Croatia Zagreb.........3
Celtic.......0 (agg: 3-1}
CELTIC moved into their European Cup preliminary round second leg game against the Croatian champions knowing that they needed an away goal to make certain that they would move forward into the Champions' League proper, and recognising that they could not afford to allow the Zagreb side to assert themselves and to take control of the match.
They failed on both counts.
This turned out to be a night when the Croatians dominated, and when they won by a margin which was decisive and which might have been embarrassing for the Scottish champions if they had taken all of their chances.
Celtic were able to survive the crucial opening 20 minutes, but they did so only marginally.
In 13 minutes they were fortunate when a shot from Silvio Maric struck the base of the post and then 10 minutes later just when they thought they had escaped the worst of the Zagreb attacks, the goal they wanted to avoid arrived and it came from the same player who had threatened them earlier.
This time Maric collected the ball on the edge of the penalty box, swivelled away from his marker, and then as the rest of the Celtic defence slept he directed a low shot beyond Jonathan Gould and into the net and the lead Celtic had brought with them from the first leg had vanished.
While there were bookings for Juric and for Jurcic, Celtic were unable to make much of an impression against the Croatians and as half-time approached they found themselves under con-tinuing pressure.
Gould saved from Viduka and then just two minutes before half-time the Celtic capta Tom Boyd, sent Maric crashing to the ground when he challenged him inside the 18 yard box. It was a penalty and inevitably Robert Prosinecki took it upon himself to take the kick and sent his shot beyond Gould and into the net.
At this stage an away goal was still going to be enough to allow Celtic to reach the Champions' League but that became more and more of a forlorn possibility as Zagreb thrust forward at the start of the second half.
The game took on the look of a lost cause for Celtic as they were pushed back more and more, while the Croatians tried to add to their lead.
That always seemed to be the likeliest scenario as the Glasgow side simply crumbled in front of the Zagreb attacks. And, always, that man Prosinecki was the thorn in Celtic's side, the man who tormented them, the man who ran the show, and the man Celtic were unable to tame.
Indeed, it was Prosinecki who applied the coup de grace in the 68 minutes when he moved forward, eluded any Celtic attempts to stop him, and then from the edge of the penalty box flighted a ball out of the reach of Gould and into the net and Celtic knew then that the game was up.
Earlier they had been threatened and Gould had been able to make saves but on this occasion the genius of Prosinecki, the enfant terrible of Croatian football, left them with no hope.
Celtic did make changes. Harald Brattbakk took over from Regi Blinker and then Simon Donnelly replaced Darren Jackson, but on this night in Zagreb it would have taken a miracle to carry Celtic through.
That miracle was not there and even through Ladic saved at Bratt- bakk's feet in injury time it was obvious that Zagreb were the team who were marching forward, who were entering the European League and as if to emphasise that Prosinecki - that man again - almost snatched a fourth goal. His shot was parried by Gould in the closing seconds.
It was a night when Celtic discovered the gap between Scotland's Premier League and the major players in Europe.
A night when they never looked as if they would survive against a Croatian team which had style, which had skill, and which had a finishing power that Celtic have not been able to match this season.
After the match Prosinecki, the hero of the night, took his team mates on a lap of honour, celebrating the Croatian side's qualification for the Champions' League and, also, the many millions of pounds which will await them there, while Celtic must be content with a consol-ation spot in the UEFA Cup.
Croatia Zagreb - Ladic, Tokic, Maric, Juric, Prosinecki, Viduka, Rukavina, Simic, Cvitanovic, Jelicic, Jurcic. Substitutes - Maldinic, Savic, Mujcin, Butina, Mikic, Saric, Sokota.
Celtic - Gould, Boyd, Mahe, McNamara, Rieper, Stubbs, Larsson, Burley, Lambert, Jackson, Blinker. Substitutes - Donnelly, Hannah, Annoni, McKinlay, Brattbakk, Burchill, Kerr.
Referee - P Collina (Italy).
q Italian champions Inter Milan demolished Skonto Riga 3-1 in the European Cup on Wednesday, advancing smoothly into the Champions' League.
Inter's 4-0 win in the first leg made the return match a formality and the Italian team played at half speed for most of the match.
Chilean striker Ivan Zamarano reopened World Cup memories by scoring with a well-timed header in the eighth minute followed by another header from Fabio Galante in 54 minutes and a powerful shot by France's Youri Djorkaeff sealed Skonto's fate.
q PSV Eindhoven escaped an early fright against Maribor Teatanic to reach the European Champions' League with a 4-1 second leg win after extra time .
The Slovenians scored after only five minutes when Dalibor Filipovic scored to add to his side's 2-1 home leg advantage.
PSV's replied within three minutes when Ruud van Nistelrooy headed home and Arnold Bruggink to put the aggregate score level at 3-3 in 69 minutes.
The tie turned in PSV's favour in the first phase of extra time when a Dennis Rommedahl shot was fumbled by the goalkeeper and then Gilles de Bilde struck from the edge of box.
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