Give me the chances and I'll bury Finns in their backyard; SAYS GOAL HERO GARY HOOPER CHAMPIONS LEAGUE... CHAMPIONS LEAGUE... CHAMPIONS.

Byline: COLIN DUNCAN

GARY HOOPER insists Celtic will hold their nerve in Helsinki and is confident the Parkhead side will improve on their dire European away record.

Neil Lennon's men head to the Finnish capital next week with their crunch Champions League play-off hanging in the balance after a 2-1 first-leg victory.

The SPL winners missed a terrific opportunity to put the tie beyond doubt against an HJK Helsinki side who were there for the taking. But, despite missing a string of great chances and the fact Celtic have won only once in nine years on their Euro travels, Hooper is adamant they can progress to the final qualifier and a place in the lucrative group stages of the competition.

RESCUED A 1-0 victory would be enough to see Helsinki through although it could have been much worse for Neil Lennon's side.

Their predicament looked dire at the start of the second half when Rasmus Schuller gave the Finns a shock lead.

However, two vital strikes in the space of just six minutes rescued the situation for Celtic much to the relief of last night's 52,000 crowd.

Hooper, who had missed two excellent chances in the first half, made amends with a 53rd-minute equaliser, tapping in Georgios Samaras' cross at the back post.

Then on the hour Charlie Mulgrew nodded home a Kris Commons corner to ensure Celtic head to Finland next Wednesday with a slender advantage.

An away goal would prove priceless and Hooper is backing himself to get it and Finnish the job.

The striker said: "It's a test of nerve but we are not going to go there and sit in and defend.

"We will go there and play our football and if we do then we should be fine.

"If we stay solid and play like that then we have enough attacking players to score a few goals.

"I look to score in every game and if the chances come like they did tonight then I know can take them."

Celtic could have been out of sight given the amount of possession they enjoyed and the chances they created.

Hooper, who was guilty of two misses in the first half, was frustrated they didn't put the game beyond doubt at home in Glasgow although he is not worried ahead of the return.

He said: "We had chances to put the game to bed and should have taken a few more of our opportunities. On another day a few of them would have gone in.

"I had a chance after 10 seconds but it skidded away and I couldn't put it in. That would have been a good start.

"We didn't really want to concede at home because we now have to go over there and play some good football.

UPBEAT "But the way we responded after they scored was impressive. They sat in and played 4-5-1 and were organised but we still broke them down.

"Seven days will make a lot of difference to our sharpness. We have an SPL game at the weekend and we can take that into the second leg."

Manager Lennon was decidedly upbeat after the 2-1 victory and hitman Hooper appeared to share his optimism after the Parkhead outfit's first competitive outing of the season.

The Hoops frontman said: "We are quite confident ahead of the second game.

"Considering it was the first match of the season we played well without taking our chances.

"We lost a sloppy goal from our point of view but we came back and scored two good goals.

"I believe the players are proud of the performance. We passed the ball well and our fitness was good although the sharpness wasn't there yet.

"Hopefully it will be there for us in Finland next Wednesday."

Yet Helsinki coach Antti Nuurinun still believes his team are in the driving seat despite the first-leg deficit.

Nuurinun came to Glasgow in the hope of scoring an away goal and returns home with exactly what he came for.

He said: "It was especially important to get an away goal because that was our aim before the match.

"I am very happy about the result and was delighted with the way we played, particularly in the first 45 minutes.

"I firmly believe we have a good chance of going through. I thought we showed a lot of spirit.

"I have to admit that the tempo of the match is not what we are used to and that is what worries me most ahead of the return.

"But I reckon if you had offered me this scoreline before the match then I would have taken it.

"This result gives us a very good chance of qualifying."

CAPTION(S):

HEL FIRE n Hooper beats the Helsinki keeper to spark the fightback as Lennon, below, gives it 5 out of 5