Celtic put every body part on line in Bologna as 36 Europa League shots fired

My goodness were the Scottish champions made to fight for a 2-2 draw against strong Serie A opposition. Celtic played more than an hour with ten men and in a season where their minerals have been questioned, they put in a defiant performance.

Leading 2-0 at the break, they faced an onslaught from the Italians, captained by Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson. The hosts fired 36 shots at the Celtic goal. Only two managed to get past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. Celtic’s defence, led by man of the match Auston Trusty, withstood wave after wave of Italian pressure.

It was akin to Celtic’s last visit to Italy, when they drew 0-0 in a Champions League assignment against Atalanta. That night, they kept a clean sheet but had their full complement of players. And that night, it was Trusty and Liam Scales manning the backline with Cameron Carter-Vickers absent. The duo shone once more.

Reo Hatate’s stupid sending off for two bookings within three minutes of each other gave Celtic an almighty task. The Japanese midfielder had earned Celtic an early lead but blotted his copybook with acts of ill-discipline. The second yellow card, for petulant trip on Juan Miranda on 34 minutes, was particularly needless.

Celtic did pinch a second goal just before half time when Trusty stabbed home via the crossbar from a Celtic corner kick. They needed the extra breathing space. Bologna had 84 per cent of the ball in the second half and prodded away at the visitors’ backline. It was a triumph only to concede twice. Ably assisted by full-backs Colby Donovan and Kieran Tierney, Trusty and Scales tackled and blocked like soldiers defending a castle. The American took one cross square in the crotch late on. Bodies on the line everywhere.

Celtic will take this draw

Thijs Dallinga (58) and the menacing Jonathan Rowe (72) did find the net. When the English winger’s effort beat an unsighted Schmeichel to level matters, one feared for Celtic. They simply dug deeper. Bologna ran out of ideas but it won’t cost them. They are assured a play-off place and Celtic, now, could well join them.

A win next Thursday night against already eliminated Dutch side FC Utrecht will move them on to 11 points and that should be enough for progression. Given their travails under three different managers, Celtic will take that.

The one downside for caretaker manager Martin O’Neill will be such a draining evening less than 72 hours before facing Premiership leaders Hearts at Tynecastle. Sunday’s game is likely to have a hefty bearing on the Scottish title race. Forward Daizen Maeda ran himself into the ground. Captain Callum McGregor shuttled across his defence all night long. Weary legs will have boarded the plane back to Glasgow.

But what will hearten O’Neill - and Celtic fans - is the spirit and determination, the organisation and robustness of the team. Two goals won’t hurt confidence levels either, even if the opener was gifted by Bologna keeper Lukasz Skorupski with an errant pass and the second came from a set piece.

O’Neill has already banished some ghosts of Wilfried Nancy’s brief yet ill-fated tenure. Two more matches in January remain. Positive results against Hearts and Utrecht will set the tone for the rest of Celtic’s season.