Celtic secured a place in the Champions League play offs thanks to two penalties tonight against Asanta who ended the game with nine men on the pitch. The loss of the two players at the end of the game did not provide the home side with much advantage. Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele, with his first goal for Celtic, were the penalty convertors.
The third qualifying tie had swung towards Brendan Rodgers' side after the 1-1 draw in Kazakhstan with striker Griffiths, who levelled in the Astana Arena, scoring from the spot on the stroke of half-time before the visitors substitute Agim Ibraimi equalised with an opportunist long-range effort. However, in stoppage time, French forward Dembele, on for James Forrest, slammed in a penalty after he had been tripped by Igor Shitov, who was sent packing by Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs for a second booking, with Dmitri Shomko following him amid the mayhem. It was a crazy end to the game but the Scottish Champions go into Friday's play-off draw looking for a favourable tie which will see them into the competition proper for the first time in three seasons.