Efe Ambrose Benched As Celtic Suffer Shock Defeat To Shakhtar

Shakhtar Karaganda defeated Glasgow Celtic 2 - 0 in the first leg of the Champions League play - off round on Tuesday evening.

In the match played at the Astana Arena in Astana, the Kazakhstan champions netted through strikers Finonchenko (12th minute) and Hizhnichenko (77th).

Nigeria international full back Efe Ambrose, though named in the 18 - man squad, was an unused substitute.

It is being suggested by sources close to the corridors of power at Celtic that Ambrose was dropped by manager Neil Lennon because of his perceived weakness in the air.

On the other hand, it is also claimed that the 24 - year - old has not had full training with the squad for the past three days after apparently picking up a virus.

The second leg will be held on August 28 at Celtic Park, Glasgow.