- The Scottish champions produced a gritty defensive display against the Italians to boost hopes of progression to the next round of the Europa League.
- Reo Hatate was sent off in the first half having given Celtic the lead early on, with Auston Trusty also on the scoresheet before the Serie A side fought back.
Martin O’Neill hailed the ‘colossal spirit’ of his 10-man Celtic side after a precious point in a rollercoaster clash with Bologna boosted their hopes of reaching the Europa League knockout stage.
But the 73-year-old claimed his team would have won had Reo Hatate not been sent off in the first half for picking up two needless yellow cards in the space of three minutes.
Hatate gave Celtic an early lead after a howler from goalkeeper Lukasz Scorupski, only to be dismissed in the 34th minute for fouls on Lewis Ferguson and Juan Miranda before Austin Trusty put the visitors two up on the stroke of half-time.
Bologna used their numerical advantage to draw level through Thijs Dallinga and Jonathan Rowe, despite a backs-to-the wall performance by Celtic which delighted O’Neill.
Booked for protesting Hatate’s ‘harsh’ sending off by Greek referee Vasilis Fotias, the Northern Irishman said: ‘My own view is that if we had stayed with 11 men, we would have won the game.
‘The sending off had a major effect on the game. I thought we played brilliantly, got the goal and looked a really decent outfit — played some really great stuff.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill was thrilled to see his players dig deep to earn a priceless point
Reo Hatate was dismissed in the first period after being booked twice within three minutes
The midfielder was distraught as he left the field and apologised to his manager at full-time
‘I’ve seen the sending off back. Reo has caught the lad’s (Miranda) foot and maybe he should be a bit more careful having been booked. Even so, I thought it was pretty harsh and it put us on the back foot.’
Revealing Hatate had apologised afterwards, he said: ‘At half time he was waiting for me, and at the end of the game.
‘You have to be a bit careful. It looked as if even the ball was going out of play towards me at the time (when he committed the second foul). But I felt that the referee just couldn’t wait to get the yellow card out.
‘We spend all the second half defending. I thought the spirit they showed, the willingness to get blocks in and defend the penalty box was really splendid.’
O’Neill, whose side will now progress to the knockouts if they beat Utrecht in their final group game at Celtic Park next Thursday, said: ‘For us, it’s a different battle because of earlier results, but we’ve given ourselves a chance to get through and, from that viewpoint, I’m delighted.
‘Given the circumstances, absolutely (a point gained). We’re playing a good team trying to get into the top eight — naturally they’re going to put pressure on us.
‘We showed a great resilience. We have to win next Thursday, but even so, we’ve got a lot to think about before then.’
Celtic defender Auston Trusty played a crucial role in trying to keep Bologna at bay during a second-half onslaught and came in for special praise from O’Neill.
Auston Trusty was ‘magnificent’ in defence and also popped up with a crucial goal for his side
He said: ‘Trusty was magnificent. As he has been in my time here and I’m sure before that. I couldn’t give him any higher praise than the performance he put in. He was absolutely magnificent, as were the team.
‘He and (Liam ) Scales have been really, really great as a defensive two for me during the time that I’ve been here. Trusty epitomised the spirit of the team. It was colossal, really colossal.’
Trust told TNT Sports: ‘It was a tough ask but the team showed their true mentality. A shame not to get three points, but it’s a good point. Not much you can do other than sit back and weather the storm.
‘It’s something to build on. We’ve had a strange period, but this team is all about winning. We tied today, but that’s the mindset. We lost our way a little bit, and now we’re finding our way back.’
