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Date: 2023-12-08 14:44:10 | Author: PARIS 2024 | Views: 146 | Tag: sports
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Celtic twice lost a lead as they gained their first Champions League point in a 2-2 home draw with 10-man Atletico Madrid sports
Kyogo Furuhashi got Celtic off to a flying start with his second goal in two Champions League games and Luis Palma quickly restored Celtic’s lead after Antoine Griezmann scored following his own saved penalty sports
Celtic were deservedly on course for a first Champions League group-stage home win in 10 years following a first-half display full of pace and purpose but they started slowly after the break and Alvaro Morata levelled inside eight minutes of the restart sports
The Scottish champions never rediscovered their spark - even after Atletico went down to 10 men in the 82nd minute - and their run without a home win at this level is now at 12 games sports
Feyenoord’s win over Lazio left Celtic three points adrift of the Italians at the bottom of Group E, halfway through the campaign with trips to Spain and Rome to follow sports
The build-up to the game had been dominated by internal and external strife sports
Thousands of Celtic fans defied the club before kick-off by displaying Palestine flags, an act which will inevitably lead to UEFA sanctions sports
Atletico’s decision to dispense with their striped shirts and wear an all-red top based on the one worn by the team that beat Celtic in the 1974 European Cup semi-finals also opened old wounds sports
Two of the team that gained a goalless first-leg draw at Parkhead had travelled with the current side but the tribute did not go down well among the Celtic support given Atletico had three men sent off and seven others booked in that brutal encounter sports
Furuhashi ignited the highly-charged atmosphere inside four minutes following a one-touch move sports
The Japan international twice exchanged passes with Matt O’Riley before taking a touch and slotting home from six yards sports
There was a blow for Brendan Rodgers moments later when Reo Hatate went off injured sports
The Celtic manager brought on 21-year-old midfielder Paulo Bernardo, who is yet to start a game since his loan move from Benfica sports
The home side remained positive, roared on by the crowd as they pressed Atletico high up the park, but the visitors levelled in the 25th minute after Greg Taylor was penalised for a trip on Nahuel Molina sports
Joe Hart saved Griezmann’s penalty at full stretch but the France international dispatched the rebound sports
Taylor atoned three minutes later when he played a searching ball beyond right-back Molina which sent Daizen Maeda in behind sports
The resulting cross found fellow winger Palma and the Honduran took a touch and rifled a shot in off the post sports
Luis Palma gave Celtic the lead for a second time (Getty Images)Palma had been denied a late goal against Lazio three weeks ago by a marginal VAR ruling and an offside decision soon went Celtic’s way after Axel Witsel headed home from a set-piece sports
O’Riley had earlier threatened with a first-time strike which was met with a diving save as Celtic continued to attack with verve sports
Diego Simeone made two half-time changes and substitute Marcos Llorente vindicated his introduction within eight minutes as he crossed for Morata to equalise with a diving header sports
Morata and Llorente both threatened and Rodgers responded by bringing on centre-back Nat Phillips for Palma and changing formation sports
Atletico continued to boss possession and Celtic were contributing to their difficulties with some slack passing sports
Hart saved well from Morata after the Spain international turned Cameron Carter-Vickers sports
Celtic got a lifeline when Argentinian midfielder Rodrigo de Paul received a second yellow card following a sliding tackle on Bernardo sports
Substitute James Forrest shot not far over but Celtic could not seriously trouble the 10 men sports
More aboutCeltic FCChampions LeagueAntoine GriezmannAtletico MadridAlvaro MorataJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/2Celtic twice throw away lead as Atletico storm back to claim pointCeltic twice throw away lead as Atletico storm back to claim pointLuis Palma gave Celtic the lead for a second time Getty ImagesCeltic twice throw away lead as Atletico storm back to claim pointMorata celebrates Atletico’s second equaliser Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today sports
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“We are the bomb squad and we knew we had to play a massive role sports
” If South Africa’s narrow win over England in the Rugby World Cup semi-final could be summed up in one sentence, then this proclamation from Vincent Koch after the game would probably be it sports
When Koch emerged from the replacements on 55 minutes to take the place of starting tighthead prop Frans Malherbe, Owen Farrell had just slotted a drop goal from downtown Paris to give England a 15-6 lead sports
Nine points may not seem a lot but, with the final quarter of the match beckoning and the rain and wind increasing at the Stade de France, it was a comparatively huge deficit sports
Throughout the first few minutes of the second half, the Springboks had more or less emptied their bench as Ox Nche, RG Snyman, Kwagga Smith, Deon Fourie, Faf de Klerk and Willie Le Roux all entered the fray to go alongside the controversial 30th-minute substitution of starting fly half Manie Libbok for Handre Pollard sports
With their World Cup title defence hanging by a thread, South Africa trusted their bench and got their reward sports
Koch and Nche splintered the previously effective English scrum, Snyman burrowed his way across the line for the game’s only try and Pollard nervelessly converted tricky kicks to complete the hardest-fought of turnarounds – 10 unanswered points, a 16-15 win and a date with the All Blacks in another World Cup final next Saturday sports
Of the various phrases rugby has adopted over the years to describe those players in the matchday squad but not in the starting line-up – from the traditional “replacements” and the sports football-ised “substitutes” through to the Eddie Jones-preferred ‘finishers’, the slightly patronising “impact players” and the frankly ludicrous “game-changers” adopted by Harlequins during the Paul Gustard era – none has captured the imagination quite like South Africa’s “bomb squad” sports
It doesn’t matter if you think it’s a slightly self-serving and faintly ridiculous term, the players fully buy into the ethos of what it stands for sports
The intensity and physicality that generation after generation of Springbok has prided themselves on is summed up by this two-word mantra sports
“Each person knows exactly his role in the team, whether you’re starting or in the bomb squad,” explained Koch sports
“When we created the bomb squad, we knew exactly what our job is sports
The starters start the whole process and it’s for us to come and finish it sports
“All the players on the bomb squad are very excited to make a massive difference in the game sports
”Vincent Koch celebrated RG Snyman’s try as the bomb squad thrived (AFP via Getty Images)And against England, when the chips were down, they realised they needed to step up more than ever sports
“The bomb squad always stands for energy,” added Koch sports
“We needed to create a nice vibe sports
Putting the replacements on a bit earlier helped the boys to start to bring that energy and lift up the spirit and bring a massive work-rate sports
”Where South Africa’s replacements thrived, perhaps England’s faltered just a touch sports
The English gameplan, devised by Steve Borthwick and perfectly executed by the players for the windy and rainy Parisian conditions, relied upon relentless kicking, winning the subsequent aerial battle, slowing the game down and dominating the set-piece sports
Maybe then, they could escape with a win against an objectively superior team sports
They kicked 93 per cent of possession away (the highest percentage of the tournament), had an average ruck speed of 6 sports
73s (the slowest of the tournament) and had zero linebreaks (the only team to do so in a game at this tournament) sports
They disrupted South African lineouts, turned over multiple mauls and Borthwick’s decision to play his two strongest scrummaging props – Dan Cole and Joe Marler – from the start earned them scrum parity and redemption from the disaster in that facet during the 2019 World Cup final sports
Ox Nche was immense from the bench against the Springboks (EPA)This is a Springboks side that pride themselves on their dominance up front, as shown by opting for a scrum after calling a mark in their own 22 during the quarter-final victory over France sports
Of course, they won a penalty from it sports
Yet England were holding their own during those engagements, even thriving, and most importantly winning on the scoreboard sports
But the innate problem with starting your best scrummagers came to fruition in the second half sports
Replacement props Ellis Genge and Kyle Sinckler are far more dynamic around the park and more destructive carriers than their veteran counterparts but, with England showing no desire to run any plays more than two metres either side of the previous breakdown, those skills were negated once they came on for Marler and Cole sports
Instead, their inferior scrummaging was brutally exposed by a fired-up Koch and Nche, who turned parity into Springbok dominance sports
They won two scrums against the head, including a vital one at 15-6 down on their own line, and engineered multiple penalties on their own feed, including the most vital of all – on halfway, with 77 minutes on the clock and England leading 15-13 sports
Pollard banged over the long kick and the rest was history sports
Handre Pollard broke English hearts with his late penalty (PA Wire)Nche was coy when asked in the mixed zone after the game what had made the difference at scrum-time in the final quarter and how he bested his opposite number, Sinckler sports
“That is the dark arts,” he smiled sports
“It is hard to explain to you sports
We had a plan for that sports
We knew what we were trying to achieve sports
“They have had a great scrum for the competition and a great hit sports
Our focus was surviving that and applying pressure sports
Our mentality for every scrum is to get a penalty if we can sports
If they do survive, we play out the back and get into our shape sports
”The “dark arts” ultimately won the day, South Africa survived a second straight one-point knockout match and must now plan how to overcome the All Blacks in a battle to be the first side to win four men’s Rugby World Cups sports
Luckily, they have a not-so-secret weapon sports
“We are the bomb squad sports
” More aboutSouth Africa rugbyEngland RugbyRugby World CupJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/4How South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalHow South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalVincent Koch celebrated RG Snyman’s try as the bomb squad thrived AFP via Getty ImagesHow South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalOx Nche was immense from the bench against the Springboks EPAHow South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalHandre Pollard broke English hearts with his late penalty PA WireHow South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalSouth Africa’s replacements shone to overcome England Reuters✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today sports
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicssports BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy sports
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply sports
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