HIS first Champions League experience as Celtic manager was extraordinary and absolutely shocking.
So too was his LASK.
It was an embarrassing night for Celtic Credit: Reuters
LASK produced an incredible comeback in Austria Credit: Getty
Martin O’Neill couldn’t believe his eyes in an infamous defeat to Juventus 25 years ago which left him utterly disgusted.
But it was nothing to what he witnessed here in Austria last night in one of the most incredible European exists the game has ever seen.
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Celtic were 4-0 up in this tie with 21 minutes the clock in this second-leg.
Callum McGregor scored a goal that should have ensured trips to places like the Nou Camp, the Bernabeu and Alliance Arena.
Instead, though, O’Neill’s side contrived to throw away that advantage to crash out of the competition in shame with one goal after another flying into their net.
It was embarrassing, pathetic, utterly astonishing how a team could end up losing a game they were in such control of.
O’Neill has never looked as physically and emotionally drained as he did when this was all over.
For 120-odd minutes he’d paced up and down the touchline, virtually kicking every ball.
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If the fourth official spoke to him once about stepping out of his designated area, he did it a hundred times.
But the Polish official was wasting his breath.
O’Neill couldn’t have sat down in the dugout had his life depended on it.
But the way his own team put him through the wringer was just incredible.
He’d said all the right things in the build-up.
From the second last week’s first-leg was over, he was telling anyone who’d listen that the tie wasn’t over.
That there was no way in the world his team would be taking anything for granted against a very good Austrian outfit.
But deep down he knew that his team could only throw this away.
Celtic were cruising.
They were so far ahead of LASK st one stage, they were virtually out of sight.
It should have been a stroll in the park after skipper Callum McGregor fired them ahead after 21 minutes.
They had to keep it tight for the first 20 minutes. And they did. Just.
LASK bombarded O’Neill’s defence early on.
They had shots blocked. Defender Andres Andrade hit the post.
But worse was to come for him because just seconds later he was turning the ball into the back of his own net as he attempted to block McGregor’s shot.
That was the moment Celtic took another huge step towards the big time.
Or so it seemed.
Celtic’s players thought it was done. It just felt utterly unthinkable that they could waste a 4-0 aggregate lead.
But LASK were then given hope again when it seemed there was none.
Benjamin Nygren? What the hell was he thinking.
The blind pass-back he played to goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo was just awful. Inexplicable.
In fact, it was unforgivable.
Moses Usor couldn’t believe his luck as he ran through to score.
Suddenly Celtic had work to do.
They still had a three-goal lead and yet LASK were back believing again.
The odds were still stacked again them but you wouldn’t have known it going by the way their mad fans balked encouragement at their heroes from that moment on.
Shooting towards their vocal ultras in the second-half also seemed to them an extra yard.
O’Neill could have emphasised the importance of keeping it tight again immediately after the restart and making sure the home side weren’t given any more encouragement.
But that was easier said than done.
LASK’s second goal of the night came after 48 minutes and at that stage anything felt possible.
It was frantic football with Celtic unable to take the sting out of the game when they really needed to.
LASK just wouldn’t let up and when they scored their third the pressure on Scotland’s champions was extraordinary.
Samuel Adeniran is a big powerful centre forward who out himself about but his strike past Sinisalo from outside the box was sensational.
He just shouldn’t have been allowed the time and space to pick his spot and get his shot away.
It was backs to the wall now.
McGregor bawled at his team-mates to try and get them to waken up, Kasper Hogh also rallying everyone together.
High up in the stand, the 1500 away fans could barely watch.
LASK almost levelled the tie at 4-4 after 70 minutes with Adeniran firing off a shot which came back odd the crossbar. Next their skipper Sascha Horvath brought a vital save from Sinisalo.
O’Neill made changes to shore it up as best he could, centre-backs Liam Scales and Dane Murray taking over from Kieran Tierney and Colby Donovan.
But LASK couldn’t be stopped.
In the 90th minute, Florian Flecker scored their fourth of the night to level the tie to take it into extra-time.
There was even a dramatic VAR check before it was confirmed he was onside after he pounced on a sensational initial save from Sinisalo.
The roar from the home fans when 2022 World Cup final ref Szymon Marciniak pointed to the centre circle almost blew the roof off the place.
LASK had put so much into their comeback they looked shattered from then on – but with 109 minutes on the clock they scored yet again.
Luke McCowan was culpable this time.
The diehard Celtic supporter won the ball initially but took far too long on it and got robbed with Adeniran beating Sinisalo from distance again.
It was done. Celtic had blown it.
The big USA striker was even able to miss a late, late penalty conceded by Reo Hatate.
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