Amidst a raucous atmosphere at Parkhead, Celtic set about gaining a healthy advantage ahead of the tricky return leg in Kazakhstan.
However, for all of their good play throughout the first half, Brendan Rodgers’ men were let down by a severe lack of quality in the final third.
The Hoops even survived an early scare when veteran Kairat captain Alyaksandr Martynovich had the ball in the net, only for his celebrations to be cut short by the offside flag.
Despite surrendering most of the possession, Kairat posed the bigger threat on the break, perhaps owing to the sharpness they’ve accrued from already having played 20 league games and coming through three UCL ties.
Frustration was spreading among the home support, and that feeling only intensified when right-back Alistair Johnston was stretchered off after 35 minutes.
Celtic ultimately went into the break having failed to register a single shot on target and in need of vast improvement upon the restart.
The impact of Rodgers’ half-time team talk was immediate with Yang Hyun-jun, brought on for Adam Idah at the interval, squaring for James Forrest, who fired against the post within 18 seconds of kick-off.
The hosts’ tempo was markedly better, but a way through the Kairat rearguard continued to elude them.
And Celtic nearly paid the ultimate price when a Cameron Carter-Vickers slip invited Edmilson to try his luck from halfway, and though he had Kasper Schmeichel scrambling, his strike landed on the roof of the net.
As Celtic’s desperation grew, Kairat used their European experience to ensure the game ground to a halt on numerous occasions to disrupt any flow.
Liam Scales soon headed over from Arne Engels’ free-kick but yet another stoppage, this time for an injury to Kairat goalkeeper Aleksandr Zarutskiy, gave the home fans the platform to voice their displeasure at the club’s hierarchy.
Daizen Maeda’s failure to find a breakthrough with a big chance deep into stoppage time only amplified their anger, with Celtic now facing an uphill battle to progress with the second leg to take place at altitude in Eastern Kazakhstan next week.
While Kairat have now failed to win any of their last eight European trips, this marquee result gives them a great chance of reaching the UCL proper for the first time in their history.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alyaksandr Martynovich (Kairat Almaty)
