Celtic downed by Berg

Mowbray had pinpointed £10 million Berg (pictured), Hamburg's 'back-up' striker, as the indicator of the gulf in spending power between the teams, and it was the Swedish sensation who made the difference with a classy second half strike.

Despite a lacklustre 0-0 draw at home to Motherwell on Saturday, Mowbray opted for a more pragmatic approach for the visit of the Germans, dropping Georgios Samaras for midfield play-breaker Landry N'Guemo.

There was a hint of attacking invention added in the shape of Shaun Maloney, but Mowbray's 4-5-1 formation served to reinforce his pre-match analysis that Hamburg boasted the stronger squad.

The names of Dutch sensation Elijero Elia, Sweden hotshot Berg and Brazilian veteran Ze Roberto suggested the Celtic boss had a point, yet Mowbray's tactics led to an opening 45 minutes that saw Celtic control matters territorially.

Snapping into tackles with the tenacity of an Old Firm derby, the hosts limited Hamburg to sporadic bursts on the break - although Ze Roberto always cut a serene figure amongst the hustle and bustle around him.

Mowbray's packed midfield meant the opening half hour saw just two chances of note, yet both should have been scored by Scott Brown and Berg respectively.

Brown's was more gilt-edged. Arriving unmarked at the back post from a corner, the Scotland man strode on to a half volley from five yards but contrived to slice horribly wide with the goal at his mercy.

Within 60 seconds he should have been punished. Jonathan Pitroipa's pace disturbed the Celtic defence, his cutback from the byline teed up Berg, but the Swede slashed his effort woefully wide of the far post.

Celtic were beginning to play the game in Hamburg's half, yet twice the Germans almost scored from set plays, Berg heading over from a corner before Dennis Aogo curled a free kick just over with Artur Boruc well beaten.

Mowbray's men were turning the screw bit by bit though and, after McGeady fell too easily under a challenge from David Rozenhal inside the box, the Bhoys really should have scored right on half-time.

Maloney, hugely quiet throughout the opening 45 minutes, latched on to N'Guemo's header but from six yards out the former Aston Villa man made a mess of his volley as the ball dropped over his shoulder.

A further inaccurate effort from Scott McDonald on the spin brought a tight first-half to a close, the symbolic "You'll Never Walk Alone" anthem summing up the importance of the 45 minutes to come as the players emerged for the second period.

Initially McGeady and Lee Naylor responded, sending the visitors reeling with a pair of wicked low crosses from the left, before Brown's endeavour inside the box set up McGeady to strike, but his left-footed effort was disappointingly tame when the situation cried out for a right-foot curler.

The miss served as a warning to Hamburg, and they responded clinically.

Two minutes later Pitroipa's pace once again caused problems to the home rearguard, and when he danced past both Celtic centre-backs before cutting the ball back to the penalty spot, Elia really had no excuses when smashing the crossbar from 12 yards.

The extra quality that Mowbray had referred to in his pre-match quotes was beginning to emerge, and when the classy figure of Ze Roberto strode forward to feed Berg, this time the Swedish striker made no mistake with a deadly finish from 18 yards.

Mowbray had replaced McDonald with Samaras just 60 seconds previous to the goal, although in fairness to the Greek he worked his socks off to help his side back into the game - only to find a lack of creativity in those around him.

The former West Brom and Hibernian boss responded by throwing on Paddy McCourt, whose impact was nearly instant as he skipped inside his marker to force a fine fingertip save from Rost towards his far post.

But an equaliser never truly looked like arriving as Celtic failed to score for the second consecutive home match.