Celtic 2-0 Ferencvaros: David Turnbull scrambles home crucial second to seal vital Europa League victory after Callum McGregor had missed a penalty following Kyogo Furuhashi's second-half strike

• Celtic salvaged their Europa League knockout hopes with a hard-fought win
• Kyogo slid home the opener in 57th minute from a sublime Jota pass
• Turnbull's scrambled finish sealed victory after McGregor's penalty miss 

By thriving in this unusually early kick-off, Celtic finally made a belated start to putting points on the board in Europa League Group G.

Ange Postecoglou was as good as his word about not changing his front-foot approach in continental football. Crucially, though, the outcome was different.

It was now-or-never in terms of remaining in the picture for a top-two finish in this section. And Celtic found a way to deliver.

A remarkable crowd of 50,427 for a midweek afternoon was actually able to enjoy the rare feeling of a pretty comfortable European victory. In itself, that felt like progress.

Certainly, a repeat of the Champions League success Ferencvaros enjoyed here last August never really felt on the cards. Not from the moment Kyogo Furuhashi provided a merited lead for Postecoglou’s side after the break.

David Turnbull bundled home a second goal with eight minutes remaining but, if anything, the winning margin should have greater. Callum McGregor missed a penalty in the period between, while both Turnbull and Jota spurned clear opportunities to inflict further damage before the end.

It didn’t really matter. With a valuable clean sheet banked to go with the win, Celtic know a repeat triumph in Budapest can give them a fighting chance of progression. At the very least it would nail down third place in the group and the consolation prize of a Conference League play-off.

The 3.30pm start was caused by factors including the COP26 climate conference and UEFA’s refusal to conflict with their Champions League schedule.

While the Green Brigade fan group made clear this displeasure with a banner taking a swipe at European football’s governers, Postecoglou’s players showed no sign of being disorientated by this assignment.

They started with intent. Tom Rogic and Turnbull put together a lovely interchange on the fringe of the area before McGregor stepped in to slide a through ball for Jota.

The Benfica loanee advanced to fire in an angled, near post strike that Ferencvaros keeper Denes Dibusz blocked at his near post. Kyogo Furuhashi had been hollering for a cross but Jota was entitled to try his luck.

There are occasions when the Portuguese winger could shift the ball a fraction quicker to the team’s benefit, yet his talent has become glaringly apparent ever since he moved to Glasgow. A delicate, curling attempt from 22 yards was expertly tipped over the top by Dibusz at full stretch.

Jota was in the mood. An inswinging cross from the left picked out Jota for a mistimed header that was harmless misdirected. The Japanese forward slapped his hands together in frustration.

For all the focus on Celtic’s transformation since last season – with McGregor the only figure to have also started the previous meeting between these clubs – Ferencvaros have also been through a summer of change.

Austrian coach Peter Stoger replaced Sergei Rebrov and has sought to imprint a more expansive style of play. Five of the team Stoger named here had been part of the victory last August and they offered feeling signs of their ability.

Exploiting space behind Adam Montgomery was their preferred early route. One early low delivery from the right couldn’t quite be converted by Ryan Mmaee at the front post. A more sustained period of pressure later led to Myrto Uzuni hammering in a shot that Joe Hart parried behind.

Celtic were dominating possession and territory but were finding it difficult to get Furuhashi into the game. He wandered looking for the ball and was back at the halfway line when a little flashpoint sparked.

Visiting defender Samy Mmaee was too aggressive when getting involved with a prone Furuhashi, aiming a sly little kick at him. Anthony Ralston charged in to push Mmaee away and both ended up being booked by Danish referee Jakob Kehlet.

The first half contained just about enough to entertain very healthy crowd that including Albanian president – and well-known Celtic fan – Ilir Meta. A few of those sitting near him queued for pictures at the interval.

Twelve minutes after the restart, the visiting statesman got what he wanted as the Parkhead side hit the front with an exquisite goal.

Jota and Montgomery combined to play out from the back, giving the former space to advance and get his head up. Spotting Furuhashi’s movement was the easy bit. Picking him out required excellence.

Jota delivered. Drawing back his right foot and sent a laser-guided 50-yard pass into precisely the right position. An excellent first touch was still needed, but then Furuhashi can be relied upon there. Taking all the pace off the ball, he was able to coolly stroke a low finish beyond the advancing Dibusz and hare off in celebration.

The joy was nearly tempered when Ferencvaros immediately sought a response. An excellent covering challenge from Ralston was needed to stop Ryan Mmaee levelling.

Celtic, though, should have doubled their advantage within five minutes. Montgomery was taken down by a sliding challenge from Henry Wingo inside the area, prompting referee Kehlet to point to the spot. McGregor took responsibility but was unusually found wanting.

A strike to Dibusz’s left was at a nice height for the goalkeeper and he dived to push away.

Emboldened by that escape, the Hungarians again pushed back to draw a save from Hart through an Eldar Civic free-kick.

Postecoglou threw on Nir Bitton and Giorgios Giakoumakis for the tiring Rogic and underwhelming Liel Abada. Montgomery then retired hurt, with Liam Scales introduced.

For once, Parkhead was desperate to avoid a frantic finale. The necessary comfort arrived in scrappy style eight minutes from the end.

Jota forced the ball across goal, with Turnbull taking a swipe and missing. He recovered sufficiently to be in way when Balint Vecsel tried to force the ball away, with the ball cannoning off Turnbull to end up in the net.