Vaclav Cerny breaks silence on Celtic defeat and reflects on Glasgow memories
Former Rangers winger Vaclav Cerny has admitted Celtic showed their quality after his Besiktas side suffered a dramatic 3-2 Europa League defeat at Parkhead on Thursday night.
The Czech international returned to Glasgow hoping to make another impact against the Hoops, having previously spent a season on loan at Ibrox, where he sparked controversy by spraying water towards Celtic supporters during a derby encounter.
Cerny also scored his first senior goal for Ajax against Celtic at Parkhead eleven years ago, but his latest visit ended in disappointment as Martin O’Neill’s side produced a thrilling comeback.
Besiktas had led with half an hour remaining before Celtic turned the contest around, with Camilo Durán grabbing a dramatic winner shortly after the visitors had equalised.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Cerny reflected on his return to Glasgow and the disappointment of leaving empty-handed.
Asked about his previous connections to the city, he said: “No, definitely. It stays a special city for me, I always say that. I have amazing memories from two years ago, and I want to keep it that way.”
Reflecting on the defeat, he continued: “We didn’t win, so that’s not what we came for. Overall, not positive. I had a feeling that the first half we had pretty much under control, so it’s a shame we didn’t continue like this in the second half. “Then it got a little bit back and forth, it was like a messy, messy game with the goals, so yeah. Not the result we came for.”
Cerny admitted Besiktas struggled to maintain their composure after the break, allowing Celtic to take advantage.
He added: “Tough for me to say why, but I just think we should keep the control. We had to try and maintain the position and keep calm on the ball, control the game like we did, for my feeling, in the first half. So that’s not what we did, and unfortunately Celtic showed their quality.”
Asked about the frustration of conceding again so soon after drawing level, Cerny concluded: “Yeah, if you cannot manage to win the game, you have to try not to lose it. “Again, unlucky, but I have to say, in this season you have so many games. So luckily enough, you can turn it around in a few days again, so heads up and we continue.”
