Martin O’Neill hailed Auston Trusty for settling Celtic’s nerves with the towering header that ensured they qualified for the Europa League knockout play-off round.
The Parkhead side needed victory to seal their passage and were three-nil up after a blistering opening 20 minutes, with former Celtic keeper Vasilis Barkas culpable for the first two.
However, Dutch visitors Utrecht reduced the deficit to one with goals either side of half-time, and anxious home fans breathed a sigh of relief as defender Trusty rose highest at a corner from Arne Engels to nod the home side out of sight for a 4-2 win.
It was a happier end to the week for the American, after the club lost their appeal against his contentious red card in the 2-2 draw with Hearts at Tynecastle.
Looking ahead to today’s draw, which will see Celtic play either Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros or Stuttgart for a place in the last 16, manager O’Neill said: ‘It was nice, we played really strongly for the first 20 minutes and got ourselves in front, a couple of great goals, then it got a little bit nervy when we went to 3-2, but Trusty scored a great header.
‘Over the last couple of weeks we have shown great resilience, going down to ten men for 60 minutes (against Bologna), then down to ten for 25 minutes in the game (against Hearts). I didn’t make that many changes, so we went again, and got our rewards.
Trusty roars with delight after scoring the all-important fourth goal for Celtic
Trusty rises highest from Arne Engels’ corner to power home a wonderful header
Martin O’Neill’s side will now face either Ferencvaros or Stuttgart in the play-off round
‘I’m just glad (to be in the draw) and, after a number of games, we would have got long odds on that, but the players have done brilliantly. The win at Feyenoord and last Thursday at Bologna counted for something. The last thing you want is a great performance and it counts for nothing.’
Asked how the club were faring as they look to bring in new recruits ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline, O’Neill added: ‘We are making progress and I think we can move it along in the next couple of days. You are trying to look for a bit of quality that might supplement the squad, and that’s what we are trying to do. I can never guarantee anything, but I’m very, very hopeful.’
Skipper Callum McGregor said: ‘We knew the objective was to win . Overall it’s been a decent campaign, one or two results put us up against it, but when the pressure was on, we delivered. The mentality has been amazing. The boys were really hungry to dig ourselves out of the hole we were in (under previous boss Wilfried Nancy) and, even when it gets to 3-2 tonight, Arne’s set piece and Auston’s header takes the sting out of it.’
Asked how confident he was that the club will bring in new players, McGregor said: ‘We trust the club to get the players that the manager and the staff want, but the players that are here are working ever so hard.’
Celtic have targeted a double swoop for French winger Fares Ghedjemis and Hungarian forward Damir Redzic.
Former Celtic defender Vasilis Barkas never looked confident on his return to Parkhead
Engels and Trusty share a hug after they combined for the fourth goal in 4-2 victory
Benjamin Nygren gave Celtic an early lead before they went three-up after 20 minutes
Ghedjemis, a pacy 23-year-old who plays for Italian second division side Frosinone, is believed to be keen on moving to Glasgow, with talks said to be at an advanced stage.
Redzic, 22, plays for Slovak side DAC Dunajska Streda, but also has an offer from RB Salzburg.
Celtic remain in negotiations with his club as they look to bolster their squad ahead of the transfer window closing.
On Wednesday, O’Neill admitted he was looking to bring three fresh faces into the squad. So far this month, Celtic have only signed two players on loan – Julian Araujo and Tomas Cvancara.
