Celtic suffered a second ignominious Champions League play-off exit in a row as Austrian champions LASK fought back from four goals down on aggregate to sweep aside the hapless visitors amid a colossal collapse.
A low, fizzing extra-time strike from Samuel Adeniran, his second impressive goal of the match, secured passage for the visitors to Europe’s elite competition as the Scots tumble to the Europa League.
After 30 minutes of the second leg, Celtic led by four goals in the tie through Callum McGregor’s deflected strike after smart work from Yang Hyun-jun to cut in from the left and find his skipper with a well-weighted pass.
A slack backpass from Benjamin Nygren gave the home side their first glimmer of hope when Moses Usor pounced to pull one back with a composed finish, no less than they deserved after a strong start.
Celtic then failed to contain the hosts at the start of the second half.
Robert Ljubicic was afforded far too much time and space on the edge of the area, just two minutes after the restart, allowing him to beat Viljami Sinisalo low to his left.
The atmosphere in the stadium soon shifted from one of trepidation to unwavering belief as LASK attacked relentlessly.
After the tumult of last season for Celtic, and their play-off loss to Kairat Almaty, they were unable to place a pass or clear their lines with any conviction.
Midfielder Sascha Horvath stepped forward on the left and found Adeniran in a central position, who swept in from range with a sensational first-time finish.
With 20 minutes to go, Celtic were surviving wave after wave of attacks, with Horvath and Adeniran influential, the latter cracking the underside of the crossbar before Kieran Tierney thumped it clear off the line.
The remainder of the game was played almost exclusively in Celtic’s half, with the Scottish champions hemmed into their defensive third as they contended with everything LASK had to throw at them.
As the clock ticked into added time, Florian Flecker powered in Alemao’s attempt that had initially been spectacularly clawed away by Sinisalo.
The 109th-minute rocket from Adeniran was followed by his chance to complete his hat-trick from the spot, but Sinisalo met it low to palm away.
It cannot be overstated how truly baffling a game of football this was.
With 30 minutes gone, Celtic were four goals clear and cruising to the promised land of Champions League football and mega money.
After 60 minutes, they were running scared.
As soon as LASK got within one, Celtic were stunned and looking physically spent.
For a side that pride themselves on their ability to find a way to victory regardless of circumstance, of the knack of grinding out results in the biggest of games, they had nothing left to give.
Call it a crisis of character, call it a terrible time to stumble, there were issues everywhere you looked.
Squad depth, conditioning, attitude, and composure – they were lacking in all areas despite taking such a commanding lead in the tie.
When they needed a foot on the ball and a calming influence to turn the game down a notch or two, no-one took responsibility.
What was said
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill: “I think these games show you we obviously have a lot of work to do in that aspect [squad depth].
“These games are real, real tests for you and unfortunately we’ve failed that test tonight.
“I’m responsible for this one, but I don’t know what’s happened in the past.
“Naturally it took me a long time to get over the UEFA Cup final in 2003, but this was majorly disappointing. In the context of things, one was a final which would have been terrific to win, this was a qualifying game which we should have been able to get through.
“We know that we are a million miles from the finished article. That’s absolutely true. I think we thought that anyway.”
BBC
