CELTIC'S European ambitions were dealt a shattering blow by a Hamburg side which has flopped in the German League this season.

But right from the second minute when giant striker Karsten Baron headed Hamburg pinto the lead, Celtic found themselves chasing the game.

In desperation, manager Tommy Burns revamped his defence for the second half only to see the gamble backfire when his new look set up failed miserably to work the offside trap. As a result, substitute Schupp stole through in the 71st minute for a second score which looks to have put an end to any hopes of progress in the UEFA Cup this year for a Celtic team which, on this occasion, received little flair or threat from their foreign imports.

The home side's only weapon was the free kicks from Dutchman Van Hooydonk. This was not enough on the night and anyway they were dealt with by goalkeeper Golz.

Celtic suffered a nightmare start every home team dreads in Europe. They were still settling infront of the capacity 47,000 crowd when the Germans struck, to silence the traditional chants. And ominously for Celtic the goal underlined a weakness in the defence against the aerial menace of the 6ft 4in striker Baron. His lingering leap at the back post to meet a cross from Hollerbach on the left allowed him to project enough power into a header which Marshall touched but couldn't hold as it sped into the roof of the net.

Celtic worked hard to rally and Van Hooydonk looked the man likely to get them back into the game. First of all he volleyed inches wide from 12 yards and then two minutes later hooked in a vicious free kick from the left which also slid just beyond the "post Celtic fought furiously to pull Hamburg back and thought they hag achieved this in the 28th minute when the Dane Wieghorst forced his way through and although his headed effort was blocked, the ball broke to the Portuguese Cadete who promptly" hooked it into the net. However, the home celebrations were cut short when the referee spotted a flag for offside and ruled the goal out.

At the other end, Marshall rescued Celtic with a brilliant full length finger tip save in the 68th minute from a low left foot drive.