayal looks injured after a clash with a local player. The tackles are flying up at Dingwall.
6' Kettlewell heads the ball from close range after a great cross coming from the left hand side. It goes out left of Forster's goal. What a chance!
5' Great showing from County's fans. Good atmosphere at the 5000+ stadium.
4' Celtic are playing with three defenders at the back, a system they mostly used during preseason and the latest stages of last season.
3' Wanyama shoots from distance but it isn't powerful enough. Good footwork by Kayal.
1' And the game gets underway. Ross County start with the ball!
12:10. Brittain and Vigurs are the only survivors from the team that beat Celtic 0-2 at Hampden three years ago, Kettlewell was an unused substitute. It was a painful performance in a rather unforgivable season from the Celts, they finished trophyless for the first time since 2003 (road to Sevilla's year). Samaras played up front with Fortune and Keane that day, but neither of them were able to score a single goal.
12:05. Samaras starts up front today. He has found his place on Celtic's starting lineup, but he is usually used on the left wing. Let's see how he fares out today, the lone striker position suits him in European games against tough opposition. Will he be successfull against an (allegedly) more defensive team? Towering defender Ross Tokely starts for Ross County, he's well known for the Scottish fans for his time at Inverness CT. He is hardly a ball-playing central defender, so that's the standard of physical, no nonsense defender Celtic attacking players will be facing today...
12:01. Last Saturday, Celtic played against Spanish giants Real Madrid. They unsurprisingly lost the game, but moreover, they lost some key players like Stokes, who might now be a doubt for Celtic's key match on Tuesday. Neil Lennon told the BBC that Hooper's loss today would mean that he would be available against Helsingborgs, he is not even on the bench, so the Bhoys can be happy, at least, their top goalscorer will play this season's most important match.
12:00. Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, Bhoys and Ghirls, we are live here again to live Celtic's adventure in the SPL. Today they are playing at Victoria Park, in Dingwall. They arrive without NO strikers bar Samaras and with other casualties such as Brown, Forrest, McGeouch or McCourt. Celtic's bench will be filled today with boys from Lennoxtown, but their lineup must show their value to beat Ross County, last year's Division One winners, their record at home is quite impressive: they have not lost at home for 36 league matches.