LeedsUnited.com
Celtic 0 Leeds United 0
There were no goals but plenty of spirit was on display from Leeds as they ground out a 0-0 draw with Celtic in Glasgow.
Kevin Blackwell used his entire squad of 20 players, bar Seth Johnson, in the game and only Shaun Derry got a full 90 minutes in but most of the rest are only a few minutes short of completing their first full game of pre-season. Chances for Leeds were limited but Blackwell will have been heartened by how hard his side worked in the game and how well Dan Harding and Eddie Lewis fitted in.
The thousand or so travelling United fans were able to treat a somewhat quiet Celtic support to the full repertoire of Leeds songs at the start of this game.
The first 15 minutes or so belonged to the home side as they exerted some early pressure on the Whites.
When Paul Butler fouled Shaun Maloney five yards out from the penalty area it gave Celtic a chance to test out Ian Bennett, but it was Sean Gregan who took the full force of the free-kick in the face. A little dazed, he was quickly back on his feet and straight back into the action.
Dan Harding was starting at left-back instead of former Celtic defender Stephen Crainey and he had to be quick to hook the ball away from Maloney before the striker could unleash a shot.
Eirik Bakke was the first United player to go for goal, the Norwegian tried his luck from 30-yards out but was wide of the target.
Another Butler tackle on Maloney inside the area had Celtic screaming for a penalty but they had to settle for a corner.
Leeds were then lucky not to concede when Celtic hit the woodwork twice in the space of three minutes.
On ten minutes Stephen McManus' shot after a corner was blocked by Gary Kelly on the line and the ball cannoned back off the post and fortunately the ball came back for Ian Bennett to collect.
With Leeds having just recovered from that near miss, Celtic then hit the bar with a Stanislav Varga header after the former Sunderland man met another corner.
Leeds then came back into the game after those two narrow misses, first Healy managed to get the ball from Paul Telfer in the right back position and played a great cross for Blake on the penalty spot, but his control let him down and the ball ran free where it was cleared.
Eddie Lewis then put in a chip from the left hand side into the area but it was met by a Celtic head. Leeds were at least starting to take the game to the home side.
Shaun Derry had played Eirik Bakke into a great position just on the edge of the penalty area but the midfielder couldn't collect the ball properly or else he would have been through with just the keeper to beat.
Maloney brought the first real save out of Bennett just before half-time, curling a free-kick around the United wall but it was easily taken by the former Birmingham City keeper.
Celtic made one change at half-time, bringing on Alan Thompson for Bobo Balde whilst Kevin Blackwell stuck with his starting XI.
A few minutes into the half and Healy was taken out McManus with a crunching tackle that saw the United require treatment. Thankfully he was fine to continue and Leeds avoided losing another striker to injury this pre-season, with Rob Hulse a doubt for the first game against Millwall.
Healy got his first shot on goal in on 55 minutes, a somewhat half-hearted effort from 20-yards that dipped just before finding the arms of Hoops keeper Artur Boruc.
At the other end Bennett was forced to tip a header from Craig Beattie over his own bar and from the corner Thompson saw his volley deflected wide for another corner. That corner was eventually put behind for yet another corner and Leeds were struggling to get the ball clear in what were a worrying few minutes.
A push on Healy saw the Northern Ireland striker earn a free-kick and from it Robbie Blake's shot on goal appeared to be deflected for a corner but Leeds got nothing from the referee.
Leeds made their first changes on 68 minutes, Frazer Richardson coming on for Kelly, and Gregan made way for Matthew Kilgallon.
Two minutes later Bennett was given another free-kick to save and he did so comfortably, getting two hands on Maloney's drive.
Michael Ricketts came on for a tired Robbie Blake with just over quarter of an hour to play. Blake's fitness does appear to be steadily improving with games and Ricketts is also looking sharper than he was for much of last season.
Stephen Crainey was given his wish of playing at Celtic Park again when he came on for Dan Harding and receiving a nice round of applause from the home fans too. Two more changes followed with Gylfi Einarsson on for Healy, and Matthew Spring replacing Bakke.
Action points in the second half were far and few between but Spring should have done better when Ricketts set him up soon after the midfielder had come on. His shot threatened the corner flag more than the goal.
Danny Pugh had the last shot of the game from distance but it was never close enough to change what had been a predictable scoreline. Celtic: Boruc, Telfer, McManus, Balde (Thompson 45), Varga, McGeady (McParland 72), Gardyne, Lawson, Wallace, Beattie (Zurawski 63), Maloney. Subs not used: Marshall, Aliadiare, McGlinchey, O'Dea.
United: Bennett, Kelly (Richardson 68), Butler (Carlisle 84), Gregan (Kigallon 68), Harding (Crainey 78), Wright (Walton 86), Derry, Bakke (Spring 78), Lewis (Pugh 84), Blake (Ricketts 72), Healy (Einarsson 78).