Key events
Ryan Hardie has scored an absolute beauty to equalise for Wrexham at Preston! There’s some debate on Sky about whether he actually intended that to be a cross, but it looked like a shot to me.
Huddersfield take the lead at Sunderland! A corner from the right is headed out to the edge of the area, where Leo Castledine runs in to blast it into the roof of the net!
Most Carabao Cup ties have started, and goals are already flying in. Preston’s Lewis Dobbin has scored a very nice goal to put them 1-0 up against Wrexham, while Aaron Ramsey has given Burnley the lead against Derby,.
Another chance for Celtic! This time a pull-back from the left runs to Reo Hatate, but he, stretching and also falling, shoots into a defender.
Meanwhile in the early Carabao Cup kick-off there have already been two goals: Reading and AFC Wimbledon are tied at 1-1, with Liam Fraser opening the scoring for the Royals in the 24th minute and Omar Bugiel equalising two minutes later.
Nobody scored in stoppage time. Another half an hour will have to be endured as a result.
Maybe just two interesting things that coincidentally happened quite close together. Anyway, four minutes of stoppage time await.
And at the other end, Arad’s header from a free-kick is turned round the post by Schmeichel. Interesting things starting to happen!
An amazing chance for Celtic! Daizen Maeda is played through, scampers clear, has only the goalkeeper to beat, and sends his shot over the bar while falling over!
Five minutes to play, which brings the exciting possibility of tiring players making a game-changing mistake. They have not yet done so.
Now 75 minutes have been played, and the award of a free-kick remains the most exciting thing to have happened in them.
Good or bad news, depending on your outlook: for a while readers were excited/perturbed/confused to find that this liveblog appeared to be covering a Champions League game between Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds, and now it does not. As my colleague Alex Reid points out: “Leeds vs Sheffield Wednesday in the Champions League is something you get on your 200th season of Football Manager.”
While you wait for something interesting to happen in this game, here’s some Alexander Isak news. The news being, nothing has changed – he still wants out.
No penalty is given! The ball definitely hit Maeda’s hands, but they were in front of his body so if he hadn’t handled it the shot would have been blocked anyway. But he did handle it. One of those that would have been a pathetically feeble penalty to give someone, but a defending team is still lucky to get away with.
Jorginho’s shot deflects to safety off a defender. A couple of Kairat players think it’s a handball, but the referee doesn’t give anything. Will VAR intervene?
I don’t know why teams touch these free-kicks to the taker, allowing the defenders amassed on the goalline to launch themselves at it. Just welly it goalwards and hope it goes in off somebody, surely?
An interesting thing! McGregor’s back-pass bounces over Schmeichel’s head, and forces the keeper to use his hand to stop it crossing the line. Kairat will therefore have an indirect free-kick on the six-yard line.
The players are back out for the second half. No substitutions have been made.
Joe Pearson has filed a half-time match report: “As a retired football fan in central Indiana, I always enjoy the opportunity to watch an early afternoon weekday match,” he enthuses. “But. This match is dire. I feel I have made a bad life choice.”
Half time: Kairat 0-0 Celtic
Still no sign of a goal in this tie, but the two teams now have 15 minutes to come up with a plan to create one.
There will be one minute of first-half stoppage time. That Forrest header remains the only effort on target.
You may be wondering what exactly happens if this tie remains level on aggregate at the end of this second leg. And I have an answer! It follows the Champions League knockout system, so is exactly the same in format as the knockout matches at the sharp end of the competition will be come next April and May. Here’s the relevant bit of the tournament regulations:
Article 21 Knockout system, extra time and penalty shoot-outs
21.01 For matches played under the knockout system, if the two teams involved in a tie score the same number of goals over the two legs, two 15-minute periods of extra time are played at the end of the second leg. The team that scores more goals during extra time qualifies for the next stage. If both teams score the same number of goals or no goals are scored during extra time, a penalty shoot-out determines which team qualifies for the next stage.
21.02 If extra time is required, there is a five-minute break between the end of normal time and the start of extra time. As a rule, the players remain on the field of play during this five-minute break, at the discretion of the referee.
21.03 Penalties are taken in accordance with the procedure laid down in the IFAB Laws of the Game.
The game has developed into something more interesting, a little more plump with potential. By which I mean, the ball is spending much more time in the vicinity of penalty areas than it did in the opening 20 minutes. Celtic are currently preparing to send it into one of them, from a free-kick on the right.
And one for Celtic moments later! Hatate crosses, Forrest heads goalwards, and Anarbekov turns over the bar! It was a good header, plenty of power on it, but right down the middle of goal and the keeper only needed to fling up a hand.
Chance for Kairat! But Schmeichel saves! And Ricardinho is miles offside anyway!
This game has not been hugely intense so far. Kairat just worked a decent crossing chance on the right, but Tapalov did not produce a decent cross.
The Celtic game has started, and after seven minutes the score remains very much 0-0 (Kairat have had the only shot so far, not on target). The teams look something like this:
Kairat Almaty: Anarbekov, Mrynskiy, Sorokin, Martynovich, Mata, Glazer, Tapalov, Arad, Gromyko, Jorginho, Ricardinho. Subs: Kalmurza, Kasabulat, Kurgin, Sadybekov, Baybek, Shirobokov, Stanojev, Gadrani, Bekbolat, Tuyakbayev, Bagdat, Reimov.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney, Nygren, McGregor, Hatate, Yang, Maeda, Forrest. Subs: Sinisalo, Doohan, Simpson-Pusey, Idah, McCowan, Yamada, Osmand, Kenny, Engels, Bernardo, Murray, Donovan.
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy).
Hello world!
And so another day draws towards a close. Here’s a little summary of what this fine August Tuesday has brought us so far:
1) The Manchester United badnewsometer has swung once again towards 11, what with this:
And also this:
With a side order of this:
2) A bit more transfer news courtesy of Jacob Steinberg, who says West Ham are hunting Monaco’s 21-year-old midfielder Soungoutou Magassa.
3) That Rio Ngumoha is a bit special is he not?
4) David Squires has had his pencil set out again:
5) Max Rushden has guided the Football Weekly panel through a breathless, hugely entertaining and sometimes bizarre discussion of a breathless, hugely entertaining and sometimes bizarre football match, and the result is here:
And now, on with the evening! We’ve got three Champions League play-off fixtures to look forward to tonight, being as follows:
***Potential humiliation klaxon*** Kairat v Celtic (1st leg score 0-0, 5.45pm BST kick-off)
Pafos v Red Star Belgrade (2-1, 8pm)
Sturm Graz v Bodo/Glimt (0-5, 8pm)
And also a bumper 19 Carabao Cup games (7.45pm BST kick-off unless stated):
Accrington Stanley v Doncaster
Barnsley v Rotherham
Birmingham v Port Vale
Bournemouth v Brentford
Bromley v Wycombe
Burnley v Derby
Cambridge Utd v Charlton (7.30pm)
Cardiff v Cheltenham
Millwall v Coventry
Norwich v Southampton
Preston North End v Wrexham
Reading v Wimbledon (7pm)
Sheff Wed v Leeds (8pm)
Stoke v Bradford
Sunderland v Huddersfield
Swansea v Plymouth
Wigan v Stockport County
Wolverhampton v West Ham (7.30pm)
Burton Albion v Lincoln City
There are also some Scottish Challenge Cup games, one FA Cup preliminary round replay, and the potential for other unscripted excitement. Strap yourselves in, it’s going to be a cracker*!
* cracker not guaranteed. Your statutory rights are unaffected
