 Mowbray watched Celtic throw away a lead in Tel-Aviv
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Celtic manager Tony Mowbray thought the Israeli heat had drained his players as Hapoel Tel-Aviv came from behind to win 2-1 in the Europa League.
"The conditions were very demanding, covering that extra yard became more difficult," said a dejected Mowbray.
"Our concentration levels in the last 15 minutes weren't as high as they had been, but let's not take anything away from our opponents.
"Hapoel are a good team, they played well and probably deserved the win."
Celtic looked in control of their opening Group C tie when they went in ahead at half time, thanks to a fine strike from Georgios Samaras.
However, the home side dominated the second 45 minutes and picked up three points after goals from Nemanja Vucicevic and Maaran Lala in the closing stages.
"We're really disappointed to lose in the manner we did with the two late goals," added Mowbray.
"I can't fault the players' effort. I thought they stuck to the game plan very well.
"But we played against a decent side and you could feel they were building up momentum, probably at a time where it was the most draining period of the game for our team."
After a sluggish start, Celtic dictated the tempo of the game before the interval, with Gary Caldwell and Landry N'Guemo doing a good job of protecting the back four.
"They hadn't really been threatening us and we were pretty comfortable," Mowbray reflected on the first half. "But we knew they would press forward and my biggest frustration was when we had the ball we didn't play well enough with it.
"They are all tough games away from home; we gave ourselves a chance but ultimately it didn't pan out for us and things fell their way.
"For 75 minutes we made it difficult for the opposition and got our noses in front.
"I was hoping we could have broken away and scored a second as they were pressing to get an equaliser.
"We were always going to allow Hapoel plenty of possession in their own half. It wasn't a day for us to go pressing high up the pitch.
"We didn't sit in after the goal. The conditions wouldn't allow us to be open and expansive in attack.
"It was a difficult night for all our players. Scott Brown is a player who bases his whole game on his energy levels, his drive and athleticism and it wasn't a night for that.
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"But for long spells he did just what he was asked to do."
Next up for Celtic is a home tie against Rapid Vienna, who enjoyed a 3-0 win over early Bundesliga pace-setters Hamburg, with the Germans next to visit Glasgow.
"We have two games at home on the bounce and if we can win them it will put us in a decent position and it will be complicated for someone else," was Mowbray's assessment.
"It will take a few games for the group to take some sort of shape, so let's wait and see."
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