Celtic 5 - 0 Al Ahly: Forgotten man Donati turns on the style as Celtic swat aside Al Ahly

Published on Friday 24 July 2009 22:52

CELTIC donned the reinvention of their 1990s bumble bee strip on the hallowed turf of Wembley yesterday.

Massimo Donati, meanwhile, chose the occasion to continue his reinvention as a significant person in the club's playing set-up, bagging the opener in an easy win over Egyptian super-club Al Ahly.

It was a victory that would have been all the more satisfying with a Champions League third round qualifier at home to Dinamo Moscow now only four days away. Maybe it was with that in mind that Daniel Fox was given a 15-minute run-out only hours after signing from Coventry.

Certainly, the Italian midfielder would now seem to have played his way into the Dinamo encounter. He has become the wild card in the early days of the Tony Mowbray era. There is always one, when any new manager fronts up. Yet, Donati seemed dumped from such a great height by Gordon Strachan it is a surprise he has got back on the level without the aid of a jet pack.

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He certainly appeared to show a fire that was snuffed out under the previous regime, and demonstrated he has rediscovered his swagger in the manner in which he exploited some hopeless defending for the first goal after half an hour. Dropping his shoulder before committing the keeper, he whacked the ball into the net and had that sort of purpose about him throughout.

He wasn't alone. Celtic's attacking players all performed as if they felt unshackled by Mowbray's methods. Shaun Maloney, in particular, made merry against lumpen markers. His nimbleness never more effective than when he benefited from a hugely kind offside call in the 48th minute, sent his marker the wrong way with a shimmy, then befuddled the keeper with a disguised low drive from 14 yards.

That sweet strike made it 3-0, and was sandwiched by a double from McDonald. The Aussie's second was an exquisite curling effort from the corner of the area just approaching the hour mark that was not unlike his corker against Manchester United.

His first saw him fall over the keeper to earn a penalty that put his team two-up in the 37 minutes.

The obligatory flurry of substitutes in the second half did nothing to loosen Celtic's grip of an ambling confrontation, and merely allowed Chris Killen to get in on the act, the striker diverting in a shot from fellow substitute Koki Mizuno in the closing minutes.

Neither can expect to see action from the start on Wednesday as it certainly appears Mowbray has made up his mind on his team to face Dinamo Moscow next week. He has talked of the need to balance requirements for game time and fitness, but surely it is no coincidence he chose to start with precisely the same line-up both yesterday and in Cardiff on Wednesday.

To much the same effect, it seemed, with a fluency and crispness about Celtic's attacking interchanges. The fascination was inevitably with how new signings Marc-Antoine Fortune and Landry N'Guemo would fare but neither really caught the eye. Although he had little to do, Artur Boruc did produce three excellent saves.

His ability to make himself big, as they say in football punditry circles, allowed him to make two odds-defying stops. Mowbray has been canny to lovebomb the barmy Boruc because he has few equals in the European game if his mind is right.

It won't be lost on the Celtic manager that Celtic prospered in the Champions League two years ago precisely because of some peerless performances from the Pole. No more than 8,000 punters were in the stadium for the kick-off of Celtic's tussle with the Egyptians.

Supposedly, a botch-up in the organisation meant there were many more Celtic supporters left ticketless outside than the 15,000 who did their best to create an atmosphere in the ultra-modern bowl. They didn't manage it, and so we were left with a decidedly soulless occasion until the goals started to flow. When they did, it provided an impression that there will be more to engage in Mowbray's Celtic than was so often the case with the Strachan incarnation.

Next week they must prove that entertaining need not be an impediment to be as successful as they were in following a more rigid pattern.

Celtic: Boruc, Hinkel, Naylor, Caldwell (O'Dea 60), Loovens, McGeady (Mizuno 75), Maloney (Fox 75), Donati (Crosas 64), N'Geumo (Flood 64), McDonald (Killen 64), Fortune.

Al Ahly: Hameed, Ali, Gomaa, Samir, Gilberto, Eno, Ashour, Treka, Forkey El Egezy 30), Moawad (Hassan 46), Fathy.