Miller penalty breaks down defensive Danes

Celtic 1 Miller (36 pen)

Copenhagen 0

THERE was plenty of perspiration, but Celtic's victory over FC Copenhagen could hardly be described as sweaty. If Kenny Miller's first-half penalty conversion was all that separated the Champions League Group F rivals at the finish, it was the very least Gordon Strachan and his players merited from a performance of relentless ambition.

The result that took the Parkhead side from bottom to second place in the group was predictably difficult to achieve, but there was rarely much danger of their conceding a goal against opponents who appeared for most of the time to be imprisoned by their own rigid reliance on defending.

Given the Danish champions' reputation for tightness, few would take their seats in the expectation of witnessing a night of unbridled aggression.

In that regard, few would be disappointed, as Stale Solbakken's side spent most of the match demonstrating the defensive assurance that had brought them clean sheets against Benfica and Ajax in their two previous European outings.

By the time Miller gave Strachan's team the lead from a penalty, it had begun to seem as though such an occurrence would be their only clear route to Jesper Christiansen in the visitors' goal.

This is not to suggest that there was anything sluggish about the previous attempts. Indeed, the home fans would have been entirely satisfied by the constant, intelligent movement and the numerous series of accurate passing with which, in the 34 minutes that preceded the goal, they had produced some of their best football of the season.

But there was an alertness and a cohesion about Copenhagen's defending that confirmed that they were properly rehearsed in the business of protecting their goalkeeper. It was not difficult, either, to see the benefits of the experience of players such as Tobias Linderoth, Andre Bergdolmo, Michael Gravgaard and Marcus Allback.

For the last-named, it would be frustrating to be neglected in attack for such long periods and, on the first occasion he managed to break past midfield - following the clearance of a Celtic free-kick - to be run down by the alert Lee Naylor and turned back into that no-man's land from which he could do no damage.

There was, however, an insistence and inventiveness about Celtic's surges which was guaranteed to keep the tall and powerful Copenhagen defenders pre-occupied for most of the time. Until they took the lead, though, it was impossible to miss the hindering effect of the absence of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

The big striker, as expected, had failed to recover from his ankle injury and his unavailability left Miller and Maciej Zurawski having to outwit their opponents on the ground, supported by the sometimes mesmerising play of Nakamura and McGeady.

Even when a home player gained a position in a wide area from which to cross - Paul Telfer, Nakamura, McGeady and Naylor were the most frequent examples - there was no missing the hesitation as they looked for a way to find the strikers' feet, rather than their heads.

It was Nakamura's quick feet which finally brought the breakthrough. The Japanese midfielder executed a double shuffle that teased Gravgaard into the tackle. As the central defender stretched into the challenge, the ball was gone, the Dane making contact only with Nakamura's left leg and pulling him to the ground.

Given Miller's misfortunes in the mater of compiling a portfolio of goals this season, he deserves great credit for reaching immediately for the ball and take the responsibility for what was clearly a crucial penalty kick. He converted with a low, right-foot drive to the left of Christiansen.

It was a moment of unchained emotion for the supporters, but one of deep encouragement for the players, who soon appeared likely to score a second as they maintained their high-octane tempo and kept the Copenhagen defence extremely busy.

But it was Christiansen who was required to prevent that second goal before the interval. Naylor's cross from the left, unusually, found Miller liberating himself from Linderoth's handcuff and leaping to make the header. The ball seemed likely to fly high to the left of Christiansen until the former Rangers goalkeeper got airborne and turned it away.

Solbakken seemed clearly to have issued his players with a different set of instructions at the interval, as they spent much of the second half defending and, therefore, keeping the general play much further upfield.

This did not bring an appreciable increase in the incidence of their attempts on the home goal - they remained, by and large, an imaginary event - but the new tactic did tend to reduce the number of occasions on which the home side imposed themselves in forward areas.

Even so, Celtic produced enough threatening moments to have at least doubled their advantage, not least when they were denied a second penalty over an offence by Gravgaard that seemed at least as illegal as the one for which he had been punished earlier.

This time, the defender simply barged Stephen McManus to the ground from behind as the defender tried to challenge for a free kick.

But it was a wonderful piece of inventiveness and fluency of their own that brought the Scottish champions the opportunity from which Miller could have completed a double and given his team the kind of cushion that would have insulated them against potential harm.

Gravesen supplied McGeady with a precision crossfield pass and the young Ireland international scooted through the inside-left channel towards the penalty area. Miller made a brilliant run across the face of the defence and McGeady's through ball was perfectly weighted.

Taking the ball on the run, however, Miller's attempted first-time shot with his weaker left foot sent the ball straight at the legs of Christiansen, who knocked it clear. It was a moment which, like the match itself, confirmed that teams do not always get from the Champions league all they deserve.