Source: Team_Talk
Cardiff held as new stadium opens
More than 15,000 fans - and dozens of former Cardiff players - turned up to witness the occasion as the Championship club ended their lengthy association with Ninian Park.[LNB]And before the kick-off, the Treorchy Male Voice Choir greeted the two teams with stirring renditions of You'll Never Walk Alone and Men Of Harlech.[LNB]But more importantly for Celtic, the game marked another step forward in their preparations for the forthcoming Champions League qualifier with Dinamo Moscow after triumphing 3-0 in their opening pre-season game against Brisbane Roar.[LNB]They now have the weekend Wembley Cup clashes with leading Egyptian outfit Al Ahly and Tottenham to iron out any remaining faults before the action starts for real.[LNB]Former West Brom boss Mowbray included his two summer signings to date, striker Marc-Antoine Fortune and Landy N'Guemo, in his starting line-up.[LNB]Celtic, urged on by more than 1,000 supporters, did most of the early pressing and Bluebirds goalkeeper David Marshall was quickly into action to block a low drive from Aiden McGeady.[LNB]Marshall then did well to keep out a Massimo Donati header from a Shaun Maloney corner as the Bhoys dominated the early exchanges.[LNB]Fortune also fired over the bar when well placed and Scott McDonald dragged a shot wide before Celtic keeper Artur Boruc was forced into a trio of saves in quick succession.[LNB]He parried a drive from in-demand Cardiff skipper Joe Ledley - a target for Hull boss Phil Brown - blocked an angled shot from Michael Chopra and kept out a flicked header from the impressive Jay Bothroyd.[LNB]Cardiff suffered a setback when defender Kevin McNaughton hobbled out of the action shortly after the half-hour mark to be replaced by Tony Capaldi.[LNB]Predictably both sides rang plenty of changes at half-time with another Celtic summer newcomer, Lukasz Zaluska, replacing Boruc between the posts but the action was still of a higher intensity than most friendlies.[LNB]Cardiff looked more threatening at the start of the second period with Bothroyd and another Hull target, striker Ross McCormack, slicing shots wide when in space.[LNB]There was a competitive edge to the game and Celtic striker Chris Killen was yellow-carded after a clash with Cardiff defender Anthony Gerrard.[LNB]Then N'Guemo, signed on an initial season-long loan from Nancy, produced an excellent tackle inside his own area to deny Cardiff substitute Gavin Rae as he prepared to shoot.[LNB]Chris Burke came close to earning Cardiff victory but Zaluska was the equal of his low drive.[LNB][LNB]
