Lincoln Red Imps’ shock 1-0 win over Celtic sparked worldwide reaction, according to the Gibraltan side’s president Derek Alman.

The first leg of the Hoops’ Champions League second qualifying-round clash at the Victoria stadium on Tuesday night was manager Brendan Rodgers first as boss and it brought unexpected drama.

In searing heat and on a poor artificial surface, the Scottish champions were stunned by an early second-half goal from striker Lee Casciaro, which put the part-timers on the football map.

Alman told Press Association Sport: “This is historic for us, the combination of so many years of hard work behind the scenes and on the pitch.

“We have had an incredible reaction. We have had people calling us from New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany, with a lot of people on the blue side of Glasgow congratulating us, so I can see that the rivalry between the two clubs (Rangers and Celtic) is very much alive.

“We are getting several calls from newspapers in Spain and Italy, there is a huge media interest in the story, and that the players are semi-professionals, some of whom are police officers and custom officers.”

Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths hit the bar twice as the Hoops tried in vain to get back on level terms but Alman, who doubles as the club’s chairman, claimed some ecclesial help may have played a part in their clean sheet.

“We could have scored a second, which just grazed the crossbar,” he said.

“But obviously Celtic had their chances and they hit the bar as well. We had a Catholic priest with us, Father Paul Bear, a very special friend of the club, and he blessed the goal posts for us.

“He comes to our big matches and we always have a joke with him and say, ‘Father please bless the posts and the crossbar’. He jokes, ‘okay I have placed a blessing on that goal’.”

While revelling in his club’s finest hour, Alman is under no illusions as to how difficult the return game in Glasgow will be for Lincoln Red Imps.

He said: “It is going to be a very hard match, 1-0 is a very slim lead and I am sure Celtic will go full guns blazing on their own pitch with the crowd behind them.

“It is going to be a struggle for us, but we hope to give them a game and they will have to run and work their butts off to beat us, but we never give up, we never give up on the game.”

British media were quick to give their verdict on the humiliating loss, with the Guardian calling it the “Shock of Gibraltar”.

But Rodgers said there had been no shame in losing to the team of part-timers.

“There is no embarrassment. It was a tough game in tough conditions,” Rodgers said.

“We didn’t take our chances, they took their chance. We dominated and created enough chances to score.

“It doesn’t matter the team, the level. Teams have good organisation, 11 players behind the ball. Throw the pitch into that, it’s very, very tough for the players.”

Rodgers also urged for patience.

“Our fans expect us to get into the group stages. It was disappointing but the players gave everything they had,” he added.

“The message to them is to stay calm. This is a good group of players, they are working hard... in a week’s time we will need them.”