Celtic’s Champions League reprieve shows it’s better to be lucky than good!

There is an old saying better lucky than good.

Now I wouldn’t argue it always holds true in a sporting context.

In the case of Celtic and their Champions League reprieve, however, it certainly does.

Hammered 4-1 in Poland by Legia Warsaw, the Hoops were again well beaten at Murrayfield on Wednesday, going down 2-0 on the night for a 6-1 aggregate.

However, with Legia found to have been guilty of fielding a suspended player Bartosz Bereszynski as a substitute late in the match, Celtic were instead handed a 3-0 walkover.

As a result, that meant Ronny Deila’s men progressing to the Champions League play-off on away goals. It was, by any standards, an incredible turn of events.

On their performance over the two legs, Celtic nowhere near deserved to go through.

They were very poor and, with Legia missing two penalties, could have lost by six or seven in Warsaw.

As it was, Fraser Forster’s spot-kick save, and Callum McGregor’s goal, were enough to secure their progression.

The draw has already been made and the irony is that Scottish champions will now face a team with a worse UEFA-ranking position than Legia, the Slovenian outfit, Maribor.

With the second leg to be played at Celtic Park, I think it is now certainly possible Deila’s men will progress to the lucrative group stages. But and it’s a huge but serious improvement will be needed.

As fortunate as Celtic were, so Aberdeen and St Johnstone had no luck when exiting European competition for the season. The Dons threw the proverbial kitchen sink at Real Sociedad at a packed Pittodrie.

Having managed to score twice, it was a terrific shame they could not manage to finish the night with at least a draw.

If there is a plus, it is that their efforts against a strong Spanish club should stand them in good stead for the domestic action to come.

I expect the Dons to be best of the rest this season, and will not be surprised if they make an early charge in the Premier League.

While Saints did manage a share of the spoils against Spartak Trnava in Slovakia, it wasn’t enough to keep their Europa League dream alive.

It was a great effort and one which maintained their unbeaten away record over the last two years. Unfortunately the damage was done when they lost 2-1 at home at the end of July.

On the subject of Saints, I think it is sad Stevie May, a scorer in Slovakia, is now heading south to Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of around £800,000.

I say sad for two reasons. Firstly, because I think he is making the wrong decision from a personal point of view.

If he was stay in Perth for another year and continued to score at his present rate I am sure he would get the chance to join a bigger English club. Secondly, I don’t believe Saints are getting anything like value for May.

This is the same Stevie May, remember, who was voted the Scottish Football Writers’ Young Player ahead of Andrew Robertson, who has just joined Hull City for £2.85-million.

It is good to see Scottish players progress in the game. But only when they make the right move.