BRENDAN RODGERS bemoaned the lack of quality as Celtic’s Champions League aspirations took a nosedive in Kazakhstan.
The Hoops failed to score a goal in 210 minutes against Kairat Almaty in their £40million play-off and compounded the misery with three wretched identical penalty-kicks from Adam Idah, Luke McCowan and Daizen Maeda in the shoot-out.
It was a particularly frustrating evening for the Japanese striker who blew a superb chance to settle the game four minutes from the end of regulation time last night.
THE FALL GUY…Daizen Maeda is down and out after his miss near the end in Kazakhstan.
The speedster was sent racing clear in a one v one with the advancing keeper before recklessly blazing the ball high over the crossbar. It was a calamitous miss and the hosts realised they had been thrown a lifeline.
They grabbed it – and the place in the lucrative next stage of Europe’s most prestigious competition – by winning 3-2 on penalty-kicks. Celtic, of course, now drop into the Europa League.
But it should have been so different in two ties against a team rated 311th in the Europa rankings.
Rodgers lamented: “We had a really big opportunity in these two games, but if you don’t score the goals, which we haven’t done over the two games, then Kairat, with the greatest respect, are playing for that moment at the end.
“So, congratulations to them. They’re through but, of course, we’re hugely disappointed.
“Over the two games, really disappointed with the first-half of the first game. We wanted to take a lead with us, but we didn’t play well enough and show enough quality and the things you need to do to win the game.
DISAPPOINTED…Brendan Rodgers can’t hide his frustration. Image courtesy Celtic TV.
“The pitch was very difficult and I think you saw the quality of the football was at a really low level.
“But we still had chances and didn’t take, and when you don’t, you run the risk of going to penalties, Sadly for us, it’s another tie that we’ve lost on penalties.”
Rodgers, speaking to Celtic TV, added: “This is bitterly disappointing and however it went on this occasion, it was always going to be a big game for us at the weekend, so there’s not a lot you can say to the players now.
“They’re hugely disappointed.
“There was lots of endeavour, lots of honesty in the performance, but we just didn’t have that bit of quality to break them down.
“We’ll just have to get ourselves ready now because it’s a huge game for us on Sunday.”
