Celtic marched into the first round of the UEFA cup last night with an amazing 6-3 victory against Tirol of Austria at Parkhead. Tirol substitute Geonot Krinner looked to have given the Austrians the tie, after scoring with his first touch to make it 4-3 in the 82nd minute.
But Morten Wieghorst embodied Celtic's refusal to give up the match with an 88th-minute goal which pushed the home side ahead on aggregate.
In the last minute Craig Burley netted his second of the night to cap a remarkable game which fluctuated dramatically throughout.
At half-time Celtic already looked doomed, having twice given away the lead to the Austrians in this second qualifying round return leg which followed the visitors' 2-1 success in Innsbruck.
Simon Donnelly gave Celtic a 34th-minute lead, brilliantly chesting down a Wieghorst cross.
But five minutes later, Tirol's two-goal hero of the first leg Christian Mayrleb raced down the other end to cancel out that advantage.
Tirol had lost their first choice goalkeeper Stanislav Tchertchessov in the 21st minute when he was injured making a save. That meant a test of nerves for 20-year-old Austrian Heinz Weber, forced on as a substitute.
It was Weber who prompted Celtic's second goal after 44 minutes when he was punished for taking too many steps at the edge of the area. Henrik Larsson side-footed the resulting free-kick to Thom, who drove home to repeat the first-leg scoreline.
Mayrleb broke down the right-hand side, and his low cross was turned in by Francis Sebereyns.
That meant four goals in 11 first-half minutes - but even that could not have prepared any of the 47,017 crowd for what followed after the interval.
In the 68th minute Larsson was upended in the area and Donnelly scored from the spot. In the 70th minute Parkhead erupted as Burley's shot brushed Stefan Marasek and soared it to the top corner to make it 4-2.
But in the 81st-minute substitute Krinner's header left Gould with no chance with eight minutes of the pulsating clash remaining.
But Celtic roared forward and Danish international midfielder Wieghorst's strike proved decisive and with Burley's second goal on the whistle Wim Jansen had the last laugh.
Celtic: Gould, Boyd, Mahe, MacKay, Hannah, Donnelly, Burley, Wieghorst, O'Donnell (McNamara 56), Larsson, Thom (Stubbs 90). Subs Not Used: Marshall, Annoni, Gray, McKinlay, McLaughlin. Booked: Thom, Hannah. Goals: Burley 70, 90, Donnelly 34, 68 pen, Thom 44, Wieghorst 88.
FC Tirol Innsbruck: Tchertchessov (Weber 18), Tangen, Kirchler, Baur, Sebereyns, Brzeczek, Prudlo, Knavs (Jochum 78), Mayrleb, Marasek, Abou-El-Dhab. Subs Not Used: Krinner, Yilmaz, Aichner, Wazinger, Carisic. Booked: Marasek, Brzeczek. Goals: Krinner 82, Mayrleb 39, Sebereyns 45.
Referee: K Sisker (Denmark).
