Cup joy for McStay and Ujpest

A second half goal from Gyorgy Sandor gave Ujpest Dozsa a 1-0 win over Videoton tonight to give Willie McStay's side a 2-0 aggregate over the league leaders and a place in the semi-finals of the Hungarian Cup.

The game was predictably tight between the top two sides in Hungary this season with Ujpest defending a 1-0 lead from the first leg which was under threat of abandonment due to fog.

"It was a great performance and very satisfying," said McStay. "It's pleasing to close down for the break on a real high by beating the league leaders.

"We played a controlled game and were never under any real threat. Having a one goal lead from the first leg can leave you in two minds about how to approach the game but we kept it tight, controlled the pace and always seemed the most likely to win.

"It was a great goal from Gyorgy, he struck it from 22 yards out and the Videoton keeper never really stood a chance of stopping it.

"Reaching the semi-finals of the cup is a big achievement, we've just beaten the league leaders home and away so no one can take anything away from us.

DELIGHTED

"Everyone at the club is delighted, we're stopping for the break on a high. We've got a long break when a lot can happen but hopefully we can pick things up again and make a real challenge for honours."

Videoton had won 1-0 at Ujpest on November 9 with those points allowing them to go into the break with a four point cushion at the top of the table.but were unable to repeat that with Sandor's goal in the 74th minute putting the tie beyond the league leaders.

The Ujpest end of year party on Friday night should be lively with the club well in contention for two trophies when the season resumes in February with the club hoping to arrange a couple of games in Scotland during January.

McStay will return to Scotland at the weekend and will enjoy a six week break with his family before returning to Hungary to prepare for the second half of the campaign.

He added: "I'm looking forward to the break and a couple of the players will be travelling over to spend some time training with Celtic.

WINDOW

"I'll have time to think about the second half of the season. With the winter break and a transfer window a lot can happen.

"Debeceren have got the best part of £10m from the Champions League and their manager won't be wanting the money tucked away in the bank.

"Ideally I'd like to bring in two or three quality players to strengthen the squad but I know that there is bound to be some interest and offers for our players.

SQUAD

"We've got one of the smallest squads in the league but out first XI is as good as any as they have shown.

"There's a group of 13 or 14 players that we've worked with and luckily we haven't had many injuries although Mark Millar missed the last month with a hamstring injury.

"I'd expect Videoton, MTK Budapest, Ferencvaros, Gyor and Debeceren to strengthen during the winter break and hopefully we'll also be able to bring in some players.

"I've enjoyed being back involved in front line management, there's a lot involved in managing, you need some luck as well as whatever ability and ideas that you have.

"There's a big challenge for the club in the new year but right now everyone deserves a break and then we can come back stronger and refreshed in February."

The streaming challenge offered to Celtic

Getting away from whether or not it's enjoyable watching Celtic at the moment there is a large gap in the Celtic media experience.

For a few seasons we were able to lap up Celtic TV, despite all those re-runs of games against St Johnstone- but not the game against St Johnstone- it was a fantastic service with former players joining The Huddle on a daily basis and a number of great shows put together.

All areas of the club were covered past and present with a favourite of mine but never likely to be a commercial smash-hit being an hour long interview with Pat Stanton taking us back to the double winning 76/77 season and looking at how Stanton joined Celtic then retired through injury.

Lisbon naturally was covered in great depth, there is no shortage of material and when you get a few Lions around for a blether it's always worth listening to.

Complementing Celtic TV was the regular Setanta shows with a healthy bias towards Scottish football giving us all the previews and features that we could ask for even if some of the presenters were trying too hard to become characters and controversial.

VOID

Post Setanta there is a large void in the Celtic viewing experience, no longer can we give opinions on reserve players because as well as the demise of Setanta the Reserve League has become a casualty, depriving us of a monthly mazy solo goal from Paddy McCourt to walk away with the goal of the month award.

In it's place we find the SPL getting a similar level of prominence as League One with Sky Sports and ESPN concentrating their energy and resources on the golden goose that is THE PREMIERSHIP.

There has been a few snippets here and there about changes afoot at Celtic to increase communications within the club which looks mainly like providing an extended Chanel 67 coverage which currently allows those outwith the UK and Ireland to watch matches live online.

This service receives mixed responses from the North American Celts, the quality can be variable but at least the club is attempting to provide a service where there is a demand.

VOICE

Providing those closer to home with a daily 'streaming' schedule to keep on the ball with things happening at the club must surely be a priority, hearing from those employed by the club and giving supporters and former players a voice is clearly desirable.

Establishing a quality on-line service will allow the club to work around the limitations of television broadcasting and reduce overheads and breakeven points.

Further down the line, and not too far down the line, is the possibility and potential to stream matches live online.

Clearly this is a very delicate area but already the English FA have moved into the field as did the Ukrainian FA with their decision to sell live television rights for their recent World Cup qualifier against England to an online provider.

That experiment seemed to work well with all parties keen to test the ice with online streaming.

CREDIBLE

With the loss of Setanta to the FA Cup package the FA have elected to screen live matches on their website with the first match, Oldham v Leeds United, attracting a very credible 176,000 online audience watching free on the FA website.

The BBC and ESPN are both in negotiations with the FA to pick up on the Setanta contract but with neither company able to negotiate a deal, that doesn't upset the main broadcaster ITV, the FA are playing it round by round with the online experiment continuing on Saturday when Carlisle United host Norwich City with a 5.15 kick off.

Both clubs will be paid by the FA for the live coverage with the test of resolve coming at the third round stage which is traditionally one of the highlights of the English season despite the lack of interest from some Premiership clubs.

DEDICATED

Streaming matches for free online can attract a massive audience which with some simple registration process can open up a fantastic dedicated market for the football business to develop.

Clearly the FA are impressed with the quality and feedback that they got from the Oldham-Leeds match and will be looking closely at the figures for the Carlisle match this weekend.

Ian Watmore, Chief Executive of the FA said: "We have been absolutely thrilled with the viewer reaction and user numbers for the games we have streamed live to date.

"This has proved that there is a growing online audience eager to see live football for free on the internet that is in addition to and complementary to the live games featured with our broadcast partner, ITV."

For almost a decade we've heard various proposals for Celtic to escape from Scotland with the goal being to tap into the latent support that the club carries throughout the British Isles and beyond.

SUBSTANTIAL

Establishing a quality online service to initially cover costs would pave the way for a greater more substantial service which should become a money spinner without the current dependency on traditional broadcasting methods.

Almost every net user has tuned in to a stream of some sort to watch a match, the results are mixed with strange foreign commentators, lots of buffering and matches that can be running way behind radio commentary.

The music industry has had a horrendous time dealing with online evolution, if football, and more importantly Celtic, take a hands on role and lead rather than follow the club could finally begin to open up directly to the dedicated markets that the club has to reach to develop as they wish.

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Feel free to add your comments and thoughts to the online debate

McStay looking to sign off in style at Ujpest

Ujpest Dozsa closed the first half of the league campaign on Saturday with a hard fought 2-1 win away to Budapest rivals Vasas.

Manager Willie McStay was far from happy with his side's performance but was relieved to collect all three points as he prepares to return to Scotland for the winter break.

He said: "It was a patchy performance in a difficult match, I look for a higher level of performance but we were happy to take the points from Saturday.

"There was two sendings off and the game never settled down. The points are important and mean that we're four points off Videoton when the reason resumes in February.

"We're in a good position in the league and I'm reasonably happy with how things have gone.

"The target was to be in the top three at this stage, now on Wednesday we have the chance to reach the semi-finals of the Hungarian Cup.

ADVANTAGE

"Videoton will be anxious for a result as well but we won have a one goal lead from the first leg and want to make home advantage count.

"Winning a trophy would be a fantastic achievement and something that everyone is focused on."

Budapest will be the centre of attention tomorrow night with Liverpool facing their departure from the Champions League.

A win over Debeceren is essential for Rafael Benitez's side a win for Fiorentina over Lyon would see Liverpool out before the knock-out stage.

McStay helped Ujpest to a 2-1 win away to Debrecen last month and expects Liverpool to be too strong for the Hungarian champions.

PROBLEMS

The Ujpest boss added: "Playing in the Champions League has taken a lot out of Debrecen, even with Liverpools problems I think that they'll be too strong.

"The game will be played in Budapest at the national stadium and that will suit Liverpool, it's a great surface and will allow them to pass the ball around.

"If the game had been at Debrecen it would have been much tighter but I'd expect Liverpool to come out on top."

Evening Herald report on Dundee United-Celtic match

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Neilly Mochan legacy- Paul Sludden

Paul Sludden (far left) won't be a name familiar to many Celtic supporters but the on-loan East Fife striker has a bloodline that goes through the clubs greatest days.

Paul's dad John (left) was a great scorer through the eighties with St Johnstone and Ayr United but his great-uncle, Neilly Mochan, has a unique place in Celtic history.

As a player and coach Mochan was at the heart of the clubs greatest successes, the 1953 Coronation Cup win, the 7-1 match and of course the 1967 European Cup win.

Mochan hadn't even played at Celtic Park when he scored against Manchester United in the semi-final of the Coronation Cup then again in the final when Celtic beat Hibs 2-0 at Hampden.

Four years later Mochan was scoring again at Hampden with two goals in the 7-1 match before the long barren years were gloriously ended with the return of Jock Stein in 1965.

As Celtic won the big cup in Lisbon Mochan had the title of 'trainer' which involved a coaching/training role alongside Jock Stein as well as applying the magic sponge before trainers became physios.

Striker Paul is on the books of Falkirk but with the demise of the SPL Reserve League he has been sent out on loan to Second Division East Fife where he is making a big impression.

After helping his team to a 3-1 win away to Clyde, East Fife assistant manager Scott Crabbe said: "Our front two, McManus and Sludden, are a real handful and they gave Clyde a hard time today."

McManus added: "Paul has done brilliant in the last couple of games. He could be a real talent because he is so keen to learn and his link-up play is excellent.

"I'd like to see him get his first goal because his hard work deserves it."

Paul's career will be in good hands with his dad still involved in coaching at Celtic.

John Sludden's timing at Celtic wasn't the best with the first-team places being taken by Charlie Nicholas, George McCluskey and Danny Crainie but he did carve out a good career and is well remembered by supporters of Ayr Utd and St Johnstone.