For Martin O’Neill, the second international break of the season should be somewhat less fretful than the first.
Seven weeks ago, with a home defeat to Ferencvaros coming in between two no-shows against Rangers, the veteran wondered aloud if it might be time to ‘wrap it up’.
O’Neill later admitted that he regretted his choice of words. He won’t, though, lament the decision to go again as he rests up in the coming days.
While the intervening weeks have often been a bumpy ride, the past four days have been a lot more like it.
Thursday’s dramatic win over Besiktas has breathed new life into Celtic’s Europa League campaign.
While by no means spectacular, this narrow victory over Kilmarnock re-established their four-point lead at the top of the Premiership and will have further dampened the sense of hysteria which was threatening to engulf the entire club.
Celtic defender Liam Scales loops the ball over Kilmarnock’s goalkeeper and into the net
Scales celebrates with Camilo Duran after netting the only goal of the game at Celtic Park
Celtic striker Kasper Hogh finds the net with a crisp right-foot shot, only to have it disallowed
Celtic certainly made hard work of this. Truth be told, they should have gone into the break on the back of a far more convincing victory.
While they were right to feel wronged that Kasper Hogh saw his goalless run stretch to 16 matches after having one harshly disallowed, O’Neill’s men did not help themselves either.
Coming after Liam Scales had given them a half-time advantage, Benjamin Nygren’s missed penalty allowed Kilmarnock to keep believing right to the end.
Nonetheless, it was hard to begrudge Celtic their victory over the piece. A few weeks back, this might have been a contest in which they’d have come a cropper. They look more assured defensively than earlier in the season.
You don’t need to stay up all night researching exactly why Kilmarnock are in such peril at this stage of the season.
Neil McCann’s side began the campaign losing goals and they’ve really never stopped. They cough up more chances than any side in the top division. When it comes to shooting themselves in the foot, they’re in a league of their own.
In 13 games to date, they’ve shipped 29 goals and have kept just two clean sheets in the process. St Mirren, the side with the second worst record in the Premiership, have lost 22.
As worrying as those statistics and the Premiership table undoubtedly are, though, this felt like a step in the right direction.
In being more resolute, McCann’s men stayed in the contest right until the final whistle. They fashioned a number of decent chances throughout. There was plenty of encouragement here, even though they went down again.
For the home supporters, the much-needed positivity which had emanated from Thursday’s European win was boosted by the return to the starting line-up of Jota for the first time since April 2025.
Notably, only three out of nine of Celtic’s summer signings made the squad, with Sam Johnstone the only one involved who arrived on deadline day.
O’Neill was indebted to the on-loan Wolves man inside the first minute. Ieuan Owen skipped away from Callum McGregor then Colby Donovan down the left and put in a dangerous cross. Twice Tom Lowery hit the target. Twice the Celtic keeper stood up tall.
Lowery immediately had his name taken by John Beaton for a clumsy foul on Nygren.
Despite their precarious position, to their credit, Kilmarnock didn’t come to Parkhead just to defend. Tyreece John-Jules, their main striker, had an abundance of support in the form of Owen, Greg Kiltie and Joe Hugill.
Between them, they fashioned enough half chances. They just didn’t have ice in the veins at the right moments.
Hogh was right to feel aggrieved at the decision which cost him that elusive goal. Truthfully, there was very little in Mika Baur’s challenge on Kiltie which was retrospectively penalised.
Duran gathered and fed Nygren. The Swede swivelled and rolled the ball into Hogh’s path. A crisp right-foot finish was not that of a player lacking in confidence.
The Dane’s lengthy celebrations included a look up to the heavens. By the time Beaton made his way to the monitor and chalked the goal off, Hogh could have been forgiven for feeling that someone up there had it in for him.
To Hogh’s credit, he didn’t let it affect him. Moments later, after being played in by Duran, he was only denied his revenge by the outstretched leg of Nico Mantl.
Hogh then played Duran in with a clever back-heel. The Colombian lashed his effort just wide.
Celtic’s pressure was mounting and they edged in front on 26 minutes with Duran, yet again excellent throughout, the architect.
His clipped cross from the right caught the Kilmarnock defence flat-footed. Scales extended his left foot and watched the ball rise to the point where it appeared to be going over.
With Mantl hoping that it would clear his bar, it looped into the net. There was no disputing this one.
Required to take more risks, Killie had to be careful when they turned the ball over. Hugill and Cathal McCarthy were both booked for crude fouls on Duran and Jota, respectively.
While Celtic began to control the affair, the visitors were not without their moments. Michael Schjonning-Larsen’s stinging strike from 25 yards forced Johnstone into another solid stop.
While Jota looked good in moments, it’s clearly going to take some time before he’s fully up to speed. The same might apply to Hyun-jun Yang, the man who replaced him at the interval, after being sidelined for six weeks with a hamstring injury.
Donovan came close to wrapping up the three points with an enterprising run and shot with his left foot which flew just wide.
Duran’s close control and speed across the ground bought him a yard for a shot. Having seen it late, Mantl dealt with it well.
Hogh actually performed well here. He was tidy with the ball and frequently brought team-mates into play. He just didn’t hit the target often enough. That again cost him when he spun neatly in the box and tried his luck midway through the second period.
You couldn’t fault him when he seized on Kieran Tierney’s cross, though. The saving block from Killie substitute MJ Kamson-Kamara was tremendous.
With the home supporters longing for a clinching second goal, Duran dumped a shot into the side netting before the industrious Baur was flagged offside after firing home.
The wait would go on. Initially adjudged to have struck Aaron Tshibola’s arm just outside the box, Yang’s strike would earn Celtic a spot-kick with 14 minutes remaining after a VAR review.
Nygren just never looked confident as he spotted the ball. Mantl dived to his right and made a comfortable save. Those hoping for a sharp exit sat back in their seats.
The sight of Baur hobbling badly after being caught by Tshibola didn’t make the viewing in the final moments any easier. All that truly counted for the home fans, though, was that Celtic got over the line.
