O'Neill blaming injuries for latest Celtic flop

Celtic's chances of qualifying for the second stage of the Champions League disappeared last night in a second half to forget against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Playmaker Matuzalem scored twice in a six-minute spell to give the Ukrainians a 2-0 lead before setting up fellow Brazilian Brandao to complete the rout in the 78th minute.

The defeat leaves Martin O'Neill's side without a point after in the competition after conceding nine goals in their three games.

Manager O'Neill blamed the loss of Chris Sutton and Jackie McNamara to injury during the game for the defeat.

"Jackie had back spasms and Chris had double vision and just wasn't able to continue in the second half," O'Neill said. "They are big players for us. If you're going into this type of football you need your best players available. It was obviously a blow."