Celtic 1
MTK Hungaria 0
Agg 5-0
Scorer: Sutton (13)
staggered kick-off times meant it was Celtic who had to wait to join Rangers and claim a second place for Scotland in the Champions League for the first time since the competition was expanded six years ago to allow such occurrences.
The garlands certainly belonged to Rangers last night, but Celtic did what exactly what was required against feeble opposition and allowed themselves the luxury of a spirited warm-up ahead of the more challenging visit of Livingston on Saturday.
Chris Sutton's early goal here may not have opened the floodgates but it was enough to dampen the enthusiasm of these distinctly average adversaries, who had been cowed into submission a fortnight earlier.
Still, Celtic are perfectly entitled to reflect with quiet satisfaction on four victories from as many European ties, with 10 goals scored and none yet conceded. On an evening when the real drama for Scottish football was unfolding some 1000 miles away in Scandinavia, the 41,720 supporters who took advantage of this unexpected season-ticket offer tried their hardest to make this foregone conclusion seem like the real deal.
Although they dutifully cheered the returning John Hartson as he warmed up behind Magnus Hedman's goal, and intermittently burst into song, it was difficult to avoid the impression that they were going through the motions.
Much the same could be said, of course, for the visitors, whose unorthodox formation was designed more to repel boarders than to inflict any mayhem of their own.
The home side were not content to rest on their laurels. Unlike their almost comatose performance which followed their 4-0 first leg win over FBK Kaunas in the previous qualifying round, they looked sharp and purposeful here.
That was only to be expected, with manager Martin O'Neill, absent on spying duty for the soporific return against the Lithuanians, urging his men on from his technical area.
Unfortunately for the Hungarian champions, their reach exceeded even their grasp and their limited ambitions regarding self-preservation were soon dashed by their own limitations.
There were barely 14 minutes on the clock when the inadequately policed Didier Agathe was allowed two attempts to deliver a cross which, at the second time of asking, found Sutton unmarked six yards out. The Englishman demonstrated that his domestic ban has done little to curb his effectiveness by planting his header firmly beyond Zoltan Vegh to claim his third European goal of this campaign.
As so often happens in these circumstances, though, that early breakthrough, while breaking the will of the opposition, also served to soothe rather than invigorate Celtic; comfortable cushions will do that to you.
''We had lots of passing [movements] in areas where we weren't confronted with a problem,'' said O'Neill. ''They packed their defence, and that was their prerogative, but it was like a practice match in the second half.''
Celtic enjoyed the bulk of possession and at times their problems were caused not so much by the number of bodies in blue shirts prepared to mass behind the ball as by having too many passing options at any given time.
Liam Miller, replacing Neil Lennon, who failed to find even a place on the substitutes' bench, produced a superb reflex save from Vegh with a crisp left-foot drive from the edge of the penalty area The young man from Cork, who deservedly collected the sponsors' man of the match award, again impressed with his tidy, economical use of the ball, his ability to retain possession, and his runs ahead of the front two.
Indeed, he increasingly looks like a genuine threat to Lennon's first-team place, which had previously seemed sacrosanct.
Hartson received a rapturous reception when he replaced Henrik Larsson for the final 31 minutes but the burly striker, as was only to be expected, looked distinctly short of match sharpness and sliced his only shooting opportunity well wide of the target.
Alan Thompson was denied by Vegh, who saved bravely at the midfielder's feet as he chased Miller's through ball, but Celtic were by then in no more mood to heap embarrassment on their guests as MTK were to throw caution to the wind.
Honour was thus satisfied all round and, in return for Celtic sauntering into this afternoon's draw in Monaco with extra co-efficient points in the bag, the losers were allowed to leave with their dignity intact.
O'Neill, who claimed it was ''splendid'' that both members of the Old Firm had qualified, refused to rule out the possibility of a new signing before Sunday's transfer window slams shut, although he refused to confirm whether the Brazilian midfielder Emerson is a potential arrival. ''I'm always hopeful,'' he said and now he has, or should have, extra money to play with, too.
Celtic, like Rangers, have at least done what was required of them to earn the right to mix it with Europe's big hitters. Neither will need to be told that more, much more, will be required when the serious business begins next month.
Substitutions
Celtic Kennedy (Balde 46), Petta (Petrov 46), Hartson (Larsson 59),
MTK Hungaria Czvitkovics (Pisont 46), Zabos (Illes 69), Welton Silva (Torghelle 79)
Subs not used
Celtic Douglas, Sylla, McNamara, Maloney
MTK Hungaria Szantai, Rednic, Szabu, Pusztai
REFEREE Wolfgang Stark (Germany)
Attendance 41,720
Top pot
1 AC Milan (Ita)97.155
2 Real Madrid (Spa)151.769
3 Manchester Utd (Eng)136.170
4 Bayern Munich (Ger)124.566
5 Lazio (Ita)106.155
6 Arsenal (Eng)105.170
7 Juventus (Ita)100.155
8 D'tivo La Coruna (Spa)98.769
Second pot
9 Inter Milan (Ita)93.155
10 Porto (Por)86.791
11 Celta Vigo (Spa)86.769
12 Galatasaray (Tur)78.495
13 Olympique Lyon (Fra)76.734
14 Panathinaikos (Gre)72.391
15 Chelsea (Eng)70.170
16 PSV Eindhoven (Ned)60.749
Third pot
17 Celtic (Sco)57.187
18 AEK Athens (Gre)56.391
19 Dynamo Kiev (Ukr)55291
20 Ajax Amsterdam (Ned)54.749
21 Olympiakos (Gre)54.391
22 Rangers (Sco)50.187
23 Sparta Prague (Cze)49.975
24 O'pique Marseille (Fra)49.734
Fourth pot
25 VfB Stuttgart (Ger)49.566
26 L'motiv Moscow (Rus)49.520
27 Anderlecht (Bel)49.250
28 Real Sociedad (Spa)47.769
29 Monaco (Fra)45.734
30 Club Brugge (Bel)44.450
31 Besiktas (Tur)33.495
32 Partizan Belgrade (Ser)20.915
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