Celtic relief after Hapoel Beer Sheva give the Bhoys a scare

Despite losing 2-0 on the night, Celtic sneaked into the group stages of the Champions League 5-4 on aggregate - but they were given an almighty fright by an enterprising Hapoel Beer Sheva.

In a raucous, bouncing Turner Stadium, Hapoel flew at Celtic from the start, causing particular trouble down their left side, giving Saidy Janko a deeply unpleasant evening.

And it was Janko who was partly responsible for the penalty his side conceded after 14 minutes. A flowing move took the ball from right to left, some neat, one-touch interplay ushered Davidzada towards the box, and Janko upended him.

Most likely, the challenge came just outside before the line, but in the end it didn't matter - Radi lashed his effort at a saveable height, nowhere near the corner, and Craig Gordon went the right way, beating it away with relative ease.

But seven minutes later, Hapoel were ahead on the night. 90 seconds after replacing Lucio Maranhao, Ben Sahar, formerly of Chelsea, leapt earliest and highest to meet Maharan Radi's corner and send a very decent header into the net.

And Hapoel kept at it, well on top for the remainder of the half, such that there seemed no prospect of Celtic playing quite as badly in the second period.

Except Celtic did play precisely as badly in the second period, conceding again after 48 minutes when Gordon somehow collided with Janko, spilling a ball he'd caught easily which allowed Hoban to tap home from close range. One more goal, and Hapoel were through.

Although Hapoel dominated the remainder of the game and created many dangerous situations, they could not create much in the way of clear-cut chances, particularly when Celtic switched to three at the back. But, though the Celtic fans and players were elated at the final whistle, Brendan Rodgers needs to take a more sober look at how his team could be so poor both tonight and against Lincoln Red Imps in the previous round.

Why were Celtic so bad? There is no excuse for how awful Celtic were tonight; every single aspect of their performance was substandard, more or less for 90 minutes straight. Were this a one-off, it could be ignored in the context of qualification, but given that it has happened twice in two away games, they need to think about how they approach these games before they are done a serious mischief by a team superior to Hapoel or Lincoln Red Imps.

Anthony Nwakaeme (Hapoel): This could have gone to any number of Hapoel players, but Nwakaeme was a constant menace, holding the ball up, bringing others into play with deft short passes and elegant switches, and generally refusing to allow his markers a moment's respite.

Hapoel Beer Sheva: Goresh 6; Bitton 8, Miguel Vitor 7, Tzedek 7, Davidzada 7; Radi 7, Ogi 7, Hoban 8; Melikson 8, Lucio Maranhao 6, Nwakaeme 8. Subs: Buzaglo 8, Sahar 7, Shabtai 6.

Celtic: Gordon 5, Janko 3, Lustig 7, Toure 5, Tierney 5; Bitton 6, Brown 5, McGregor 4, Sinclair 6, Forrest 5, Griffiths 5. Subs: Rogic 5, Dembele 6, Sviatchenko 6.

2' - SHOT! Davidzada shimmies inside onto his right foot and finds Hoban, who drives a low shot that Gordon saves easily enough.

14' - PENALTY! Lovely move from Hapoel, starting wide on the right and moving through the middle to inside left. A quick exchange of passes around the box, and Janko is late on Davidzada right on the edge. It's probably outside, on reflection, but there was no need to make the challenge in that way and the ref points to the spot, then books Janko for good measure.

15' - SAVE! GORDON SAVES RADI'S PENALTY! He smashes it low and hard, but nowhere near the bottom-left corner for which he's aiming, and it's actually a fairly easy save, he said churlishly.

21' - GOAL! HAPOEL BE'ER SHEVA 1-0 CELTIC (SAHAR) (AGG 5-3). Radi's corner is a decent one, swinging away towards the penalty spot. Sahar is up early, hanging on top of Brown, and he leans back well to powerguide a header towards the bottom-right corner, where neither Gordon nor McGregor can keep it out. What a first touch! Game on!

25' - CHANCE! Hapoel are moving ball really quickly, looking for switches but also one-touch stuff around the box. Melikson tries a long ball to Sahar, cutting in from inside-left, and he gets a run on Janko, who isn't really paying attention. He chests down, but the touch takes him wide, and his shot doesn't bother Gordon.

35' - SAVE! Janko goes down the right and crosses towards the near post. His ball is slightly behind Sinclair, who contorts well, attempting to guide it in at the far post. But he doesn't get a fine enough connection, and Goresh saves easily.

41' - CHANCE! Again, Hapoel target Janko's flank, Buzaglo nashing down the left and cutting back for Nwakaeme. His shot is placed with the instep rather than zetzed with the laces, and Brown deflects it behind for a corner which comes to nothing.

48' - GOAL! HAPOEL BE'ER SHEVA 2-0 CELTIC (HOBAN) (AGG 4-5) Oh my! This is so very, very awful! Bitton crosses from the right, it's travelling so slowly it's almost going backwards, and Gordon claims it after the bounce, but tentatively. He bumps into Janko when he should clean him out, drops the ball, and Hoban, behind him, taps in from a yard. The turner is absolutely bouncing! Celtic are rocking!

60' - CLOSE! At last, Celtic muster an attack. Rogic slides a pass for Dembele and at inside-left, he unleashes a curler that flashes just wide of the far post. That was very close indeed - from the camera's angle, or my perception of it at least, it looked like it was going in.

68' - CHANCE! Hapoel haven't created much these last ten minutes, but then Nwakaeme drills a delicious crossfield ball for Bitton, whose cross is deflected behind by Brown. and Radi's corner is a good one, flashing across the box without anyone making contact. But Hapoel recover possession and another cross comes in, this time from the left, picking out Miguel Vitor at the back post. He's up hard, above and ahead of Janko, heading across for Hoban, who flies into a scissors kick that's only just wide. Great stuff!

72' - CLOSE! Another right-wing corner for Hapoel, Buzaglo with it, and when it's headed clear, Buzaglo, just outside the box, has a long time to line up his volley, getting his hip above the ball and his toes down. But, though he gets a good connection, it's not quite good enough, and he hits his shot straight at Gordon.

84' - CHANCE! Sahar gets in behind Lustig! He's on the byline with time, lots of it! But he snatches at the ball, sending a looping whack beyond everyone, and Tierney clumps it behind; the corner comes to nowt.