Falkirk 4-1 Hibernian: Falkirk dismantle Hibs with ease as Barney Stewart nets hat-trick
Falkirk ran out convincing 4-1 winners over Hibernian at the Falkirk stadium on Saturday afternoon courtesy of a hat-trick from Barney Stewart and an own goal from Grant Hanley. John McGlynn’s side are now only two points behind fifth-place Hibs as their impressive return to the Scottish Premiership continues. Despite the visitors doing well to control the first 15 minutes, it was Falkirk who took the lead in the 17th minute as Calvin Miller raced to the byline before playing an inviting low ball across the face off the Hibs goalmouth that was met by Falkirk striker Barney Stewart who was there to side-foot the ball into the net. Following a lengthy VAR check for a potential offside, Barney’s opening goal was awarded. Hibs’ best chance of the game so far came after the half hour mark when Scotland International Grant Hanley came close to equalising from a free kick, Falkirk Goalkeeper Scott Bain done exceptionally well to tip it over the bar and ensure his side remanded ahead. Falkirk were unfortunate not to have doubled their lead as they had two opportunities within a few minutes; Kyrell Wilson struck from inside the area as his shot sailed inches wide of the Hibs goal. Raphael Sallinger then got down well to push away Calvin Miller’s fierce effort from close range. Barney Stewart netted his second of the afternoon and gave Falkirk a comfortable two goal cushion on the 43rd minute. The build-up play was almost identical to the first goal with Calvin Miller skipping past the Hibs defence with ease before delivering a low cross for Barney Stewart who was once again on hand to finish beyond Sallinger in the Hibs net. The Bairns headed into the interval 2-0 up after an impressive first half showing. Hibs made an attacking change at the break with Elie Youan coming on in place of Centre-back Jack Iredale as David Gray’s side changed shape to a 4-3-3. On the hour mark, Hibs found a way back into the game as Rocky Bushiri rose highest to head the ball home from Jordan Obita’s corner kick delivery to give his side a lifeline. With twenty minutes remaining, Falkirk were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous area as Calvin Miller stepped up to take it 20 yards from goal, Raphael Sallinger was on hand to get a hand to it and tip it over the crossbar for a corner which Falkirk failed to threaten from. Hibs substitute Rudi Molotnikov was involved in play instantly as the Youngster picked the ball up in a good position high up the park before he cut inside forcing Scott Bain to save well. Both sides had struggled to create any real quality going forward for large spells throughout the second half resulting in a quieter affair. Despite that, Falkirk all but secured the three points in the 83rd minute when Barney Stewart netted his first ever hat-trick for the club as any hope of a comeback from the visitors now looked near impossible. The Bairns made certain of victory as the game approached additional time, Louie Marsh fired the ball across goal as the ball deflected off Grant Hanley’s right foot as he was unable to prevent the own goal to cap off what had been a disastrous afternoon for the Hibees.
Partick Thistle Continue Push For Automatic Promotion After 2-1 Win Over Ayr United
Alex Samuel’s first half header earned Mark Wilson’s Partick Thistle a vital three points in the fight for the title as they defeated Scott Brown’s Ayr United 2-1. The match started slow, but with 12 minutes on the clock, former Ayr United player Logan Chalmers opened the scoring for the hosts after Kevin Holt failed to intercept Patrick Reading’s through ball. That wasn’t the end of the drama, as just two minutes later, Thistle’s continued pressure on Ayr saw Luke McBeth’s cross find Alex Samuel’s head and fall into the bottom left of Liam Russell’s net. Ayr United’s first half went from bad to worse, Leon King’s foul on Alex Samuel in the penalty area on the 19th minute saw referee Grant Irvine point to the spot. Chalmer’s stepped up to the penalty spot hoping to get his second of the match, however his effort down the middle was saved by the leg of goalkeeper Russell. The penalty save brought some hope for Scott Brown’s side, as his squad started to take the game to the Jags. Ben Dempsey’s effort on the 21st minute deflected by the post of Josh Clarke’s goal and earned The Honest Men a corner which they failed to capitalise on. Ayr United looked more comfortable for the remainder of the second half creating some well worked plays but failing to cause Thistle’s Clarke any problems. Ayr’s manager Scott Brown was shown yellow for dissent on the 35th minute, mostly out of frustration after his side’s poor first half performance. Ayr United almost found away back into the game late into the first half, their best chance of the game comes from a cross from Scott McMann and lands on Anton Dowds head, but his effort hits the side netting of Josh Clarke’s goal. A tactical substitution for Scott Brown saw Jude Bonnar being replaced by striker Curtis Main in a hope to get something from the game. And it was almost a dream start to the half for Ayr when Kevin Holt’s header looked goal bound, but it was blocked off the line by Thistle captain Lee Ashcroft. Partick Thistle almost extended their lead to 3, after Ben Stanway’s cross almost sneaked a way into the back of the net but was tipped over the bar by Liam Russel. Substitute Curtis Main got one back for the visitors on the hour mark after George Finney’s rocket was blocked and the striker was there to pounce on the rebound and find the top right corner. 72 minutes in Lee Ashcroft’s header was saved well by Russel, and moments later he was needed at the other end of the field to hold off Anton Dowds in a one-on-one battle near the Thistle goal. In the 79th minute, Alex Samuel’s original chance turned into a catalogue of blocked efforts from the Ayr United defence to keep themselves in the match. George Oakley’s burst of pace found him in a good position wit just two minutes remaining, but his powerful effort was parried away by Josh Clarke. In the dying moments of the match, Scott Brown’s continued dissent was punished with a red card, which really summed up Ayr United’s afternoon. Results elsewhere give Partick Thistle the chance to go top of the league by a point this Friday if they win away to current leaders St. Johnstone, after they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Dunfermline Athletic at McDiarmid Park. As for Ayr United, their next outing is also away to St. Johnstone as they travel to Perth on Tuesday in the Scottish Challenge Cup. The aforementioned defeat to the Saints and subsequent Dunfermline victory means Neil Lennon’s side have leapfrogged them into the play-offs on goal difference.
Celtic Solve Striker Crisis With Tomas Cvancara Signing
Celtic have completed the signing of striker Tomas Cvancara from Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach on loan, with an option to buy at the end of the season. The Czechia international had been tenuously linked with rivals Rangers online before reports emerged from Sky Germany that the hitman was headed for Glasgow’s East End instead. The Hoops have been in desperate need of a striker since the summer after selling Adam Idah on deadline day and replacing him with free agent Kelechi Iheanacho, who has spent most of his time at Parkhead injured. They were linked with former hitman Kyogo Furuhashi on a loan return from Birmingham City nearly exactly a year on from selling the Japanese forward to Stade Rennais, but the 31-year-old has stayed south to fight for his place. There was also reports that a loan enquiry for Leeds United man Joel Piroe were ‘laughed away’ due to the Elland Road side sharing investors with Rangers. Johnny Kenny and Daizen Maeda have shared spells through the middle for Celtic this season, but neither have had a consistent level of performance for any length of time this season, paving the way for Cvancara to make the position his own. Cvancara told club media: “It’s a massive honour to sign for this club. “I am so excited to get started and make my own contribution to the team. We have lots of challenges ahead of us and I am ready to get going and do everything I can to meet these and bring success to our brilliant supporters. “Celtic is one of the great names in world football and I am delighted to be here to play my part.” The 25-year-old has spent this season on loan at Turkish side Antalyaspor, scoring just once in eleven appearances this season in all competitions. He made the move to his parent club from Sparta Prague in 2023 for a reported fee of £9million, scoring eight times in 54 fixtures having played some games as a right-winger rather than through the middle. In his homeland with Sparta, Cvancara enjoyed the best spell of his career as he fired home 24 goals in 49 matches for the Czech capital side in an eighteen months spell from 2022-2023. He has represented his national side on eight occasions, scoring once in a 3-1 victory over Poland in Euro 2024 qualifying. Cvancara has also played at Celtic Park already, coming off the bench for Czech side Jablonec in a 3-0 second leg defeat in Europa League qualifying in 2021 at the beginning of Ange Postecoglou’s tenure as Celts’ boss. Celtic travel to Tynecastle to face league leaders Hearts this Sunday in a game which could have huge repercussions as to where the league trophy goes at the end of this season. Cvancara scored twice on his Monchengladbach debut, and could be in line to repeat the trick for the Glasgow side in a potential baptism of fire.
“I’ll Definitely be Looking to Change That” – Ferguson Eager For First Win Over Celtic
Scotland star Lewis Ferguson is looking for his first win over Celtic as his Bologna side host the Scottish champions tomorrow night in the Europa League. The former Aberdeen man failed to get the better of the green and whites in fifteen tries when he was in the North-East, as well as one failed attempt when he was an 18-year-old at Hamilton Academical. Despite managing seven goals against Celtic, more than he has scored against any other club by a fair distance, the Bologna captain is hoping to taste victory over the Glasgow giants at long last tomorrow. He told the media: “Every time I’ve faced Celtic, they’ve been strong, they’ve been really good. “I faced them a lot of times when I was at Aberdeen when we had a good team. They were always just better than us on the day. “But I’m obviously looking to go and change that stat. Maybe it doesn’t look too good, 16 times but never won so I’ll definitely be looking to change that. “It was probably the first game I looked at when the draw came out. Obviously it’s nice to play against a Scottish team. We’re looking forward to it, we’re ready. If we want to get in the top eight then we need to win this game.” Bologna currently sit 13th in the league phase, just two points off the top eight. Despite being eleven places higher in the table, Ferguson is well aware of the threat that Celtic can carry under Martin O’Neill. “He [O’Neill] is such an experienced manager, he has been there and done it all. “He is one of Celtic’s most experienced managers and as such, he knows the club so well. Winning seven out of eight games in that [interim] period is impressive. “Martin is a safe pair of hands. He knows how to get the best out of the players, so we will be expecting a really tough game.” Ferguson, son of Rangers hero Derek and nephew to former ‘Gers captain Barry, says that his family opted against making the journey to Italy amongst the Celtic following. “Everybody’s at home. I don’t think my dad wanted to take a flight out and be surrounded by Celtic fans. My family will be at home and watching from Scotland. “I’ve not had a chance to speak to him [Barry Ferguson] recently to talk about this game, but I think I know his thoughts on it! I know who he wants to win, that’s pretty clear. “I’ve obviously spoken to my dad a lot over the last couple of weeks, just about things in general, not too much about the game. “But yeah, I could probably tell you Barry’s thoughts before he said them.” The sides face off at the earlier kickoff time of 17:45 GMT tomorrow afternoon. A win for Celtic would further boost their chances of a playoff round spot going into the final league phase match, whilst Bologna need to win if they want any chance of sneaking into the top eight places. Celtic are yet to concede since O’Neill’s return but have looked less than convincing in their last two outings against Falkirk and Auchinleck Talbot. As for the Italian hosts, they have suffered a poor run of recent form of one win in their last seven, yet have only lost to Aston Villa in European action this season on match day one.
Auchinleck Talbot 0-2 Celtic: Celtic Limp Into Next Round After Defeating Junior Opposition
Celtic progressed to the fifth round of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup with a 2-0 win over sixth-tier non-league side Auchinleck Talbot at Rugby Park. The match was due to be played at the West of Scotland league side’s home Beechwood Park, but Police Scotland advised the game was moved to the home of Kilmarnock fifteen miles away. Striker Johnny Kenny got Celtic ahead 33 minutes with a stabbed effort from close in, before substitute Sebastian Tounekti killed any hope of a Talbot equaliser with just five minutes to play. A performance with enough reason to give fans of a Celtic persuasion concern as to why they were unable to put away a side five divisions below them with ease, as chants against the club’s board were vocally heard from the first whistle. Talbot goalkeeper William Muir produced a great stop to deny Celtic forward Johnny Kenny five minutes in. The Irishman got his head on the end of a headed cutback from Luke McCowan, but was denied by Muir as well as the linesman’s offside flag. Last season’s runners-up maintained the early pressure, with McCowan almost registering an assist once more five minutes later. The former Ayr United man tried playing in Prestwick native James Forrest, but a fantastic defensive intervention diverted any danger. Celtic’s best opportunity to put themselves ahead came 24 minutes in. Anthony Ralston fired a ball in across the deck which made its way to an arriving Michel-Ange Balikwisha. The Celtic number ten however, blazed his attempt over from less than twelve yards out. The ‘bot had their best chance of a shock lead come just after half an hour played. A looping free-kick was failed to be punched clear by Viljami Sinisalo and bounced in the Finnish international’s six-yard box, before being eventually bundled clear for a corner kick. The breakthrough finally came for the favourites two minutes after the scare. McCowan payed the ball from the right flank low into the Auchinleck area, and Johnny Kenny got across his man to poke the ball home and net his sixth goal of the season with a first time finish. And it could so nearly have been two for Kenny just a couple minutes into the second half. James Forrest, who swapped wings with McCowan, floated a ball into Muir’s six-yard area, but Kenny’s header cannoned off of the crossbar. Talbot gave the Parkhead side another fright just after the hour stage. Kyle McAvoy was slipped in down the right inside the box with time and space to pick out his teammates, but his cross lacked any accuracy as it went wayward into he side netting. Within a minute, the action moved from one goal to the other, as Johnny Kenny chipped the ball over Muir to score what he thought was his and Celtic’s second of the afternoon. The offside flag was raised, though, and a lengthy VAR check agreed with the on-field call. Another headed opportunity went begging for the away side with fifteen minutes to play. Liam Scales dinked cross was perfectly timed to match Anthony Ralston’s run from deep, but the right-back’s header towards the bottom left corner was an inch or two wide of the post. Benjamin Nygren stung the palms of Muir a minute or so later, with the Swede forcing the Talbot goalkeeper into making his first real save since Kenny’s chance early in the match. Tunisian winger Sebastian Tounekti got the Celts their two-goal cushion with five minutes to play. Paulo Bernardo found him in his natural position, and the 23-year-old cut in on his right foot and curled a beauty to put some polish on a sub-par performance from Celtic overall. The fairytale is over for Auchinleck Talbot as they bow out the competition with their heads held high after a resilient effort defensively and not shy in the attack either. As for Celtic, the 42 time winners are in the hat for the next round, but will need to up their game against better opposition, whom they face twice in the next week in two away contests to Bologna in the Europa league on Thursday, and league leaders Hearts on Sunday. AUCHINLECK TALBOT: Muir 7, Schoneville 5 (Kerr 79’ 1), Wilson 5 , Sime 6, McCubbin-Boyd 5 , Gillies 5, Main 6(Wood 87’) , Clark 6, Crooks 6 (Kazoka 87’1), McPherson 5, McAvoy 4 (Nimmo 82’ 1) CELTIC: Sinisalo 4, Balikwisha 4 (Nygren 67’ 2), McCowan 5, Kenny 5 (Yamada 86’ 1), Bernardo 6, McGregor 6 (Hatate 86’ 1), Murray 5, Forrest 7 (Tounekti 62’ 4 ), Donovan 5 , Ralston 5 , Welsh 5 (Scales 67’ 2)
“We All Know We Need to Put in Stronger Performances”- Benjamin Nygren
Celtic midfielder Benjamin Nygren conceded that the level of performance from himself and his teammates must improve in the final half of this season. The Swede scored the only goal in a narrow 1-0 win away to Falkirk, bringing him up to ten for in the league campaign so far, only behind Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland. And the 24-year-old is aware of the importance of getting positive results at this time of year. He said: “We said in the dressing room before that we have to almost win every game now. “In the end, it’s about getting the three points. If you play a great game, you still get three points. Today we didn’t play our best game but we still got the three points and that’s the most important thing.” Falkirk had a series of chances in a game in which the home side dominated spells of. Nygren was quick to give John McGlynn’s side credit where it was due, but also feels Celtic must look inwards. “For sure, I can give Falkirk some credit, they played a good game, but I still think we should do a better performance. “But we didn’t, and we still ran a lot of metres and did pretty good defensively. “We all know we have to put in stronger performances to win football games, today was not good enough. “We cannot continue with performances like this, but today we got the win and we are pleased with that.” Nygren is averaging a goal less than every three games after converting his twelfth Celtic goal in 33 appearances, but the summer recruit insists that the team performing well is his priority. “I always want to do good individually, but it’s a team sport so the most important thing is for us to win the league, and be first in the league and we are not at the moment. “But you need to score goals to win games and I’ve always been a player that from a deeper position that is creating chances, and scoring goals and making assists in the final third and I want to continue.” Celtic are now six points behind leaders Hearts after they also won tonight, but Nygren believes that this Celtic squad can turn their fortunes around. “We have the team right now to turn it around. In a massive club like Celtic, you always need competition [amongst the players]. “We still play both Hearts and Rangers again so it’s still in our hands and we will do everything to turn it around.” Celtic travel to Rugby Park on Sunday afternoon to take on non-league Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup, before a week which sees them travel to Bologna in their penultimate Europa League league phase match on Thursday, and then to league leaders Hearts in a mouth-watering clash on Sunday.
“I Can’t Remember Our Goalkeeper Being So Quiet Against Celtic” – John McGlynn
Falkirk boss John McGlynn shared disappointment over his side being unable to take anything from their 1-0 defeat at home to Celtic. It is only the third time the Bairns have lost at The Falkirk Stadium this season, with their home form being a significant factor as to why Falkirk find themselves in the top six. However, manager McGlynn was dismayed that his side lost tonight, despite having enough chances to get at least a point if not all three. He said: “Never mind being a Falkirk fan, I think any neutral individual is going to say Falkirk deserved to take something from that game. “I thought we were the better team in the first half, and created some really good opportunities and gutted to come in at half-time a goal down. “Very proud of our performance, I think it was an outstanding performance. I’ve played against Celtic many times, I can’t remember our goalkeeper being so quiet. Scott Bain’s not had an awful lot to do and that’s unusual.” Striker Barney Stewart was recalled from Dunfermline in late December after scoring 7 goals in 11 Championship appearances, but was denied twice tonight by Kasper Schmeichel in two one on one scenarios tonight. McGlynn retains faith that the goals will come for the 21-year-old. “Barney, thirteen months ago, is playing for Heriot-Watt University. He’s playing out there against Celtic, who are champions. What is he going to be like in three, four, five, six months from now having had that experience of going out there and creating the opportunities that he did? “Yeah, he didn’t take them, but keep getting in there, keep getting in they positions. It’ll start hitting the back of the net and then we’ve got a player there.” It is the third meeting between Falkirk and Celtic this season, with Celtic also winning the other two 4-1 and 4-0 both at Celtic Park. McGlynn hopes his side can take confidence into their next meeting there, which takes place in just over two weeks on February 1st. “I’m not naive. It’s different playing Celtic with 50/60,000, lovely beautiful pitch, everyone behind them. So your best chance is when you’re at home. “We go to Celtic Park on the 1st of February, so we can test the water there and how far we have come when we go back there and see if we can do something similar to that. “That would be a little bit of a guide for us. We’re not that far away from being a decent, right good side.” Falkirk travel to the capital city to face McGlynn’s former club Hearts at Tynecastle in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup this Saturday.
“We Were Second Best” – Martin O’Neill Delivers Honest Verdict After Victory Over Falkirk
Interim Celtic manager Martin O’Neill admitted that Falkirk were the better side despite losing 1-0 to the Northern Irishman’s side at The Falkirk Stadium. It is the second clean sheet in a row for the Parkhead club since the 73-year-old returned again on a temporary basis following the sacking of Wilfried Nancy, after eight games without a shutout during the Frenchman’s disastrous reign. However, O’Neill believes that Falkirk can be disappointed in failing to come away with any points from tonight’s defeat. He said: “We didn’t play well in the game. “We saw it through, and we can play much, much better. It just seems strange in the contrast where we were so good on Saturday [against Dundee United] and tentative tonight. “I think Falkirk would have found themselves really unlucky to be behind at half-time in the game. I thought we pressed a bit better in the second half, but overall we didn’t play well in the game.” Falkirk had three big chances in the first half, including an open goal miss from Kyrell Wilson, and then Kasper Schmeichel produced a massive save to deny Ethan Hamilton in the dying minutes of the second. O’Neill insists stronger performances will come. “I just thought, certainly in the first half, we were second best and we seemed devoid of that real energy that was necessary. “But obviously I am delighted to have won the game because we will play better. “The most important thing, I’ve said this often enough, is winning, tonight particularly, Hearts have won as well too and our margin of error is very small and we dropped a lot of points. “So winning tonight was the most important thing. We can play much better and we will” Falkirk are one of three Premiership sides who play on an artificial surface, but O’Neill was not prepared to use the pitch as an excuse for Celtic’s struggles today. “The circumstances today are totally different. We’re playing on an artificial surface. “I’ve no problem with that because they played pretty well on the artificial surface, or scored four goals anyway, against Livingston a couple weeks ago. “But things were different, and you have to adjust, you have to adapt, you have to do all of these things. It’s the nature of the game for the players, they have to dig in, and for that I’m eternally grateful.” Celtic have been linked with Croatian striker Franko Kovacevic from Slovenian side NK Celje, with the 26-year-old scoring 25 goals in 28 appearances so far this season. However, the Celtic manager remained coy on how far down the line a deal may be. “I’m probably sure I have done [looked at Kovacevic], I’ve only looked at about four and a half thousand at this minute! “You can tell a mile away we need to get a centre forward. Young Johnny Kenny has done really fine in the games but I think that’s really harsh to put that sort of pressure on a young lad.” Celtic are back in action this Sunday at Rugby Park as they face non-league Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup.
Falkirk 0-1 Celtic: Bairns Rue Missed Chances as Celts Escape With Win
Celtic made it back to back wins under the returning Martin O’Neill with a narrow 1-0 win away to Falkirk, becoming only the third away side to return home from The Falkirk Stadium with all three points this season. The result means the Glasgow side leapfrog their neighbours Rangers into second place on goal difference, but remain six points behind Hearts who defeated St. Mirren in tonight’s other fixture. The only goal of the game came on the stroke of half-time, with Celtic’s top goalscorer Benjamin Nygren scoring what would be the winner a minute before the whistle as he nodded an Arne Engels corner home. The home side had it much their own way in the first half, with Barney Stewart sending an early warning signal to the Celtic backline when he got in behind and fired straight at former Falkirk loanee Kasper Schmeichel seven minutes in. John McGlynn’s men maintained the pressure and came even closer fifteen minutes later, when a curled Calvin Miller set-piece from the left wing seemed to stop dead inside the Celtic six-yard box, eventually being cleared by left-back Kieran Tierney. And the biggest chance of the half would come just two minutes after. Kyrell Wilson done extremely well to beat Tierney to a ball over the top and drove in from the right, rounding Schmeichel with a smart side step, before losing balance and firing his shot high and wide. It remained one way traffic at the Falkirk Stadium and just before the half hour mark the hosts came close again. A slack pass from Daizen Maeda to his defence was pounced upon by striker Barney Stewart, who once again seen his effort swallowed by Schmeichel as the Hoops survived yet another scare. Seemingly against the run of play and with a mere minute before the half time whistle was blown, an Arne Engels in-swinging corner met the head of Benjamin Nygren. The Swede found the bottom corner and netted his tenth goal in the league this season, to give his side a perhaps undeserving lead at the break. A real collector’s item at half-time as the referee team made the only change. John Beatton swapped with his fourth official Sean Murdoch due to injury as he officiated his first game, or half if you will, of Premiership action. Celtic had the ball in the net again nine minutes into the second period courtesy of Daizen Maeda, but the Japanese forward was clearly offside and the scoreline remained 1-0. The defending champion’s first real sight on goal after the disallowed effort came around ten minutes from time. Reo Hatate was played in the box with space, and his low cross was met by Johnny Kenny. The Irishman’s attempt was blocked and bounced back off of him for a goal kick. Falkirk immediately went up the other end and produced a chance arguably bigger than any of those created in the first half. Liam Scales failed to clear a bouncing ball which landed at sub Ethan Williams’, but his strike was met by the extended leg of Kasper Schmeichel to deny his former side. The Bairns remain in the top six, five points clear of seventh placed Dundee United but will come away from this feeling aggrieved they haven’t taken anything out of the match. They travel to the capital on Saturday evening, to face Hearts in Scottish Cup action. As for Celtic, it is another win for Martin O’Neill who has won nine of hasten matches in charge over two spells as interim manager. The display did not complement the result and the Northern Irishman will no doubt be eager for reinforcements. Celtic travel to Rugby Park on Sunday to face non-league Auchinleck Talbot in the cup. FALKIRK: Bain 6, McCann 5, Henderson 6, Spencer 5, Yeats 4 (Parkinson 63’ 2), Stewart 2 (Marsh 63’ 3), Allan 6, Tait 5 (Cartwright 74’ 1), Wilson 5 (Ross 78’ 1), Lissah 7, Miller 7 (Williams 78’ 1) CELTIC: Schmeichel 7, Scales 5, Trusty 5, Nygren 7, Yang 5 (McCowan 66’ 3), Araujo 5, Tounekti 4 (Hatate 66’ 2), Engels 5 (Kenny 79’ 1), Maeda 5, McGregor 6, Tierney 6
Celtic 4-0 Dundee United: Martin O’Neill’s Magic Returns Winning Feeling To Celtic
Celtic won their first game of Martin O’Neill’s second interim spell in charge this season, defeating Dundee United 4-0 at Celtic Park. Two goals in each half were enough for the Northern Irishman’s side, with Hyun-jun Yang and Arne Engels netting in the first period, before Benjamin Nygren and Daizen Maeda completed the rout in the final half hour. It was Celtic’s first match since sacking Wilfried Nancy after 33 days, and they Hoops were able to keep a clean sheet for the first time since what we thought was Martin’s O’Neill’s last game as manager, when the defending champions eked out a 1-0 win over the over side of Dundee at Parkhead. The result temporarily lifts Celtic back into second place, three points behind leaders Hearts and ahead of rivals Rangers on goal difference. Both sides are in action tomorrow, away to Dundee and Aberdeen respectively. The hosts dominated proceedings from the referee’s whistle at kick-off, with he majority of play prevented Dundee United from escaping their own half as their resolute defence eventually caved 27 minutes in. Liam Scales picked out Yang on the edge of the area, and the South Korean’s low rocket flew beyond Dave Richards in the United net to open proceedings. And five minutes later Celtic were two in front. Kieran Tierney delivered a ball from the left flank and Belgian midfielder Arne Engels got first to it, putting daylight between the sides after his left-foot effort sailed into the goal. The Terrors had a glorious opportunity to get themselves back into the game which went begging just a couple of minutes before the half-time break. Teenage forward Owen Stirton took advantage of a slack pass from Austin Trusty, but the American was bailed out by an excellent recovery from his centre-half partner Liam Scales who got in the way of the 18-year-old’s attempt. Celtic were able to equal the intensity on the first half in the second, something they were unable to do in many games throughout Nancy’s forgetful tenure. Benjamin Nygren found himself with space on the six-yard line as the ball broke out to him, and the Swede’s fired home to convert for the 9th time in the league so far this campaign. And the Celtic fans would have to wait an extra minute between goals this time. Daizen Maeda got in on the act six minutes after Nygren, with the Japanese attacker reacting first to a parried effort from Sebastian Tounekti. Richard’s save fell straight to the 28-year-old, who put the ball out of reach to put a ribbon on a heavily sought after three points for Celtic. Dundee United remain outside the top six, sitting seventh in the table with only two wins from their last thirteen games. They host Scott Brown’s Ayr United in the Scottish Cup next Saturday. As for today’s winners, a much welcomed result and performance for Martin O’Neill on his return cuts the gap on Hearts at least until they play Dundee tomorrow. The Bhoys have a game in hand of the capital side, which takes place this Wednesday away to sixth placed Falkirk. CELTIC: Schmeichel 5, Araujo 5 (Donovan 61′ 2), Trusty 5, Scales 7, Tierney 7, Hatate 5 (Nygren 61′ 5), McGregor 6, Engels 7, Tounekti 6 (Forrest 72′ 2), Yang 8 (McCowan 72′ 1) Maeda 6 (Kenny 72′ 1) DUNDEE UNITED: Richards 4, Naamo 4, Sevelj 5 (Eskesen 78′ 1), Graham 5, Keresztes 4, Ferry 3, Stephenson 4, Sibbald 5, Camara 2 (Fatah 46′ 2), Stirton 2 (Strain 61′ 1), Sapsford 3 (Moller 79′ 1)