Humiliation for Strachan’s battered Bhoys in Bratislava

Artmedia Bratislava 5 Celtic 0

He had made a disastrous competitive start to his new job, watching his new-look team slump to a humiliating drubbing in the Tehelne Polie Stadium.

The first leg of their Champions League qualifier proved a demoralising night for the Celtic players and supporters and a sickening experience for Strachan on his big night in Bratislava.

“It’s not an easy one,” he sighed.

“I have been a manager for eight years and a player for 25 years and this is out-and-out the worst football night I have ever had.”

The demoralised Hoops now need to stage a miraculous comeback at Celtic Park next week.

Strachan’s men were already in shock having had Chris Sutton stretchered off early with a suspected fractured cheekbone after a collision with skipper Neil Lennon.

The manager confirmed: “He has a fracture in the face which didn’t help us. Chris is a big player but we should be able to handle one injury better than we did.

“Our thoughts are with him. We have been a bit selfish grieving about us but our thoughts should also be with Chris.”

Celtic might boast of securing the image rights of new signing Shunsuke Nakamura but their reputation took a hell of a hammering against the Slovakian champions and they look set to miss out on at least a £10million jackpot on offer in the group stages.

Artmedia illustrated what a threat they were by coming back from two goals down to beat Kazhakstan side Almaty in the last round but the loss of Sutton was an early blow.

Sutton, who started in midfield, hurt himself trying to make the block. The way in which captain Lennon waved on the physio straight away suggested his team-mate had suffered a bad injury and he left on a stretcher.

Strachan responded by bringing on winger Aiden McGeady.

Balde’s incompetence almost conspired to put his side behind in the 23rd minute when he allowed Juraj Halenar to get behind him and take Daniel Tchur’s chip into his path.

But, with glory and Marshall in his sights, the Artmedia striker slashed wildly at the ball with his right foot and sent it hurtling well wide.

Marshall was also tested in the 38th minute when Tchur cut inside before sending a low right-foot shot towards the bottom corner from 25 yards which needed the Celtic keeper to throw himself to his left to keep the ball out.

But Marshall could do nothing to stop Celtic falling behind just two minutes before the interval.

Jan Kozak threaded the ball through to Blazej Vascak and he unselfishly squared the ball to Halenar to slot the ball into the empty net.

It could have got even worse for the Glasgow giants almost immediately but Marshall scooped out Jan Durica’s close-range header.

The Celtic defence looked as though they could be sliced open at will with Slovakia defender Stanislav Varga not having the best of homecomings.

And it went from bad to worse in the 57th minute when the Celtic defence got taken apart again before Halenar got behind the defence and squared the ball for Vascak to score.

Strachan responded by bringing on Shaun Maloney for Zurawski and then Aliadiere for Thompson after Balde had been booked.

Maloney had two chances to pull Celtic back into the game but both times he found goalkeeper Cobej too big an obstacle.

McGeady then missed an incredible open goal in the 67th minute when Maloney fired the ball low across the face of goal but his team-mate put the ball over from under the bar to pile more embarrassment on the visitors.

Celtic would have found themselves even further behind in the 72nd minute had Kozak not deliberated too long before trying to pick out either of his two supporting team-mates.

The Hoops, however, were rocked again just three minutes later when a corner broke to Halenar and he thundered a long-range volley past the despairing hand of Marshall.

Celtic’s heads were down and substitute Martin Mikulic fired a fourth before Halenar rubbed salt into the wounds by completing a last-minute hat-trick to rip the heart out of the visitors.

ARTMEDIA BRATISLAVA: Cobej, Debnar, Durica, Kotula, Vascak (Mikulic 72), Obzera, Tchur, Halenar, Borbely, Fodrek, Kozak.

CELTIC: Marshall, Telfer, Varga, Balde, Camara, Zurawski (Maloney 60), Lennon, Petrov, Thompson (Aliadiere 66), Hartson, Sutton (McGeady 17).

Referee: Selcuk Dereli (Turkey).