IF it takes a nerve-shredding stoppage time win against Kakazh opposition to reach the Champions League group stages then so be it. That was the formula Celtic required the last time they made it to the promised land of European football, when they relied on an injury time winner from James Forrest to overcome Shakhter Karagandy in 2013, and there was more of the same on a riotous evening at Parkhead last night.
This time it was Moussa Dembele who popped up in the first minute of injury time to open his Parkhead account by steering in the penalty which spared everyone the chore of extra time.
The only problem with this year, rather than 2013, is that Brendan Rodgers side still have another round to negotiate. Waiting for them is either Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Ludogorets, Dinamo Zagreb, FC Copenhagen or plucky little Dundalk.
READ MORE: Celtic v Astana: Celtic man-by-man ratings
Whether it was a random act of charity or an instruction from his manager or captain, not everyone in Parkhead last night might have agreed when Griffiths passed the ball to Dembele when the clock had just struck 90 minutes. Celtic's usual talisman, after all, had converted a similarly pressure-laden kick in added time at the end of the first half, making good on his manager's claim that he would be worth £15m if he had a Latino-sounding name.
READ MORE: Memorable night for Celtic faithful but praise must got to Leigh Griffiths
Substitute Dembele had at least earned the spot kick himself, winning the ball out wide and working a one-two with Griffiths before being sent crashing to earth by Igor Shitov.
The Frenchman could have had plenty to answer for if he had missed it but all of that remains entirely theoretical this morning, after what became a glorious start to his Celtic career. Amidst the maelstrom it almost seemed like a detail that the Kazakhs ended the match with nine men, Shitov earning a badly overdue second booking for the foul and Dmitri Shomko following him into an only slightly early bath for losing himself in dissent.
James Forrest, the lucky charm of that Karagandy win, was a rare starter last night and the onus on him became even greater when Patrick Roberts was forced to leave the fray after 27 minutes after sustaining a hamstring problem. The on-loan Manchester City winger has been a bright spot of the Parkhead side's pre-season thus far but while the problem was diagnosed immediately, he already seems destined to miss the club's Premiership opener at Tynecastle.
From the start, Brendan Rodgers also had a defensive dilemma to consider. With Erik Sviatchenko injured and new signing Kolo Toure unlikely to last the 90 minutes. He opted to keep the Ivory Coast international in reserve on the bench and stick with Mikael Lustig and young Eoghan O'Connell. Perhaps tellingly, Efe Ambrose didn't make the 18.
Without usual possession midfielder Nir Bitton, much was required of Scott Brown, and for most of the night at least there was an impressive tactical maturity about the way Celtic went about things
Rodgers had compared Brown to his old Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard the day before the game and that comparison really would have been appropriate if the 31-year-old could have steered Stuart Armstrong's training ground corner routine into the top corner with an acrobatic volley. Next up was Griffiths, who spanked a left-foot drive which flew a foot wide.
Celtic were getting closer as half time approached, with first Stuart Armstrong and then Griffiths seeing shots blocked but their goal still appeared out of the blue. Abzal Beysebekov sent Kieran Tierney to ground just inside the box and Griffiths nervelessly lashed his fourth goal in as many games away from the dive of Nenad Eric. He had barely finished sliding to his knees in front of the standing section by the time the referee's whistle blew for half time.
After a promising start, the second period became traumatic for Celtic. Roger Canas, a member of that Shakhter Karagandy side from 2013, headed in from a free-kick, only for Craig Gordon to be bailed out by an offside flag.
Kolo Toure made his debut from the bench to shore things up but if that was the intention it had the opposite effect. Instead, Celtic appeared light in midfield and over-conservative with three at the back and within minutes, this game was back in the melting pot. Craig Gordon ended up out his box and had no choice but to head clear only to present the ball to Astana substitute Agim Ibraimi, the scourge of both Rangers and Celtic in his time with Maribor, who fired in a Champions League quality finish from 35 yards.
From that point on, £16m hung in the balance. Junior Kabananga finished wide from Shonko's neat low cross before Dembele appeared from the bench for Forrest with 15 minutes remaining, but found it hard to get up to the pace of the game. Shitov should really have seen red with a couple of glaring fouls whilst on a booking, but his vengeance duly arrived, along with salvation for Dembele and Celtic. The Frenchman sent Eric the wrong way and the toil of the previous 91 minutes was forgotten in an instant.
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Celtic 1
Griffiths 45+2 pen, Dembele 90+2
Astana 1
Ibraimi 64
Celtic (4-1-2-3): Gordon; Janko, Lustig, O'Connell, Tierney; Brown; Armstrong, McGregor; Roberts, Forrest (Dembele 74), Griffiths.
Subs not used: Fasan, Toure, Izaguirre, Ciftci, Dembele, Rogic, Johansen
FC Astana (5-2-1-2): Eric; Beysebekov, Shitov, Anicic, Logvinenko, Shomko; Muzhikov, Canas; Nurgaliyan (Ibraimi 56); Twumasi, Kabananga.
Subs not used: Mokin, Tagybergen, Ibraimi, Despotovic, Najaryan, Maliy, Kulbekov
Bookings: Celtic: O'Connell 76. Astana: Shitov 21, 90, Muzikhov 66, Eric 88. Ibraimi 90. Sent off: Ibraimi 90, Shomko 90+2.
Referee: I Kovacs
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