PARIS: Celtic took a step closer to the Champions League group stages by grinding out a 1-0 win over Rosenborg in the second leg of their qualifying third-round tie in Norway on Wednesday.
After being held to a frustrating 0-0 first-leg draw in Glasgow last week, Celtic had to wait 69 minutes to finally take the lead, when James Forrest crashed home from the edge of the box to send them into the play-off round.
Like in the first match at Parkhead, Celtic had most of the ball in the opening period but struggled to create clear-cut chances.
Visiting goalkeeper Craig Gordon was first called into action after quarter of an hour, as he made a comfortable save from Milan Jevtovic. The pressure from Celtic almost paid off midway through the first half, as centre-back Erik Sviatchenko saw his header cleared off the line by former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner, before having to hobble off injured.
Elsewhere, Nice youngster Vincent Marcel came off the bench to snatch the French side a 2-2 draw in Amsterdam and an away-goals victory over Ajax.
Earlier, Togo’s Emmanuel Adebayor scored his first European goal for Istanbul Basaksehir from Gael Clichy’s pass, as last season’s Turkish Super Lig runners-up saw off Club Brugge 2-0 to win 5-3 on aggregate. — AFP
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