Celtic 0-0 FC Kairat result - Brendan Rodgers frustrated as Kazakh underdogs hold Scottish champions in UEFA Champions League play-off

Celtic’s hopes of reaching the league phase of the UEFA Champions League hang in the balance after a frustrating first leg of their play-off against FC Kairat on Wednesday evening.

The visitors from Kazakhstan proved extremely tough to break down on a disappointing night for the home fans at Celtic Park, with Brendan Rodgers’ side dominating possession but managing just three attempts on target in the match.

James Forrest went closest to unlocking Kairat when he saw his shot tipped onto the post at the start of the second half, but a disappointing evening for the home side came at a further cost, with full-back Alistair Johnston picking up what looked like a serious hamstring injury and taken from the field on a stretcher.

Kairat defended resolutely and created some openings themselves, particularly in a lively first 20 minutes, but have concerns of their own, losing their goalkeeper to injury in the second half and seeing Chelsea-bound star forward Dastan Satpaev, 17, pick up a late booking that rules him out of the second leg through suspension.

The Scottish champions will now need to overcome their hosts in Kazakhstan if they are to qualify for the top tier of Europe's club competition, with the beaten side in the second leg dropping down into the UEFA Europa League.

Brendan Rodgers was clear about where he thinks his team slipped up tonight - in a first half that was nowhere near the standard he expects from his team.

"When you play at home at this stage and this level, you want to take an advantage. We didn’t do that," he told TNT Sports. "But I’ve also been here before. We drew 0-0 with Rosenborg here a few years back and went on and played really well in the away leg, so we’re going to have to do that.

"Sometimes it happens. Sometimes you can overthink it."

Rodgers also spoke to TNT Sports about Celtic’s need for signings in the transfer window, but stopped short of openly supporting the fans in their criticism of the board’s lack of spending.

That huge game in Kazakhstan next Tuesday will be live on TNT Sports, with kick-off at 17:45 UK time.

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Callum McGregor was pretty succinct in explaining the task that awaits Celtic next week in Kazakhstan.

The Celtic captain spoke to TNT Sports after tonight’s game and highlighted his team’s lack of sharpness and pacy passing in the first half as the big disappointment of the evening.

A daunting trip to east Kazakhstan awaits Celtic next week, and they have serious work to do in the tie after being frustrated by FC Kairat tonight.

The city of Almaty, where Kairat play, is more than 5,500km away, and would have been a test for Celtic even if they had been comfortable in the tie. But now their European fate rests on their performance in a city that is further east than Mumbai.

The prize of a place in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League awaits the winner of the second leg.

The final whistle goes and the handful of Kairat fans celebrate a fantastic result, holding Scottish champions Celtic goalless in the first leg of this UEFA Champions League play-off. There are 90 huge minutes to come in Kazakhstan next week to decide Celtic’s European fate.

That could be crucial! Satpaev stops Celtic taking a quick free-kick in the last seconds of the match and the teenage star receives a booking that will keep him out of the second leg. He screams at the sky in frustration at his mistake.

Kairat make a rare mistake at the back and Maeda looks like he's in. The last defender comes across to force him to shoot slightly earlier than ideal, but he still should do better than a tame effort that rolls straight to the keeper. That was the chance Celtic have been waiting for!

The ball drops to Hatate on the edge of the box, but he is met by a wall of yellow and black the second he lifts his boot to shoot and his shot is bravely blocked. Kairat clear the follow-up too and it remains goalless.

The clock ticks down as Celtic huff and puff, striving for a late goal to give them the edge in this play-off. But Kairat are camped in their defensive shape now, and continue to frustrate.

The visitors get all their big guys up in the box after winning a free-kick in a dangerous area out on their right flank, but the cross is poor.

The board goes up and there will be ten minutes added on at the end of this game – an announcement that is met with a roar from the home crowd. That’s probably an accurate reflection of what we’ve seen in this second half, with a number of lengthy stoppages.

Anarbekov has been patched up with a bandage to the head and what looks like a swimcap on top. It’s a fetching look, but he can carry on.

The replacement Kairat goalkeeper comes out and claims the ball ahead of Shin, and catches the knee of the Celtic substitute as he slides through. The Celtic fans are furious as they think there’s play-acting going on. But once again this is a genuine injury – in fact, blood is pouring from the head of the substitute keeper and the referee waves for the medical team to come on and provide treatment. Shin protests his innocence, and rightly so, there was no intention there, it was simply an unfortunate accident. Kairat’s third-choice stopper puffs out his cheeks on the bench, concerned that he might be called upon…

Crosses rain in from both flanks as Celtic push hard for a goal to unlock Kairat and get them a lead to take to Kazakhstan. But still it won’t come, and on the highlights there will be a handful of really dangerous moments from the visitors to remind all of how close Kairat have come to stealing this too.

Kairat win a corner and the delivery is excellent, dropping in the perfect spot. It’s a Celtic boot that gets to it first and the ball loops up, hanging for what seems like an age before dropping into the hands of Schmeichel as he grateful claims on the line. That could so easily have been a goal and the Kairat players react in a manner that suggests they know how close they were to getting the vital touch.

Engels gets down the outside on the right and cuts a low cross into the box, but Kairat’s covering defence continues to frustrate and the ball is turned behind. Once again the corner comes to nothing. Surely this pressure will finally tell? Surely.

Trusty and Shin come on for Tierney and Nygren as Celtic turn to fresh legs to try and unlock the visitors.

Zarutskiy was genuinely hurt and is replaced by Anarbekov.

Zarutskiy fell awkwardly after trying (successfully as it turned out) to put Scales off with that chance. He receives lengthy treatment and the substitute keeper is on the touchline ready to replace him. There is an awful lot of frustration in the home stands as it looks like he could be wasting time, but is he injured here? He’s shown from the field of play and hobbles around the side of the pitch.