Celtic 90 minutes away from Euro final

Martin O’Neill’s men knew they had to produce the magic of Anfield at the Bessa Stadium tonight to make their first European final since 1970.

Boavista secured the same scoreline as Liverpool did at Parkhead in the quarter-final and a number of their players have already written Celtic off.

But as the Merseyside club will testify, it is dangerous to underestimate the threat of the Hoops even though they need to score to have any chance of going to Seville.

They have also netted away from home against Celta Vigo, Stuttgart and Blackburn in this season’s UEFA Cup and in more daunting surroundings than the 15,000-capacity Bessa Stadium, which looks more like a building site than an arena for a European semi-final.

But their preparations for the return leg have been far from ideal as they threaten to end the campaign without a trophy in the cabinet after a thrilling adventure.

After crashing out of the Tennent’s Scottish Cup to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Celtic’s hopes of retaining the league championship were also dented after a last-gasp defeat at Hearts.

Boavista had also slumped in their own league, but O’Neill insisted that domestic form would not have any bearing on tonight’s events and he he elected to name an unchanged side with striker Chris Sutton on the bench after recovering from a broken wrist.

Jaime Pacheco, however, had selection problems with Paulo Turra suspended while Nuno Frechaut and Jorge Silva were injured.

But Martelinho passed a late fitness test as the Portuguese side looked to set-up an all-Porto derby in the UEFA Cup final on May 21.

Celtic were hoping that their lucky yellow shirts would bring them the fortune which was lacking in the first leg and they had the backing of officially 2,200 vociferous travelling supporters, although those numbers seem to be much higher.

Boavista: Ricardo, Mario Loja, Avalos, Eder, Erivan, Anunciacao, Martelinho, Pedrosa, Pedro Santos, Silva, Duda.

Subs: William, Rui Oscar, Bosingwa, Jocivalter, Yuri, Luiz Claudio, Goulart.

Celtic: Douglas, Valgaeren, Balde, Mjallby, Agathe, Lennon, Petrov, Lambert, Thompson, Larsson, Hartson.

Subs: Marshall, Sylla, McNamara, Sutton, Laursen, Maloney, Smith.

Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia)