Celtic fall guy feels the love with evidence of healing amid 'world class embarrassment' rebuke
Celtic respond to midweek European capitulation with 2-1 victory over Falkirk
It wasn’t quite what the doctor ordered. Hanging on at the end against Falkirk, having been gifted a goal of a start by the visitors, was not necessarily the antidote required following their Austrian shame.
But Celtic will gladly take these three points and move on following an extremely traumatic period. Camilo Duran, one of the disappointments as Celtic saw their Champions League aspirations extinguished in dismal fashion by LASK in midweek, scored a match-winning double. Celtic Park hasn’t been appeased exactly but there was a bit more love in the air than might have been expected. Nerves began to jangle after Falkirk cut the deficit to one thanks to a Colby Donovan own goal.
A little fewer than 20 minutes remained—plenty of time for another meltdown. Then Luke McCowan was sent on, which was the ultimate test of nerve for the player following the way he was treated in midweek. It was also a test for the fans, who gave the midfielder the lift he needed with a very warm greeting.
Tuesday’s fall guy against LASK responded with some sure first touches and the hosts saw out the remaining time without too much drama, although, as manager Martin O’Neill noted, they were very much on the backfoot in the latter stages after allowing Falkirk back into the match.
Substitute Jacob Murrell’s strong running brough a new dimension to the visitors’ play and a chance opened up for him after a through ball from fellow sub Conor McLeod. Murrell’s shot was blocked by Viljami Sinisalo before rebounding off the striker and being inadvertently bundled in by Donovan on the line. Anxiety gripped Parkhead once more.
O’Neill’s name had been chorused around the stadium after half an hour with the hosts already two goals to the good. Everything suddenly felt a bit brighter for the home fans.
The pain from earlier in the week is going to take a lot longer to assuage, granted. The rebuke from the North Curve was as strongly worded as expected: “World class embarrassment” was an accusation on one banner. Names of clubs against whom Celtic have floundered – including Kairat, Maribor and most recently LASK – were also branded, with the aim of keeping the heat firmly on the powers-that-be at Parkhead.
Elsewhere, however, there was evidence of healing. Even McCowan felt the love. It was 17 minutes in, Celtic were already one goal ahead after Duran took full advantage of an almighty clanger from Scott Bain, and a ripple of applause suddenly broke out amid an unexceptional passage of play.
It quickly became apparent why. McCowan had emerged from the sanctuary of the dugout to warm up, along with three of his teammates.
All eyes were on McCowan, the target of so much vitriol in midweek. He was heavily implicated in the Austrians’ fifth goal in extra time, to the extent that he deleted his social media accounts. Some wondered if the midfielder was finished at Parkhead. Was there any coming back from this?
Others ventured that the best possible crisis management approach was putting McCowan back in the spotlight at the first opportunity. Callum McGregor’s absence due to illness provided O’Neill with the excuse to give McCowan a rare start. In the event, the manager chose Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, one of three changes from the Tuesday night’s trauma, to replace McGregor.
But McCowan had to show face at some point, and when he did he would have been relieved by the reaction from what felt like the majority in the corner between the main stand and Jock Stein Stand. He even led the substitutes out in the second half to more sustained applause.
Although the off-the-field drama, from banners to McCowan, felt significant, what ultimately mattered most was on the pitch. Egypt international Haissem Hassan made his full debut and looked bright before he tired and was replaced by Forrest, Celtic’s first substitute, after 62 minutes. McCowan eventually appeared after 78 minutes, replacing the impressive Oxlade-Chamberlain, and did so to more very supportive applause, although the outcome was suddenly in the balance again.
Home fans, while keen to give McCowan backing, were getting slightly testier – those that hadn’t already left at least. There was a lot lying on the line. Not around £25 million, the sum reckoned to have been lost in Linz, but precious points.
Another blown lead would not have been borne, especially given the start. Celtic were in front inside three minutes after Bain, inexplicably, failed to gather a ball near the edge of the box. The fumble proved costly as Duran simply rolled the ball into the empty net from an angle, with a VAR check for offside coming to nothing.
Celtic looked set to go from world class embarrassment to flat-track bully in the space of four days, adding a second on 29 minutes after a flowing move down the left that ended with Tierney passing across the face of the goal. Duran finished adeptly. It seemed a case of how many Celtic might get. McGlynn’s admirable Falkirk side not only stemmed the flow but also gave the hosts something to think about.
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