Nigerian right-back Efe Ambrose opened scoring for Celtic in their 2-0 defeat of Cliftonville to proceed to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.
Efe Ambrose’s powerful 16th minute header gave the Glasgow side the lead, but it took until the 70th minute for their pressure to bring a second, a close-range Georgios Samaras header earned the Scotish club a 5–0 aggregate victory.
A clever play by Sweden full-back Mikael Lustig prised open the visitors’ defence, setting up Anthony Stokes to deliver a cross that was dispatched past goalkeeper Conor Devlin by Celtic defender Ambrose.
Already 3-0 up from the away tie in Belfast, Cliftonville were bent on avoiding an impending humiliation in the hands of the Scottish club and their hard work had them threatening Celtic’s goal momentarily.
Greek forward Samaras extended Celtic’s lead, heading a Kris Commons cross past Devlin eight yards from goal.
“We set the target last year and we want to do better this year. We can do even more than what we did last year if we put our mind to it and be determined to work harder,” Ambrose told BBC.
Ambrose, who also featured for Nigeria at the Confederations Cup, had to suspend his summer break to feature for Celtic in both leg.
Ambrose and his teammates will host Elfsborg next Wednesday in the third qualifying round, after the Swede side Latvian club Daugava 11-1 on aggregate.
