Linfield 0-2 Celtic: Scott Sinclair and Tom Rogic goals give visitors control

By Robert O'Connor

Celtic took control of their second qualifying round Champions League tie against Linfield with a 2-0 win in Belfast on Friday.

Scott Sinclair headed home from a James Forrest cross early on and Tommy Rogic added a quick-fire second to put the visitors in command.

Celtic created few chances in the second half, the best of them falling to Stuart Armstrong from a neat Moussa Dembele knockdown, as Brendan Rodgers' side held off their hosts with little difficulty.

The Scottish champions have one foot in a possible third-round qualifying tie against Ireland's Dundalk ahead of next Wednesday's second leg at Celtic Park.

Celtic dominated possession from the off against the part-timers and went close early on through Kieran Tierney and Stewart Armstrong who tried their luck from distance.

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The breakthrough came when Forrest recovered the ball from an Armstrong corner and crossed for Sinclair to plant a soft header beyond the flat-footed Roy Carroll in the Linfield goal.

And five minutes later it was 2-0, Rogic showing intelligent movement to lose his marker and manoeuvre space to finish with a low shot past Carroll after a drilled corner from Griffiths.

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Linfield were dogged in their defending and limited Celtic to shots from distance, with Forrest going closest for the visitors with a low strike on the angle which Carroll gathered at the near post.

Substitute Dembele set up Armstrong for a fizzing drive in the second half beaten away by Carroll, and Mikael Lustig showed consistent endeavour to get forward from right-back, overlapping well with substitute Jonny Hayes, who impressed on his debut after signing from Aberdeen.

Dembele went close to adding a third for Celtic with a low curler which was well saved, but Rodgers had to settle for a 2-0 win to take back to Parkhead for the right to play Dundalk or Norwegian side Rosenberg.

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