Scorers: Celtic - Jarosik (45), Donati (90+2); Shakhtar Donetsk - Brandao (4)

This was a night of dramatic action, human frailty and worrying injury all set to a soundtrack of swelling, overwhelming noise. It was football as opera. It was only fitting therefore that an Italian should have the last word. It is never over until the Donati sings.

And sing he did to the most dramatic of choruses. Sixty thousand throats opened and roared at Celtic Park last night as Massimo Donati entered the scene from the wings of the bench and scored the goal that kept Celtic's hope of progress alive in the Champions League. A compelling tale was thus rewarded with a finale of breathtaking emotion.

Shakhtar Donetsk had been defeated in a fashion that only a librettist with an eye for romance could script.

It was an opera that started in discord for Celtic. The farce and the heartache were encapsulated in the forlorn figure of John Kennedy who was carried off and taken to hospital with a knee injury.

The centre-half began the night with an error that donated an early lead to the Ukrainians. The visitors, with good grace, donated Celtic the equaliser before the half was out.

However, by that time Kennedy, who has fought his way back from serious knee injury to compete on nights like these, had left the field on a stretcher to warm applause from fans who will fear the worst but hope for the best.

It was the most poignant of noises on a night that was played out to a forceful soundtrack that would make Wagner seem as belligerent as a lullaby. Kennedy's injury had followed the departure of Lee Naylor, with a calf strain, before any of the players had cleared their throats. These twin blows were absorbed by a Celtic side who may lack the technical subtleties of the best in Europe but who have a cussedness, an indestructible spirit that was rapturously applauded by a support who seemed to demand an encore after the most gripping of dramas.

However, all this was in stark contrast to the sound one heard at about 10 minutes to eight when the the loud hiss of deflated hopes greeted Kennedy's reprisal of Stephen McManus' Shakhtar moment. In Donesk, the Celtic captain had employed a first touch so strong it would have embarrassed an elephant.

Kennedy's Shakhtar moment was a header that was soft in execution, careless in direction and mystifying in its purpose. It fell to Brandao, who with a practised ruthlessness, latched on to the errant clearance and despatched it past Boruc.

The Brazilian forward could have ended the half with a hat-trick. Twice Boruc denied him after Shakhtar had forced corner kicks. First, the forward shot smartly for the Pole to clear with his knee. Then the Celtic goalkeeper tipped over his header as it threatened to sneak under the bar.

In between, the lungs of the Celtic fans had been inflated by a mixture of hope and defiance in the face of adversity. The injuries to Naylor and Kennedy and the loss of an early goal were redeemed by Jarosik's assured strike. But the fans were encouraged, too, by the way their side slowly clawed their way back from the abyss. Aiden McGeady and Scott Brown were central in Celtic's attempts to take the initiative from a technically assured Shakhtar side who mixed clever play with a sly time- wasting.

The dynamism of the young Irishman and the Scottish international discomfited a defence that has endured trouble on its travels. Scott McDonald was the blunt instrument as Celtic squared up to Shakhtar. His first glance at goal after 17 minutes ended with a blocked shot. Three minutes he latched on to McGeady's pass to fire over.

These moments hardly induced heart failure among Shakhtar sympathisers but they were seized on by a support desperate for bright moments in a first of half of cruel injury and heart-stopping error.

Vennegoor of Hesselink should have rewarded the roars but his diving header from Caldwell's cross slipped past Andriy Pyatov's post.

There was a sense, though, that this match, for all its early woes, was not beyond Celtic. It would not have been a drama, after all, without a second act. This was marked by an equaliser from a fortuitous route but was deserved.

Dmytro Chyrgrysnkiy and Darijo Srna collided as they both went for a bouncing ball in the Shakhtar area, directing into the path of Jarosik who volleyed sweetly and surely past Pyatov after 45 minutes.

The Czech should have had a second in time added on in the first half. McGeady's dart and devilish delivery was met by Jarosik at the far post but his diving header unaccountably missed the target.

The sound reverberated off the stands as Celtic attempted to construct a song of victory in the second half. Initially, there were only intimations of danger to the Donetsk defence. Peril to Pyatov was in short supply although he had to be acrobatic when deflecting a Vennegoor of Hesselink cross cum shot. McGeady then tested him with a sharp cross after he had eluded Razvan Rat. Jarosik, always dangerous in the air, nodded over from a corner.

There was just time, though, for the most dramatic of finales. Donati came on and stole the show in the third act. McGeady beat Rat yet again and cut the ball back for the Italian to hit his shot into the ground and past Pyatov. The Shakhtar players slumped to the ground. The Celtic players celebrated gleefully.

The breathless crowd managed the most fearful of final roars.

Now all that is needed is an encore in Milan where Celtic need a point to ensure progress in the Champions League. The San Siro will thus deputise for La Scala. A brave Celtic deserve another happy ending.

How they rated
by Richard Winton

Artur Boruc
Splendid reaction block from a Brandao header kept his side in it during rocky spell. Unfortunate for goal 7

Gary Caldwell
Part of general early malaise, albeit in role not suited to his talents. Advanced gamely and tried to support 6

John Kennedy
Caught under ball for goal but more worryingly was stretchered off after landing badly on problem left knee 5

Stephen McManus
One crucial intervention to deny Brandao, he seemed more composed with Pressley as his wing man 6

Lee Naylor
Lasted 10 minutes before being carted off 3

Paul Hartley
Dropped in to cover the left-back area and delivered a selfless, disciplined display. Nothing flashy but reliable none the less 7

Aiden McGeady
Created the winner in injury time, an act that epitomised his refusal to give in despite an evening pock-marked with frustration 6

Scott Brown
Played on the edge for much of the game but would be a lesser player if he didn't. Silly fouls apart, he led by example 7

Jiri Jarosik
Fizzing finish, unfathomable miss. The languid Czech continues to frustrate but delivered a decent shift down the left flank 6

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink
Should have done better than skid a header wide and failed to truly trouble visiting defenders. Infuriatingly immobile 5

Scott McDonald
Scampered around harassing the back four but struggled with a heavy touch all evening and was rarely afforded a look at the goals 6

Substitutes
Massimo Donati
Assumed central berth when on for Naylor and fluttered around periphery before superbly scabby winner 5

Steven Pressley
Trotted on for first appearance since May and calcified wobbling defence 6

Chris Killen
Like for like with Vennegoor of Hesselink but equally ineffective 3