MAKE IT A GORDON’S
Keeper owes Rosenborg hero a drink after late goal gets him out of jail as Celts edge through on night of drama
claimed a deserved lead for Salzburg after 67 minutes.
BT Sport reported Andre Ramalho being struck by an object from the crowd during the celebrations and if another UEFA fine is coming after an act of idiocy at least the Rosenborg goal secured the funds to pay it.
Olivier Ntcham’s stoppage-time goal — hammered past a defiant Alexander Walke at the second attempt after the keeper saved the initial spot-kick — didn’t matter a jot. In the oddest of circumstances, Celtic were already through.
‘We didn’t play well,’ admitted Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers. ‘It was a mixed emotion for me because the one thing I looked for tonight was a performance.
‘We changed it at half-time which helped us a little bit, but we didn’t stop the cross for the first goal and the second one can happen.
‘Craig was brilliant all evening and made some really good saves, but our back four weren’t looking for the ball, so he had to go longer with it.
‘That’s something we’ll look at. Yes, Craig made a mistake but that’s okay. Sometimes it happens.’
If a classy side like Salzburg are what lies in store in the knockout stages, Celtic should enjoy the Europa League while they can.
The experience might not last much longer.
Semi-finalists last season, Marco Rose’s side are relentless.
Unbeaten in all competitions this season, they lead the Austrian league by 14 points after 17 games and coasted into the knockout stages after winning all six group games comfortably.
Make no mistake, the step up in class here was evident and alarming right from the start.
Gordon was forced to push a netbound Zlatko Junuzovic header over the bar in four minutes after seeing it late, and that set the tone.
Celtic’s cause wasn’t helped when Mikael Lustig marked his 32nd birthday with a heavy head knock in nine minutes.
The Swede struggled back to his feet after lengthy treatment but was clearly out of it when the unmarked figure of Diadie Samassekou crashed a controlled header off the bar in 17 minutes.
When Lustig left the fray, there was a case for a rejig.
The experience of Scott Brown would eventually arrive, but only at half-time.
Celtic needed a right-back, Kristoffer Ajer filling the void in his first appearance since a fractured cheekbone.
The problem was clear. By trade, the Norwegian is a centre-half and his arrival only added to the sensation of a Celtic team spooked and stretched to the limit.
It needed Gordon to deny Salzburg with their best chance of all in 30 minutes. A short Ajer pass eluded Jozo Simunovic, Hannes Wolf racing through on goal for what looked a certain opener. As Gordon made himself big to block, Celtic’s good fortune began to look freakish.
Long hopeful punts to an isolated Odsonne Edouard wouldn’t do. The ball came straight back at the home side like a malfunctioning pinball machine, an air of panic setting in.
The half-time statistics showing Salzburg possession of 68 per cent told no lies. If anything, they seemed to flatter Celtic.
The arrival of Brown for a struggling Scott Sinclair at half-time was logical. Salzburg had spent the first half hounding Celtic. The tables had to turn.
The captain’s arrival offered experience and stability.
Celtic’s shape changed and they immediately improved.
Yet Rodgers had already made two of his changes. As the mood began to lift, the last thing the Parkhead side needed was the loss of Christie — with seven goals in his last ten games — on a stretcher eight minutes into the second half.
As he made a superb block tackle on Takumi Minamino on the edge of his own area, the midfielder collapsed banging the turf in agony.
It looked bad from the off, Ntcham replacing the Scotland international as he left the field prostrate, hands on head, to a sympathetic ovation.
Already without Leigh Griffiths for an undetermined time, Christie’s loss for any sustained period would represent awful news for Scotland’s champions.
After 66 minutes, the roof fell in. A man mountain of a player, Israeli international striker Dabbur menaced Celtic in Austria, scoring twice as the Parkhead side collapsed in the second half.
Lightning looked liable to strike twice when the No 9 found yards of space to score the easiest of goals.
Stefan Lainer had all the time in the world to cross from the right, the striker expounding the minimum of effort to head into the net despite Gordon getting a hand to it.
Running to the Celtic crowd was never the wisest of moves. None of which excuses the actions of one spectator if Ramalho was indeed struck by an object.
A hush fell over the home crowd as Gordon denied Dabbur a killer second goal with a brilliant pointblank save from another header.
Yet Salzburg were merely biding their time, substitute Gulbrandsen claiming a comical goal with his first touch with a little help from Gordon.
Bizarrely, Celtic might still have won their point. Ajer missed a sitter from all of four yards before Filip Benkovic was upended for a penalty hammered in at the second attempt by Ntcham deep into seven minutes of stoppage time.
The footballing gods were shining on Glasgow. Thanks to Tore Reginiussen, it no longer mattered.