'Dream' Donati strike puts Celtic on the brink

The Hoops' chances of reaching the last 16 had been slipping away against Shakhtar Donetsk until the midfielder popped up with a miraculous injury-time finish - leaving Gordon Strachan's men needing just a point against AC Milan in the San Siro to guarantee progress for the second successive season.

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The only dark cloud over a remarkable evening was a serious injury to luckless defender John Kennedy, who was stretchered out of Parkhead after landing awkwardly following an aerial challenge.

But Celtic Park's reputation as a fortress remained intact as Donati hailed the 'dream' goal which left his team with their fate firmly in their own hands.

"It was a fantastic finish, a dream for me," said Donati, who steered home Aiden McGeady's cross as the Ukrainian visitors counted the seconds towards the final whistle.

"It was an important win in the group and now we go to Milan looking to finish the job. We are confident that we will be able to get the point."

Yet the match had started disastrously for Celtic when Kennedy's short header allowed Brazilian Brandao to open the scoring after just four minutes.

Their problems increased when Lee Naylor was stretchered off with an injury - to be replaced by Donati - before Kennedy followed suit, as the Bhoys cursed their luck.

Left-back Naylor didn't look too bad but there were real fears for Kennedy who went off clutching the same left knee that so cruelly shattered when he made his Scotland debut against Romania in 2004.

Despite that major setback, Jiri Jarosik revived Celtic hopes when he volleyed a fine equaliser just before the break and then it was left to Donati to conjure up another magical night with his late finish.

Manager Strachan, reflecting on yet another win in a European home run that features just a single defeat at Parkhead in the last 30 games, said: "It reinforced the fact that of the two teams tonight they were better technically but, when it comes to spirit and heart, we are as good as anybody.

"However, there was no real danger from them in the second half. They were sitting so deep that we just had to be patient and wait for our chance.

"But we deserved the win, we were the better team on the night."

Referring to the fact that he had to make two unexpected substitutions so early in the game, Strachan said: "We are not very lucky, so we had to rely on heart and determination to see us through."

On the fate of Kennedy, who was replaced by Steven Pressley towards the end of the first half, the Celtic boss said: "We don't know the full extent of his injury but we're keeping our fingers crossed that it's not bad."

Benfica drew 1-1 with AC Milan in the other group game last night.