Celtic stunned by Cluj's late rally to end Champion League dreams

• Celtic 3-4 CFR Cluj (Cluj win 5-4 on aggregate)

A sensational game ended with Celtic edged out of this Champions League third-round qualifier after splitting no fewer than nine goals with CFR Cluj. After falling behind to Ciprian Deac’s opener, Neil Lennon’s players retorted with strikes from James Forrest and Odsonne Edoaurd and got a third through Ryan Christie but were skewered by a double from Billel Omrani – one from the penalty spot and an injury time thrust of the dagger by George Tucudean – to be denied the group stage place they had craved.

When the first word of Lennon’s selection appeared on Celtic’s social media account, the buzz of debate was prompted by the changes from the side who ran up a 5-2 victory at Motherwell on Saturday. Half of the weekend outfield team – Boli Bolingoli, Nir Bitton, Christopher Jullien, Lewis Morgan and Leigh Griffiths – were on the bench, with Jozo Simunovic, Hatem Elhamed, Ryan Christie, Mikey Johnston and Edouard as their replacements.

Only Kris Ajer remained in defence from Fir Park, with Elhamed recovered from injury, Simunovic back from suspension and Callum McGregor switched to left-back to provide more dependable cover than Bolingoli, who was caught out when Mario Rondon scored in Romania and who is still adjusting to the burden of replacing Kieran Tierney.

Cluj, meanwhile, changed their line-up entirely from their weekend trip to Chindia, presumably in anticipation of the physical demands of the strategy Dan Petrescu had devised for the second instalment of this tie. Cluj pressed high from the start, depriving Celtic of the comfort of a leisurely build-up they had enjoyed in their opening domestic fixtures.

The ploy evoked memories of Graeme Murty’s tactics when, as caretaker manager of Rangers, he twice quarried improbable draws against Celtic in the East End of Glasgow. The first sign of disruption was posted by the Cluj captain, Camora, when he met a throw-in with a wicked half-volley which was taken by the grateful Scott Bain.

Almost immediately, Mario Rondon should have been on target from a cross from the left, but the unmarked striker stumbled and fell, trying to cover his embarrassment by claiming a push from an invisible opponent. Celtic were not without their moments but their play lacked its customary tempo and co-ordination and the growing murmurs of concern from the near-capacity crowd were to prove well-founded just before the half hour when yet another cross into the Celtic box was not cut out before it reached Deac, whose header arced beyond Bain.

It was a morose home support who spent the interval grumbling about their team’s lack of menace and their manager’s selection. Celtic’s reappearance, several minutes ahead of their opponents, suggested that few words, of the short variety, had been uttered in the dressing room.

Sure enough, it was a transformed home side who broke from the traps at the restart. Immediate pressure yielded two corner kicks and, from Ryan Christie’s delivery, Ajer and Simunovic each saw headers cleared off the goal line. The breakthrough, though, was imminent and it came when Edouard dummied a pass from McGregor for Forrest to take a touch and beat Giedrius Ariauskis for an equaliser which triggered volcanic relief amongst the green and white ranks in the stands.

That was supplanted by euphoria when Edouard gathered a prompt from Elhamed for a drive which put Celtic ahead. The twists of fate had yet to run their course and it was a stunned assembly who realised that the referee had blown for handball against Brown inside the box, for a penalty kick converted by Omrani.

Celtic’s extraordinary resilience, however, was personified by Christie as he skipped on to Edouard’s pass for a stabbed shot to restore their lead with 16 minutes left.

It almost defied belief that Cluj could tip the scales again, yet  they did just that when Bain beat out an effort from Constantin Paun but was thwarted when the rebound fell to the unmarked Omrani. Six minutes of injury time offered a scrap of hope, which was devoured by Tucudean when he lobbed over Bain with the last kick of a fevered contest.