Published Sunday, July 26, 2009, 2:06 PM
Updated Sunday, July 26, 2009, 2:19 PM
Celtic's Georgios Samaras (left) was on the mark for Celtic on Sunday.
Photo by PA Wire/Press Association Images
Celtic continued their impressive run of pre-season form, beating Spurs 2-0 to win the inaugural Wembley Cup.
It was an impressive performance from a makeshift Celtic side, one missing several key, experienced players, but that highlighted the qualities of several of the young players fighting for a place in the team.
The goals were scored by Chris Killen and Georgios Samaras, with the win delivering the second piece of silverware of the pre-season, with the Wembley Cup now in the trophy cabinet alongside the Translink Cup that was won in Brisbane.
Tony Mowbray’s Bhoys had started the competition in a blaze of goals, hammering Egyptian giants, Al Ahly, 5-0 on Friday, while Barcelona drew 1-1 with Spurs.
The Catalan side then kicked off the second series of matches with a 4-1 win over Al Ahly, meaning that Celtic needed a draw against the North London club to secure the trophy.
However, with Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League Qualifier against Dinamo Moscow in mind, the manager introduced some of his squad players, handing starting berths to Paul Caddis, Lukasz Zaluska, Koki Mizuno and Paddy McCourt.
Darren O’Dea led the team out as captain and there was also a place in the starting XI for new Bhoy Danny Fox, who made his debut as a substitute against Al Ahly and lined up in his preferred left-back slot.
This was actually the second consecutive pre-season that Celtic have faced Tottenham, with Gordon Strachan’s side losing 2-0 in last year’s Feyenoord Jubilee Tournament at the De Kuip Stadium in Holland.
On this occasion, this experimental side fared far better against Spurs’ multi-million pound acquisitions, making the most of their opportunities in front of crowd largely made up of Celtic supporters.
There were just nine minutes on the clock when Celtic raced into the lead, with Caddis delivering a beautiful ball from the right flank after ghosting past full-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto.
Nster.com