CELTIC’S pre-season friendly against Manchester City was delayed after the stadium was EVACUATED less than an hour before kick-off.
North Carolina went through storms and torrential downpours in the run-up to the game.
One of those who is late to the Hoops’ open practice in Chapel Hill on Monday afternoon.
But it forced the in-house team and at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill to empty the stands less than an hour before the scheduled start.
The 50,500-seat box is in the center of the University of North Carolina’s expansive campus.
And the enthusiasts – and the media – were already in position when the order to leave was issued.
A sign on the giant virtual scoreboard that dominated the field showed the decision of both groups and a starting warning.
It read: EVACUATION IN SEVERE WEATHER: Leave the seating area. Evacuate Kenan Stadium. Save the ticket with the price of your smartphone to enter.
But the Hoops and Premier League champions were not denied for long.
Fans were soon allowed to return to the stands and groups continued their warm-up where they had left off after the storm.
These emergency situations are not unusual according to locals and are not unusual when lightning strikes are detected about thirteen kilometers from the stadium.
But it was dramatic for City and the Celts.
However, the match was not delayed too much, as kick-off was delayed at around 00:40 UK time.
Organizers were hoping for some rain to help the newly remodeled camp.
The university football team founded at the stadium plays on synthetic turf, but that surface was broken up for the stoppage of Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish and Matt O’Riley.
And the Hoops talisman, the subject that Atalanta will offer this week, overlooked the captain’s armband when Callum McGregor returned for the big game.
The Hoops won a thrilling encounter 4-3, with Nicolas Kuhn being the pick of the Parkhead players with two goals.
O’Riley scored twice as captain in the Hoops’ 4-0 win over DC United at the weekend.
But Brendan Rodgers named a changed team that also included the debut of new signing Kasper Schmeichel against his boyhood team.
He gave Daizen Maeda his first pre-season action with a position at No. 11 alongside Nicolas Kuhn.
City are still without Euro 2024 stars Rodri, Phil Foden and Kyle Walker, but they can still turn to superstars Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish and even keep Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson on the bench.
CELTIC: Schmeichel, Welsh, Ralston, Scales, Taylor, McGregor, O’Riley, Hatate, Kuhn, Maeda, Kyogo. Substitutes: Sinisalo, Bain, Lagerbielke, Palma, Yang, Holm Kobayashi, Kwon, Tomoki, Anderson, Lawal, Murray, Forrest, Dede, Donovan, Turley, M. Johnston.
MAN CITY: Ortega Moreno, Lewis, Simpson-Pusey, Mbete, Phillips, Wilson-Esbrand, O’Reilly, McAtee, Bobb, Grealish, Haaland. Substitutes: Ederson, Carson, Perrone, Wright, Katongo, Ndale, Gálvez, Susoho, Oboavwoduo, Heskey, Doyle, Fatahm Mfuni, Hamilton, Samuel, Knight.
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