One to Watch: Celtic's Kieran Tierney unstoppable down the flank in AEK draw

By Stephen Ganavas

Celtic’s quest for Champions League football hit a hurdle as they draw 1-1 with AEK Athens at Celtic Park in the first leg of their qualifying tie.

Kieran Tierney, however, can feel absolved of much of the blame.

After being rested on the weekend in anticipation of this game, he looked fresh.

The Scottish full-back was unstoppable on the left-flank, as he constantly put pressure on an AEK defensively line trying to be compact as possible.

He did not allow them to be. He constantly bombarded down the wing, looking to stretch the defence, and he was consistently afforded the room to get into dangerous positions.

In the first half, he almost won a penalty with a direct run towards goal that the referee judged to be just outside the box

(Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

The Celtic defender was also instrumental in the build-up to the Hoops’ goal.

His foray into the box led to a deflected pass to Callum McGregor, who made no mistake smashing home to put Celtic ahead.

He also put in multiple dangerous crosses that slid through the penalty area without a Celtic player managing to get on the end of one.

In the second-half, Tierney moved to press forward even higher up the pitch after AEK were reduced to ten men early in the half.

With Celtic struggling to break the deadlock, they switched to a back three, moving the 21-year-old into a more defensive role.

But he continued to make forays forward as the Hoops camped themselves in the Greek side’s half for the final 20 minutes.

While Celtic were denied a first-leg advantage, Tierney will take great confidence into the second-leg after an all-round excellent performance.