CALLUM McGREGOR believes Celtic made a point against Shakhtar Donetsk in Warsaw last night.
It was just a pity it wasn’t three.
Ange Postecoglou’s side passed up a procession of opportunities in their Champions League confrontation against the Ukrainians and didn’t make the most of their 10th-minute springboard when they claimed the breakthrough strike.
Kyogo Furuhahashi, sent clear following an astute through pass from Matt O’Riley, had been denied in exactly one minute and 10 seconds by the keeper who diverted the Japanese striker’s crisply-delivered first-timer for a corner-kick.
DENIED…Kyogo Furuhashi’s close-range shot is deflected for a corner by the left boot of keeper Anatolyi Trubin.
It didn’t take long before Reo Hatate’s angled effort took a nudge off defender Artem Bondarenko on its way past Anatolyi Trubin to get the ball rolling.
The Hoops dominated a fair percentage of te remaining 90 minutes-plus, but failed to add to the early opener and had to reluctantly accept a solitary point for their efforts after the pacy Mykhail Mudryk had whipped in a leveller in a lightning counter-attack just before the half-hour mark.
Chances came and went as the Scottish champions dictated the flow of the contest for almost the entire second-half, but the lack of a killer touch cost them a well-deserved away-day success.
BREAKTHROUGH…Reo Hatate watches as his angled drive is diverted into the Ukrainians’ net.
Skipper McGregor said: “We spoke about it as a group before the match that we want to arrive and the only way to do that is to get points in the group.
“A point is a good result when you come here. Obviously, the home fixtures will always be important, but getting something on the board was really vital, too, and another stage for us to go a little bit more.
“That will give us another bit to believe we can get something in the group.”
McGregor, speaking to the Glasgow Times, added: “To come and play so well here, the only 15-minute spell before half-time we had to dig in and be resilient and get through that period in the game.
“But I thought second-half we were really good and created four or five big chances.
“The next stage for the group is to put one of those away and win the game, but this gives us belief and hopefully that will be there in the games to come.
FRUSTRATION…Ange Postecoglou reacts to another Celtic miss.
“It shows you how well we played and the mentality of the group that they do believe they can do something in the group.
“It’s just another little marker we can work towards and hopefully the next round of fixtures we can go and get that win.”
Postecoglou’s side have rattled in 29 goals in seven domestic outings, but no Celtic players has scored in two Champions League outings with the team losing 3-0 to Real Madrid last week.
It’s an intriguing statistic that the Hoops will be doing their best to address when they face RB Leipzig in their vitally-important double-header in Europe’s elite competition next month.
POINT TAKEN – BUT IT’S DEADLOCK DESPAIR
