“Technical maturity”, “Beautiful football”; Czech media react to Celtic’s win over Banik Ostrava

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For Celtic, last night’s match was just one stop on the way to facing Aberdeen at the end of July.

While Banik Ostrava are also in the midst of pre-match preparations, the friendly held much more meaning for them.

That was clear from the atmosphere and spectacle on Wednesday night before kick-off even occurred, but the home side also approached the game with dedication and desire throughout the 90 minutes.

In fact in the run up to the fixture, outlet Denik.cz described it as “the biggest game of Banik Ostrava football in many years” as they celebrated their 100th year and apparently the 4-2 result didn’t disappoint.

After the match, the same outlet wrote: “If this is how the matches of Baník Ostrava footballers in European Cups will look like one day, there is a lot to look forward to. A great atmosphere of the sold-out Mestsky Stadium in Vítkovice, many choreographies and beautiful football.”

Journalist David Hekele went on to note the approach of Ange Postecoglou’s team, stating: “The visitors came into the game with a clear intention – to combine and to dominate the ball, which they did.”

Meanwhile, outlet iSport.cz felt Celtic offered the sold-out crowd “great individual quality” and some “wonderful” goals.

They’d go on to explain how the Bhoys’ performance was a good example of how Scottish football is moving on from stereotypes, stating that the “technical maturity” of Postecoglou’s side was “very impressive”.

Of course, there have been lots of special mentions for the scenes in the stands too, with Banik fans keeping things lively throughout the 90 minutes with songs, banners and displays.

Banik themselves declared their own satisfaction with it all, stating on their official website: “It was a worthy celebration of the centenary of Banik! The fans enjoyed it, the players enjoyed it. Regardless of the fact that Baník lost to the famous Celtic 4-2.”

With the Bhoys bagging an appearance fee and moving deeper into pre-season, there was really nothing but positives from the encounter overall.

We’ve made a good impression and continued on the right road under Postecoglou. Job done!

In other news, Yosuke Ideguchi’s Celtic opportunity has finally arrived.