Jo's pain in Spain -
Football
Sun, The (London, England)
January 14, 1999
Author: Gary Ralston

FC Balona 3 Celtic 3. SLOPPY Celtic stumbled at the foot of Gibraltar Rock last night as their mid-season tour kicked off in controversy.
Hoops coach Jozef Venglos must be kicking himself after arranging four friendlies during the shutdown if this effort is anything to go by.

Celtic had three players booked - comeback star Marc Rieper, defender Jackie McNamara and midfielder David Hannah.

Norwegian striker Harald Brattbakk was crocked three minutes from time when Juan Antonio saw red for an elbow in the face.

The fussy Spanish referee did little to help as 1200 local fans flocked to the La Linea stadium on the outskirts of Gibraltar.

Napping

It looked as if Celtic were in for an embarrassing evening as the third division part-timers raced into a 2-0 lead within 15 minutes.

Hugo Augustin fired the home side in front with a shot from the edge of the box after six minutes as the Celtic defence were caught napping.

Nine minutes later Brian McLaughlin gave away possession deep in his own half and Juan Manuel fired the second past Tony Warner. Celtic - with five internationals in their line-up - pulled one back midway through the half when Mark Burchill bundled home an effort.

They equalised after the break as Burchill turned provider to set up Simon Donnelly.

Burchill added a third but Pedro Camacho fired a late equaliser.

Venglos said: "We took a few knocks, more than I would have expected, but everyone seems fine."

Brattbakk's face was unscathed after his run-in with Antonio.

He said: "His elbow was definitely not accidental but there is no damage done."