Celtic 2 - 0 Utrecht: Neil Lennon's foreign legion lift Celtic's hopes

HE may be frustrated by his struggle to persuade high profile British players to join his squad but Neil Lennon found plenty of encouragement last night from the overseas recruits who have arrived in a procession at Celtic Park this summer.

• Efrain Juarez celebrates scoring the opening goal for Celtic

Celtic will travel to the Netherlands next week with a place in the Europa League group stage theirs for the taking after earning a solid first leg advantage with a performance which, while far from faultless, contained plenty of positives for Lennon.

Mexican midfielder Efrain Juarez scored his second European goal for the club to put Celtic ahead before Georgios Samaras doubled the lead before half-time. Promising debut displays from Israeli midfielder Beram Kayal and Swedish defender Daniel Majstorovic garnished a satisfying evening for the Celtic manager who will feel his team's clean sheet has put them firmly in command of the tie.

Before Juarez gave Celtic their 19th minute lead, Utrecht squandered two premium opportunities to place a very different complexion on the tie. The early hesitancy in the home defence was not altogether surprising, given the composition of the back four. An injury to Charlie Mulgrew forced Lennon to deploy Joe Ledley at left-back and the Welsh international midfielder's unfamiliarity with the role was exposed in the seventh minute when he was caught under a Dries Mertens cross which found Jacob Mulenga unmarked at the back post. The Zambian striker had plenty of time to get the ball under control if he desired but he opted to unleash a stinging first time volley which flew narrowly wide of Lukasz Zaluska's right hand post.

Mulenga found himself with a clear sight of goal again just four minutes later. This time, it was the new central defensive pairing of Glenn Loovens and debutant Majstorovic who were caught out by Jan Wuytens' through ball into the heart of the penalty area. Mulenga stole in behind the pair but could only steer a header over from close range, suffering an injury in the process which forced him to be replaced by Edouard Duplan.

Having survived the early threat to their reshuffled defence, Celtic gradually found the rhythm and purpose to place Utrecht on the back foot.

Kayal, making his debut in a holding midfield role, wasted no time in making a positive first impression on the home support. The Israeli international displayed an eye-catching range of passing and a conviction in the tackle which earned him warm applause on several occasions.

Kayal, one of 10 different nationalities in Lennon's multi-cultural starting line-up, was the catalyst for the move which stretched Utrecht at the back for the first time and should have earned Celtic the lead in the 15th minute. The man signed from Maccabi Haifa picked out Samaras with a glorious crossfield pass from right to left. The Greek striker controlled the ball delightfully with his first touch before surging to the byline and picking out Shaun Maloney with a low cutback. Maloney had the goal at his mercy from no more than eight yards out but somehow contrived to scuff a shot which Wuytens was able to scramble clear off the line.

Celtic's frustration at missing such a glaring chance lasted just four minutes before they did make the precious breakthrough. Kayal was at the heart of the move again, splitting the Utrecht defence with a raking through ball. It was intended for Samaras but before the striker could latch on to it, Juarez muscled his way in front of him and justified his eagerness with an unerring right foot finish beyond Utrecht goalkeeper Michael Vorm from around 10 yards.

The visitors, backed by a sizeable and raucous travelling support, did not allow themselves to be fazed by the setback and almost equalised immediately when Wuytens headed a Drenthe free-kick narrowly wide of Zaluska's right hand post.

But although Utrecht continued to cause anxious moments for the Celtic defence, they lacked the incisiveness which Lennon's men brought to their work again in the 34th minute to give themselves a hugely encouraging 2-0 half-time advantage. Right-back Cha Du Ri's perpetual enthusiasm for joining the attack was rewarded when he sent over a cross which found Samaras unattended at the back post. The striker gave Vorm no chance as he chested the ball down and coolly drove a right foot shot home.

Celtic were measured in their pursuit of more goals after the break, clearly under orders not to leave themselves needlessly exposed to the counter attacking threat which Utrecht possessed.

Zaluska was largely untroubled but the Polish goalkeeper had to make his first serious save of the night to keep out Duplan's looping header at the back post where Ledley's lack of natural positional awareness at left-back was again laid bare.

Lennon had to make his first change of the night with 21 minutes remaining when Kayal, complaining of an injury, was replaced by James Forrest.

As comfortable as Celtic appeared with their 2-0 lead, the nagging threat of an away goal for Utrecht remained in the background. Duplan almost provided it when he cut in from the right and this time eluded Majstorovic's challenge to drive the ball low beyond Zaluska across the six yard box. Fortunately for Celtic, Cha was first to react and boot the ball clear.

Celtic almost put themselves in a comfort zone with 15 minutes remaining, Cha contributing at the other end with a good cross which picked out Forrest in the area. The teenager met it with a firm header but Vorm responded with a solid save.

Celtic: Zaluska, Cha, Loovens, Majstorovic, Ledley; Juarez, Brown, Kayal; Fortune, Samaras, Maloney. Subs: Cervi, Ki, McCourt, Murphy, Towell, Forrest, Conroy.

Utrecht: Vorm, Cornelisse, Schut, Wuytens, Nesu; Silberbauer, Lensky, Asare, Mertens; Mulenga, Van Wolfswinkel. Subs: Sinouh, Duplan, Oar, Van Der Maarel, McGuire, Keller, Nijholt.