A brilliant finish from Iain Vigurs ensured Ross County took points off Celtic for the third time this season in Sunday's 1-1 draw but the hosts were also helped by a controversial offside decision.
Vigurs found the top corner from 20 yards following a setpiece four minutes before half-time to cancel out Anthony Stokes’s early opener.
But Celtic should have gone into the break with a deserved lead after Tony Watt was denied a goal by a dubious offside decision.
County recovered from two down to beat Celtic 3-2 in their previous meeting and they again improved as the game progressed but could not get the winner they were pushing for to boost their hopes of a European place.
The draw means they are now four points adrift of third-placed Inverness and Caley Thistle will put County out of the running for a Europa League spot before the final-day Highland derby if they beat Dundee United at home on Saturday.