Source: Eurosport
Samaras: Hoops fell short
Celtic striker Georgios Samaras admitted his side failed to do themselves justice in the 2-0 Champions League first-leg play-off defeat by Arsenal. [LNB] Although Arsenal had failed to seriously trouble Artur Boruc before William Gallas inadvertently diverted Cesc Fabregas's 43rd-minute free-kick into the net, the Gunners went on to enjoy a comfortable second period.[LNB] Samaras, who started up front alongside Aiden McGeady, said: "They scored lucky goals but I think in the end they deserved to win because we didn't play so well."[LNB] He added: "We didn't play the ball forward to create chances, we lost a lot of simple passes. [LNB] "Up to the first goal we handled the game really well but I think after that we were a little bit sloppy. We made a lot of mistakes and didn't move the ball well. We weren't good enough.[LNB] "Everyone is a little bit disappointed because we didn't play the way we want to play. [LNB] "They moved the ball better and their speed was a level above us." [LNB] Tony Mowbray's selection was a surprise to Arsene Wenger and most observers as Scott McDonald and Marc-Antoine Fortune were dropped following Celtic's 3-1 win over Aberdeen. [LNB] But Samaras said: "I wasn't surprised, there are 18 players in the first-team squad and everyone is going to start matches. [LNB] "It was no problem playing with Aiden, we are team-mates and we know each other really well."
