AT long last, the Ange Postecoglou era at Celtic has lift off. Fourth time was a charm for the Australian coach, as it all came together for his team to register their first competitive win under his stewardship, and they did so in some style to defeat Jablonec.

Ange-ball will certainly not be dull. On the positive side, not only did Postecoglou’s men play with the sort of attacking flair his side’s are renowned for, but his new signings impressed, with Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi getting on the scoresheet, and Joe Hart looking assured between the sticks for the most part.

Yet, those old defensive frailties remained. And they will be disappointed with the manner of the goal they conceded to Vaclav Pilar. As well as the late second for the hosts from Tomas Malinsky that threatened to take the shine off the evening.

They may also be slightly put out that they squandered a host of presentable opportunities to make the scoreline even more emphatic, a failing that has been a persistent bugbear in this summer’s European qualifiers so far.

They did however manage to score a third before Malinsky’s goal, and a late fourth thereafter to restore their two-goal cushion.

James Forrest’s second-half strike and Ryan Christie’s late header should ensure that next week’s second leg at Celtic Park will be a procession for the capacity crowd to enjoy, rather than a nailbiter for the home fans to endure.

There were two big calls made by Postecoglou at opposite ends of the field, with Hart thrown straight in for a debut in goal and Furuhashi given his first start up front in place of the out-of-sorts Odsonne Edouard. The Japanese international was up through the middle, with Abada playing off the right and Forrest off the left. The three would wreak havoc.

In defence too there was a significant decision to be made, and Postecoglou plumped for the same central pairing of Carl Starfelt and Nir Bitton that started the weekend’s defeat to Hearts, with Stephen Welsh staying on the bench.

Celtic started brightly with Abada beating his man and getting an early low cross in that home goalkeeper Jan Hanus fielded well.

They should have been ahead as Tony Ralston drove infield and put the ball on a plate for David Turnbull, but unchallenged on the edge of the area, his tame effort was easily saved by Hanus. It was an attempt rather in-keeping with the midfielder’s tentative start to the season.

They didn’t have to wait long for the breakthrough though, and it was thoroughly deserved after an impressive opening.

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Forrest linked with Greg Taylor down the left, with the full-back’s low cross finding Abada tucking in from the opposite wing. The Israeli’s initial effort was saved by Hanus, but it broke back to him and he made no mistake at the second attempt, getting his second goal for Celtic.

Jablonec reacted and a shot from Martin Dolezal brought the first real save of Hart’s Celtic career, but the visitors would soon double their lead in fine style.

Bitton broke out from the back and played a lovely pass into Furuhashi on the edge of the Jablonec box. The forward took a brilliant first touch to get the ball out of his feet, then produced a deft dink over Hanus for his first goal since his arrival.

Everything was going so well. A little too well, some Celtic fans may have suspected after the lessons of the last 12 months. And so it proved.

A simple high ball over the top of the Celtic defence left Pilar one-on-one with Hart, and the winger had all the time in the world to pick his spot. It was an awful goal to lose from Celtic’s point of view, and exposed the defensive frailties that have dogged the promising attacking play of the early stages of Postecoglou’s tenure.

There were more positive signs going forward again soon after though, and Callum McGregor shot inches wide after some delightful one-touch passing had given him space at the edge of the area.

Abada might have had a hat-trick in the first half, and he had another good chance when Celtic cut the hosts open on the left once more, Turnbull this time providing the set-up and Hanus being pressed into a decent save yet again.

Turnbull’s confidence seemed to be growing, and he fired a long-range effort a yard wide as Celtic kept up the pressure.

How Celtic didn’t move further ahead at the start of the second half only they will know. McGregor fed Turnbull who in turn fed Abada, and his cross was deflected high and came down off the inside of the far post. The ball fell to Furuhashi, but he blazed over from four yards.

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There was a nagging fear that those multiple missed opportunities could come back to haunt Celtic, and Jablonec starting to press their opponents higher, and carved out one or two chances of their own as a result.

But just as the home fans were becoming vocal in response to their side’s improvement, a quickfire counter from Celtic silenced them.

Turnbull played a ball over the top for Abada to run through and get shot away that was parried by Hanus. Forrest was the first to react, and he tucked the rebound into the net.

Postecoglou brought on fresh legs, with Tom Rogic, Christie and Edouard replacing Turnbull, Abada and Furuhashi, but it was the frailties at the other end that opened the door for the Czechs once more.

Another simple ball saw Malinsky facing up to Hart, and with Starfelt floundering, the keeper was caught between coming out to pressurise the substitute and remaining in his goal. He did neither, in the end, and Malinsky produced a lovely dink over the new Celtic keeper that crept in at the far post despite Bitton’s efforts to clear.

Celtic didn’t feel sorry for themselves though, and a long throw by Ralston sent Forrest to the byline, and his cross on the volley found Christie throwing himself at the ball to restore the two-goal advantage.

It was the least they deserved.