Celtic grab away goal in quest for Champions League group stage
Celtic appear to have taken advantage of their European reprieve with a well-deserved 1-1 draw against Maribor in the first leg of their Champions League play-off in Slovenia.
Legia Warsaw had beaten the Hoops 6-1 on aggregate in the third qualifier but were effectively dumped out of the competition by UEFA for bringing on a player who should have been suspended in the second leg at Murrayfield, which left Ronny Deila's side facing the Slovenian champions.
Callum McGregor shot the visitors into the lead in the sixth minute, only to see his fourth goal in seven games cancelled out by Damjan Bohar.
Hoops skipper Charlie Mulgrew and defender Virgil van Dijk came close before the interval as the Scottish champions showed a marked improvement on their Legia performances.
Maribor came out with more purpose at the start of the second half in the Ldjuski vrt stadium but the Hoops held firm and indeed Stefan Johansen passed up a great chance to win the game when he stumbled when he was right through - but nevertheless they are in the box seat going into the second leg at Celtic Park next Tuesday.
