Falkirk end 2007 hoodoo as Celtic slip up again at the top
Goals from Ethan Ross and Scott Tanser gave Falkirk their first win over Celtic since 2007, leaving Martin O'Neill to explain another damaging defeat in the Scottish Premiership title race.
Falkirk beat Celtic 2-0 to record their first victory over the champions since 2007, a result that denied Celtic the chance to extend their advantage at the top of the Scottish Premiership, according to Sky Sports Football.
Ethan Ross put the home side ahead inside three minutes, converting after Celtic failed to clear their lines, before Scott Tanser doubled the lead in the 38th minute, running through the Celtic defence to finish with composure.
Celtic goalkeeper Sam Johnstone was beaten twice but his opposite number, Scott Bain, was the game's outstanding performer, with Bain celebrating one save alongside team-mate Lewis Neilson during the match.
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill said the result was hard to take given the number of opportunities his side created, telling reporters he was disappointed to lose and insisting Celtic had chances in abundance, with the Falkirk goalkeeper, in his words, "magnificent all afternoon," according to Yahoo Sports.
O'Neill was equally blunt about the goals conceded, describing both as poor from Celtic's point of view: the opener came from a failure to clear the ball, and the second after a Falkirk player was allowed to run through unchallenged and pick his spot.
Asked about his side's wider form, O'Neill confirmed the run now stands at three wins in ten matches and six defeats in ten. Pressed on a route out of it, he said simply, "Yeah, of course," before being asked what that route actually was.
He put the problem down to conceding poor goals and going behind too often, and said the issue would have to be addressed. Pushed on having downplayed the slump days earlier, O'Neill accepted the criticism was fair, acknowledging Celtic had shipped soft goals and gone without a clean sheet for some time, calling that the opposite of what a championship-winning side should show, while stressing Celtic remained top of the table and had to put it right.
O'Neill pointed to a 7-0 win over Hearts as evidence his forwards can still function, while again praising Bain's display at Falkirk Stadium and arguing Celtic should have scored several times in each half.
Cameron Carter-Vickers returned to the starting line-up, with O'Neill explaining that a congested fixture schedule and absences elsewhere in the squad made the recall necessary. Auston Trusty was away following the death of his father, and Oliver Sorensen was also absent because of a family bereavement, O'Neill confirmed.
O'Neill noted that a heavy run of weekend and midweek fixtures was the reason a squad existed in the first place, and said Carter-Vickers had been a big player for Celtic in the past.
Callum McGregor was among those to spurn a presentable opening as Celtic pressed for a way back into the game, but O'Neill felt his side's response after going behind warranted credit, saying Celtic had played some decent football and, despite the mistakes at the back, created enough chances to have won the game.
O'Neill said the defeat would sharpen focus on the training ground rather than prompt panic, framing it as simply what the football club demands, with Celtic still topping the Scottish Premiership despite the setback.