Celtic take giant step forward

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND, FIRST LEG/MTK Hungaria 0...Celtic 4 Celtic took a massive step towards the group stages of the Champions League by romping to an impressive win over MTK Hungaria in Budapest.

Henrik Larsson, Didier Agathe, Stilian Petrov and Chris Sutton provided the goals that allow the Hoops to head into the second leg of the third round qualifier at Parkhead with a great opportunity to progres.

The signs had not looked too promising for Celtic heading into this game - they were dealt a blow before the tie when Johan Mjallby was ruled out with the knee injury picked up in Saturday's SPL opener against Dunfermline.

Martin O'Neill's men quickly set about trying to find the away goal he so desperately craved. MTK had looked strong to begin with, with striker Welton Santos looking dangerous, but the difference between the teams in the first half was they failed to take their chances whereas Celtic did.

Larsson had already equalled the record held by Ian Rush and Peter Lorimer for the most European goals scored for a British club and he made the record his own when he fired home his 31st.

With 16 minutes on the clock, the prolific Swede met a Paul Lambert header and Roland Juhasz and Oliver Pusztai both failed to clear the danger, allowing the striker to lob goalkeeper Zoltan Vegh.

O'Neill's joy at Larsson's opener quickly turned to physical pain when he leaped off his seat to celebrate and smacked his head on the roof of the dug-out. Treatment from the team doctor was required but O'Neill's attention quickly returned to the action on the field.

Agathe had been quoted in France Football recently saying the SPL no longer excited him and that only European nights held any interest for him now. He showed plenty of interest in last night's tie when he joined Larsson on the scoresheet.

A Stilian Petrov ball into the path of Chris Sutton allowed the striker to produce an impressive shot only for the effort to be parried by Vegh. But his clearance only got as far as Agathe and all the pacy winger had to do was to tap home from six yards out.

The game was halted for a couple of minutes after the interval when a fault in the sprinkler system led to a fountain of water spurting all over the pitch, providing a moment's respite for both sets of players in the smouldering heat of the Ferenc Puskas Stadion.

On the resumption, after a period of MTK pressure, Celtic surged up the park and netted their third goal. Thomson showed great skill to surge into the area from the left wing only for Vegh to block his shot at the near post. The ball fell to Petrov, who rounded Gabor Halmai, before slotting home.

Celtic saved the best for last when Sutton produced a fine diving header from a Larsson pass to nod the ball into the back of the net in the final minute.

O'Neill was delighted with the result: "I wanted the tie still to be alive for the game at Parkhead and, if pushed, I would have said I was willing to settle for a score draw or even not getting beat beforehand - this is obviously even better than we had hoped."

Glasgow neighbours Rangers, however, face a fraught trip to Copenhagen in a fortnight's time as their Champions League dream faces the harsh prospect of turning into a nightmare.

The Scots failed miserably to make home advantage pay against the Danes to make matters worse, conceded a costly away goal in a 1-1 draw. Peter Lovenkrand put them in front after seven minutes but Todi Jonsson equalised after 51 minutes.

MTK HUNGARIA: Vegh, Molnar (Pisont 70), Juhasz, Pusztai, Suzi, Zavadszky, Halmai, Jezdimirovics (Torghelle 24), Rednic (Szabo 63), W Silva, Illes. Subs Not Used: Kovacs, Zabos, Czvitkovics, Pandur. Booked: Molnar, Pusztai.

CELTIC: Douglas, Valgaeren, Balde (Crainey 79), Varga, Agathe (Sylla 76), Lennon, Lambert, Petrov (Miller 76), Thompson, Sutton, Larsson. Subs Not Used: Hedman, McNamara, Maloney, Smith. Booked: Balde. Goals: Larsson 16, Agathe 35, Petrov 68, Sutton 90.

Referee: K Nielsen (Denmark)