Ajer says character was key in Euro fightback

Defender Kristoffer Ajer is satisfied with the twogoal lead Celtic will take to Trondheim for the Champions League qualifying clash with Rosenborg next week.

The Scottish champions fell behind after 15 minutes of the first leg of their secondround qualifier at home on Wednesday when defender Birger Meling converted a Nicklas Bendtner pass. However, they fought back with two goals by Odsonne Edouard and one by Olivier Ntcham.

Ajer was happy enough with the 3-1 advantage and the 20-year-old Norwegian told Celtic TV: “Of course when you play in this competition it is all about getting a result and to score three goals at home is a good result to take away to Trondheim.

“You can see that they can hurt you if we are not 100 per cent at it. We conceded early and then it is difficult to come back but we showed great character to score three fantastic goals.”

Ajer in particular enjoyed his view of midfielder Ntcham’s curling effort from outside the box a minute into second half, which stunned the Norwegian champions and set up Celtic to dominate further. He said: “There were some fantastic goals and the second was amazing to watch from the centre-half position.” l Danny Mcgrain will unfurl the Scottish Premiership flag when Celtic take on Livingston at Celtic Park on the opening day of the league season on 4 August.

Mcgrain was an outstanding full-back during his 20 years with Celtic and played at the 1974 and 1982 World Cup finals, missing the 1978 tournament through injury.

He said: “This is a wonderful honour for me and my family and I would like to thank the club for inviting me to unfurl the league flag.”