Parkhead reverberated, certainly, but the noise and intensity did not hold the thrill that Neil Lennon had wished for.

The Celtic manager wanted to restore some of the exhilaration of past European nights here, but it was frustration that gathered around the old stadium instead. When Paddy McCourt ambled on to the field with eight minutes remaining, the roar that greeted him was one of desperation.

When a late attack floundered, Lennon flapped his hand in frustration and turned away. Sion presented a more exacting challenge than any team Celtic have faced this season, and the manager spent the night altering his side, trying to find a way to enable his key players to influence the game.

This is the kind of occasion that demands refinement, of judgment as well as play, but Ki Sung-Yueng, Celtic’s most accomplished player, was involved only intermittently.

When he swept a perfectly weighted ball forward in the closing minutes, it was a pass of rare poise and so also a source of regret. Alex McLeish, the Aston Villa manager, was in the main stand and if he was watching the South Korean then he would have been frustrated, too, since the midfielder was peripheral.

This became a troublesome assignment for Celtic, one that kept demanding them to change their approach. By the interval, they had accumulated only dilemmas. There was an awkwardness to so much of the home side’s play, and the team became a series of compromises.

Sion’s 3-4-1-2 formation forced Lennon to alter the shape of his team, with Anthony Stokes moving from up alongside Georgios Samaras to a role wide on the left. With Mark Wilson already having been forced to play at left-back because of injuries to Emilio Izaguirre and Kelvin Wilson, Celtic were cumbersome on that flank.

Stokes has been sharp this season, scoring three goals in three league games before last night and displaying the kind of wit and verve that can make him such a threatening presence up front.

But he is less effective out wide and struggled to find a foothold in the game. Ki, too, was marginalised, beginning in a deep role then moving up to play behind Samaras when Celtic switched formation, but always just on the cusp of the game.

The outlet for the home side was Cha Du-Ri, whose pace and dynamism from right-back often carried him deep into Sion’s half and three of his crosses delivered chances for the home side. Each was also accompanied by a round of enthusiastic applause from Lennon, but mostly the Celtic manager was fretful.

Sion were technically adroit, but their composure in possession tended to diminish the further upfield they moved. Pascal Feindouno, playing behind two forwards, was erratic, and the visitors posed little direct threat. But they were assured enough to not be overwhelmed, either, particularly by the unabashed start Celtic made to the game.

There was such an urgency to the home side’s initial play that Ki’s interception then chip to Samaras, who nudged a header down towards Stokes looked to be a warning to the Swiss side.

It was fleeting, though, and Sion were able to establish themselves. Beyond Cha’s incursions, Celtic were left with the usual spikiness of Scott Brown and the forlorn shrugs of Samaras whenever one of his knockdowns went unclaimed.

If the first-half could be represented in a single moment, it was when Stokes took advantage of a loose ball in the penalty area, but instead of shooting first-time with his left foot, he tried to dribble round Andris Vanins, the Sion goalkeeper, fell dramatically and was booked for diving.

Celtic were searching for a rhythm, any kind of momentum that might allow them to play this game on their own terms. Yet they began the second-half with Stokes pushed up through the middle and Samaras operating wide on the left; then after 10 minutes Wilson swopped with Charlie Mulgrew in defence. And the sense was still of Celtic having lost something: their authority, their sense of certainty.

This absence expressed itself in Mulgrew misplacing a pass over three yards to Samaras, and Brown hit the ball out of play instead of to the feet of Cha. But it was felt, too, in the disgruntlement of the crowd, who grew increasingly frustrated.

They were riled when Stokes was taken off -- “shocking Lennon”, someone shouted in the main stand -- but then his replacement, Shaun Maloney, almost scored from a free-kick with his first-touch.

The game was held in this fragile balance, where one decisive moment would also be a psychological blow. It almost came when Giovanni Sio hared through on goal and tucked the ball past Fraser Forster, but from an offside position.

Then Cha had to rush across to rob the striker during another break. It was a tense and unrewarding night for Celtic.