Celtic went through to the last 16 of the Uefa Cup thanks to John Hartson's away goal in a tense match in Spain.

Strikes from Mora Nieto Jesuli and Benni McCarthy either side of half-time gave Celta Vigo a 2-1 win on the night but Hartson's 37th minute equaliser won the tie for the Scottish champions.

It is the first time that Celtic have survived beyond Christmas in European competition for 23 years.

It is a terrific effort from the team to beat Celta Vigo over the two legs Martin O'Neill

Celtic started positively and were looking to grab the potentially killer away goal.

And it almost came in the very first minute.

Henrik Larsson broke free in the box and tried to pull the ball back for strike partner Hartson, but Fernando Gabriel Caceres made a vital interception to put the ball wide.

The home side looked rattled and the visitors carved out another great chance in the sixth minute.

Didier Agathe was outstanding for Celtic

Didier Agathe skipped past Juan Fran and cut the ball back into the path of Chris Sutton, but his weak shot was blocked by Eduardo Berizzo.

The home side took some time to get going but they gave Celtic a warning in the 10th minute.

Joos Valgaeren gave away a free-kick after a foul on Gustavo Lopez and from the resulting set-piece he teed the ball up for McCarthy, but he struck his right-footed shot wide.

Stilian Petrov then almost got on the end of Larsson's knock-down from Agathe's cross to the far post, but keeper Jose Pinto reacted quickly to jump on the loose ball.

Lopez looked a real threat and he fired a dangerous right-footed ball across the face of goal, but his team-mates were unable to convert the chance.

But the Spaniards levelled the tie after 24 minutes when Jesuli stepped inside Alan Thompson inside the box and slotted a low left-foot shot past Rab Douglas.

After withstanding a period of intense pressure following the home side's goal Celtic started to come back into the game.

Neil Lennon had a chance from the edge of the box but he did not get enough power behind his shot and Pinto gathered comfortably.

Then minutes later Celtic got the crucial away goal that they were after.

Celtic were under pressure after the break

Hartson spun on the edge of the box and sent an unstoppable right-foot shot into the bottom corner of the net.

Celta Vigo now needed two goals to go through and Celtic seemed to gain confidence from this knowledge.

But it was the home side who hauled themselves back into the tie 10 minutes into the second-half when McCarthy latched onto Lopez's cross to poke the ball past Douglas at his near post.

And Jesuli should have given Celta the aggregate lead but he completely miscued from six yards with the Celtic defence in disarray.

Celta Vigo had the lion's share of possession but they were struggling to break down a resolute Celtic defence.

As the match wore on Celta seemed to lose the belief that they could win the tie and Celtic held on to take their place in Friday's draw.

Celta Vigo: Pinto, Caceres, Berizzo, Mendez (Vagner 60), Juanfran, Edu, Jose Ignacio, Lopez, Luccin, McCarthy, Jesuli.
Subs Not Used: Cavallero, Silvinho, Giovanella, Jandro, Coira, Coudet.

Booked: McCarthy, Caceres.

Celtic: Douglas, Balde, Laursen, Valgaeren, Agathe, Lennon (Lambert 56), Petrov, Sutton, Thompson, Hartson (McNamara 62), Larsson.
Subs Not Used: Guppy, Gould, Maloney, Fernandez, Sylla.

Booked: Valgaeren, Hartson.

Referee: Claus Bo-Larsen (Denmark).