Triumph for Lincoln Red Imps

A NIGHT to remember for Gibraltar, a night to forget for Glasgow and Brendan Rodgers when Lincoln Red Imps beat former European Champions Glasgow Celtic 1:0 in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League at Victoria Stadium in Gibraltar on July 12.

This must rate as one of the worst defeats for the club and also the manager in this his first competitive match, but for the team of part-time players, some of whom had been working that day, it was a tremendous evening even though there weren’t a huge number of local fans in attendance.

So excited was the Government of Gibraltar that it issued a press release just before midnight on July 12 which stated “Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar has sent its warmest congratulations to the players of Lincoln Red Imps after their stunning victory over the might of Celtic FC.

Chief Minister the Hon Fabian Picardo QC said: “Tonight’s victory demonstrated true Gibraltarian spirit. We might be small, we might be inexperienced at the international level but we are not unnerved by our opponents’ reputation nor by the odds against us.

Without doubt this is the best result since we joined UEFA three years ago and we cannot wait

for the return match in Scotland next week. We also wish Europa FC all the very best for their Europa League match against AIK Football Club on Thursday in Stockholm.”

Brendan Rodgers was phlegmatic about the defeat explaining that his team had the better of the game and the Imps fielded a defensive set up which was difficult to break down. No doubt he and the Celtic fans will expect a much better result in the return leg.