A first-half brace from Leigh Griffiths helped to ensure that Celtic gained a three-goal advantage over Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the first leg of their Champions League playoff clash, as the Hoops claimed a 5-2 victory against the Israeli side in Glasgow this evening.
Much had been made of Celtic's recent tendency to buckle under the pressure during European qualifiers, but the Hoops showed no signs of that as they gained an early lead through Tom Rogic, who capitalised on Scott Sinclair's hard work to slot home in the ninth minute.
Hapoel sought to hit back through the attacking qualities of Dan Bitton down the right, but he was unable to make the most of his opportunity having got the better of Kieran Tierney not long after the opener.
The Bhoys appeared rampant when going forward in the first period and they were rewarded with another goal before the break, this time as Griffiths rose highest in the box to head home from the cross of Mikael Lustig.
Celtic's dominance was capped off just short of the half-time whistle when Griffiths grabbed his second of the game, the frontman's brace coming via a standout free kick that evaded both wall and keeper to leave the hosts in the driving seat.
Things soon changed dramatically for Rodgers and his men, though, when Lucio Maranhao beat the offside trap to drill past Craig Gordon and earn a vital away goal for the visitors.
That goal sparked a double salvo in two minutes as Maor Melikson then reacted quickest to a loose ball in order to fire a remarkable finish under the body of a bewildered Gordon, leaving the tie all to play for.
It looked like Celtic's confidence might be dented by the goals, but Brendan Rodgers continued to push for another and he was thankful when substitute Moussa Dembele got the slightest of flicks on a Nir Bitton effort to make it 4-2 with just over 15 minutes to play.
Hapoel might just have dealt another blow to Celtic's position before the end of the game, although the hosts had Gordon to thank when he pulled off a point-blank save to keep out Maharan Radi's header.
The surprises were not over just yet, however, as Celtic skipper Scott Brown produced a world-class volley late on to give his side a vital three-goal lead going into next week's return leg.
Christopher Dodd
