Celtic embarrassed in Champions League by part-time Gibraltarians

"I was surprised Lincoln are through, if I'm honest." - Brendan Rodgers

A bunch of semi-professional footballers from Gibraltar have shamed Brendan Rodgers in his first competitive match in charge of Celtic on Tuesday.

The teams met in the second qualifying round of the Champions League, with Rodgers looking to remedy a poor European record by his predecessor Ronny Deila. But the Lincoln Red Limps, Gibraltar's first-ever representative in the Champions League, sent Celtic home red-faced with a 1-0 loss in the first leg.

Related: Twitter destroys Brendan Rodgers after Celtic falls behind Red Imps

The hero of the clash was policeman Lee Casciaro, a player who famously scored against Scotland for his country's inaugural competitive strike. The 34-year-old finished with aplomb on 48 minutes after lobbing over the head of clumsy centre-half Efe Ambrose.

The host came close to doubling its lead through Calderon Vallejo just moments later, but the Red Imps then professionally saw out the win at the Victoria Stadium - a home they share with every team in the Gibraltar Premier Division.

Given the pre-match words from Rodgers and the sentiments of club director Elton Duarte before kickoff, a win for the minnow from the British overseas territory was inconceivable.

"Everyone here is just a big group of friends who have been training all our lives together," said Duarte. "We don't get paid for what we do and we all have to work, but now we have a dream tie with Celtic."

Among those in the lineup for Celtic was debutant Moussa Dembele, who had recently signed from Fulham and has an estimated market value of €3 million.

The Red Imps now take a one-goal advantage to Parkhead on July 20, where Celtic has to overcome what is undoubtedly one of the darkest days in its on-pitch history.