Celtic frustrated at home by Kazakhs Kairat

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland at Celtic Park

Celtic's Champions League hopes hang very much in the balance after they were held to a goalless draw in Glasgow by enterprising Kazakh side Kairat.

The £40m bounty now lies at the end of a potentially hazardous road for Brendan Rodgers' side, with the Scottish champions facing a decisive second leg on Tuesday in Almaty, over 3,500 miles and several time zones away near the Chinese border.

The Celtic fans began chanting 'sack the board' midway through the second half, such was their displeasure not only with what they were seeing but with the lack of transfer activity ahead of such a season-defining tie.

And it could have been even worse for Rodgers' men, who watched on with relief as an early Kairat goal was disallowed for offside and then again when Edmilson floated a long-range effort just over the bar after a Cameron Carter-Vickers error.

What information do we collect from this quiz?

There was nearly an own goal near the end, too, as Celtic required some desperate last-ditch defending to keep Kairat at bay.

A first half injury to right-back Alastair Johnston - who left on a stretcher with what appeared to be a hamstring injury - seemed to set the tone for a night of frustration.

Celtic only started to look lively when winger Hyun-jun Yang came on at the interval for striker Adam Idah, with Daizen Maeda moved through the middle.

The Japanese striker had the best chance late on but Celtic failed to score at home for the first time in 47 matches.

And it means Kairat leave Glasgow feeling they have every chance to finish the job next week and take a place at the top table of European football.

Celtic analysis: Struggle for width and penetration

It was all too comfortable for Kairat for large chunks of this game.

Celtic tend to play right-sided players on the left and vice-versa. That means, more often than not, Maeda and James Forrest would cut inside to an already congested middle area of the final third.

The Kazakh visitors were very happy about that, apeing a set-up St Mirren used on flag day in the Premiership when only losing late on.

The lack of creativity and intensity in Celtic's display will have been a worry for Rodgers given what is at stake in these Champions League play-offs.

A lot was made of the need to take a cushion to Kazakhstan.

Edmilson comes close to breaking deadlock from halfway line

Celtic didn't really look like scoring in the first period. The half-time team talk did seem to make a difference, as did Yang's introduction, but the increase in intensity and energy didn't equate to the creation of many more chances.

Rodgers has made little secret of his desire for quality reinforcements to compensate for the departures of Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn and Greg Taylor and the long-term injury to Jota.

Celtic supporters agree that more players should have been signed and let the directors know exactly what they think of the inaction.

The club have gambled that there is enough in the current squad to qualify for the Champions League.

Rodgers agreed pre-match but says reinforcements will be needed if his side go further. Now he's faces a perilous journey - in more ways than one - to deliver progression to the competition proper and the accompanying riches that could bring him what he wants.

What they said

'We need to improve the squad' - Rodgers

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "We didn't start with the intent and mentality we wanted to. We were quite passive. We weren't moving as a team as we would like.

"The second half was better; we started well but couldn't find the breakthrough.

"I've been here before, having drawn 0-0 in a qualifier here - against Rosenborg, a very good team. We went there to qualify and we played very well and won. There's no doubt we can go there and win."

Celtic captain Callum McGregor: "The connections weren't quite there to get us through the middle. It's on us to go there and qualify now.

"We've still got another game. We know how much everyone wants it. It's our job to work [through the anxiety in the stadium] and keep playing."

'Celtic fans had a fear this was coming'

What's next for these teams?

Celtic host Livingston in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday (15:00 BST) before embarking on the long journey to Almaty for the return leg on Tuesday.

The city sits fewer than 400 miles from the border with China, so Celtic will be in the air for at least 10 hours and will cross multiple timezones before arriving at their destination.

Where next?

Player of the match

Jorginho
6.83
1 K. Schmeichel
4.84
63 K. Tierney
4.62
38 D. Maeda
4.28
5 L. Scales
4.25
20 C. Carter-Vickers
4.25
13 Yang Hyun-Jun
4.20
42 C. McGregor
4.17
8 B. Nygren
4.00
41 R. Hatate
3.96
2 A. Johnston
3.81
49 J. Forrest
3.80
27 A. Engels
3.61
56 A. Ralston
3.52
18 S. Yamada
3.47
6 A. Trusty
3.44
9 A. Idah
3.02
Back to team tabs

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

Related topics