Martin O’Neill delivered a little piece of history in what will surely be his final European fixture as a manager. He created such wonderful memories for Celtic’s support in this domain during his first tenure that departing with a smile felt appropriate. In Stuttgart, Celtic won their first competitive game in Germany. It took them 17 attempts. “The evening is nothing to do with me,” said O’Neill with needless self deprecation.
Luke McCowan’s goal after 33 seconds was irrelevant in the broader context of this tie. Stuttgart’s 4-1 canter in Glasgow a week earlier ensured that. Still, a game that had the whiff of irrelevance for Celtic delivered unexpected cheer. The statistics will show Stuttgart spent much of the evening camped in Celtic’s half – the hosts had 25 attempts at goal – but the Scottish champions played with a diligence and discipline that is worthy of huge credit. Sebastian Tounekti should even have delivered a second Celtic goal in the closing minutes. By then, Stuttgart were going through the motions.
There had appeared little to excite both sets of players. Not only were Stuttgart essentially sure of progression but their current position of fourth in the Bundesliga invited a sense of bigger fish to fry. Celtic head to Ibrox on Sunday, at the start of a spell that will define their domestic season. O’Neill unsurprisingly changed eight players from the weekend loss to Hibernian.
