Kairat eliminate Celtic from UCL after shootout in Kazakhstan

FC Kairat beat Celtic 3-2 in a penalty shoot out to qualify for the Champions League for the first time on Tuesday after the Scottish champions missed three spot-kicks in a shoot-out after extra time ended 0-0 again.

The 1967 European Cup winners will now drop into the Europa League and face a 3500 km trip home from Kazakhstan ruing two dreadful stalemates and a badly fluffed shoot out.

Daizen Maeda missed the decisive penalty after Celtic had been left reeling when the Kairat's 21-uer-old keeper Temirlan Anarbekov saved Adam Idah's opening effort and then Luke McCowan’s weak second one.

The game was locked at 0-0 after last week's goalless draw at Celtic Park and the two sides played out a second 0-0 stalemate, even after extra-time in Kazakhstan.

The Kazakh Premier League champions had already come through three qualifying rounds to get to this stage and will make a first ever appearance in the main draw of the competition.

The winners of the seven play-off ties advance to the league phase of the Champions League this week while the defeated sides switch to the league phase of the Europa League.