O'NEILL HAILS HIS HEROES

Celts had to hang tough to secure the point.

- 

O'Neill said: “The effort the team put in, the spirit they showed, the willingness to get blocks on, to defend the penalty blocks in the manner in which they did, it was really splendid.

“The sending-off was a major effect on the game. We played brilliantly, got the goal and had a really decent outfit, played some really great stuff.

“I've seen the sending-off back, I must admit maybe he was caught in the lad’s toe or foot at the end of the ball.

“Maybe we should have been a bit more careful but overall I thought it was pretty harsh really.

“But what we've done tonight, we've given ourselves a chance. That's all, a chance of qualifying. And from that point of view, I'm delighted.

“I thought at one stage, my own view is if we had stayed with 11 men, we would have won the game.”