A YEAR to the day from when Celtic Park will host the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Neil Lennon's side struck gold – and goals – in their Champions League qualifier with Cliftonville.

There are no medals for easing through to the third qualifying round against Swedish club Elfsborg, who hammered FC Daugava Daugavpils 4-0 in Latvia to go through 11-1 on aggregate and tee up their tie with the Hoops.

But there is a nice cheque – and the promise of much, much more to come if they can go all the way and reach the group stage once again.

Which is why these are the games which matter to Celtic.

Before last night's match, which the Hoops won 2-0 with goals from Efe Ambrose and Georgios Samaras, news filtered through that last 
season's run to the last 16 had brought in £22.2million – plus gate money from six home games – to the bulging Parkhead coffers.

Lennon made light of Ambrose's prediction Celtic can got even further this time. 
Perhaps a touch too much sun for the big defender during the Confederations Cup in Brazil.

The manager's sights are set no further than making it to the list of 32 clubs who will go into the draw for the group stages, where the bulk of any income coming the way of Celtic will be gathered.

Lennon acknowledges that, after leaving Cliftonville trailing in their slipstream, the pace is going to increase from this point on.

So confident were they that they would finish the job started in Belfast last week that the club arranged for tickets for next week's first leg against Elfsborg to go on sale immediately after the final whistle last night.

Truth is, the fans could have left at half-time to buy their precious briefs, as an upset was never on the cards.

Even with Gary Hooper on the bench for the first 65 minutes, Celtic simply had too many guns for their part-time opponents.

For all Lennon's reservations about having to start so early in the competition – a complaint which found an unexpected friend in Italian icon Andrea Pirlo – the fact they sailed through, gaining match and shooting practise en route, should turn into an advantage when they line up against Elfsborg.

Interestingly, the Swedish side elected to keep Mo Bangura on the bench as they swept aside dismal Daugava, the striker's mind perhaps not where it should have been, given all the furore about whether or not the loan-Celt should play against his parent club in the next round.

By then, Charlie Mulgrew, Joe Ledley and Adam Matthews should be back in contention for places in the Hoops side, though Lennon appears to have got the early-season mix right, judging by the polished performances in Belfast and again last night.

Cliftonville feared a mauling, and they could have suffered just such a fate had Celtic been less profligate in front of goal.

Amazingly, by the time they went up the tunnel for a much-needed break at half-time, the Belfast side were just one behind.

That goal came from the head of Ambrose, who had stayed up after a corner was half cleared and gambled to get on the end of Anthony Stokes' precise lob from the byeline.

The goal was well executed, but was overshadowed by the big defender's extravagant, 
acrobatic celebrations which saw him back flip with an elasticity which defied belief and anatomical physics.

Cliftonville had been even more severely stretched.

They had survived for only 16 minutes, and had already been relieved to see Samaras head into the keeper's arms and then just fail to connect four yards out, on both occasions the cross delivered by Mikael Lustig.

Kris Commons and James Forrest – who clipped the crossbar with one rasping shot – came closest to doubling Celtic's lead in the first period.

With Liam Boyce isolated up front – he plays his home games at Solitude, so should surely be used to that? – the only brief respite in the first half for the deep-lying Reds came when Marc Smyth collected a clearance after a corner, and blasted in a shot which cannoned off Kelvin Wilson's head to safety.

Former Celtic trialist Boyce did get a golden chance to score on 64 minutes when a low cross two yards out seemed destined for his boot as he slid in, but Wilson somehow got there first to toe the ball out.

Stokes had two great opportunities to open his account for the season, his first well-struck shot turned wide by keeper Conor Devlin, and his second well off target after Scott Brown's pass.

That proved to be Stokes' last involvement as Lennon made the decision to bring on Hooper for the closing 25 minutes, Tom Rogic replacing Kayal at the same time.

It re-awakened Celtic, and within five minutes they were two ahead.

Commons' short corner to Emilio Izaguirre was returned to him, and the precise, curling cross to the far post was meat and drink to Samaras, who nodded down and into the net.

By then, Cliftonville's defiance had wilted as their discipline evaporated, and Hooper almost made it three with an instinctive shot which came off a post.

Amido Balde even got on for the last 15 minutes, but by then the only fireworks were coming from the stands. And, after two bangers had gone off, an announcement was made instructing some fans among the 29,758 to desist.

The message was clear: Celtic have lit the blue touch paper, and their season is off with a bang.