Celtic Rescued by Camilo Duran's Double Against Falkirk
Camilo Duran struck twice to drag Celtic out of their Champions League misery and keep their perfect Premiership start intact – on a day when the home crowd arrived armed with anger as much as expectation.
Four days after blowing a four-goal lead in Europe, Martin O'Neill had demanded “character”. What he got was a jittery, occasionally wasteful, but ultimately successful response in a 2-1 win over Falkirk that owed everything to his Colombian centre-forward.
From “world-class embarrassment” to release
Celtic Park did not hide from the midweek collapse. As the players walked out, a banner cut through the air: “world-class embarrassment.” The message was brutal. The reaction on the pitch was better.
Falkirk almost deepened the gloom inside the opening minute. A low ball across goal looked perfect for Parkinson to tap in, only for Cameron Carter-Vickers to stretch and divert it away at the last moment.
That scare seemed to jolt Celtic awake. On four minutes, the pressure flipped to the other end and Scott Bain, once of this parish, handed his former club a gift they badly needed. The goalkeeper made a mess of a routine situation, Duran pounced, and after a VAR check confirmed the goal, Celtic had the early lead their nerves craved.
The roar that followed felt less like celebration and more like relief.
Duran doubles up, Nygren wastes chances
With the tension easing, Celtic began to move the ball with more purpose. The second goal arrived just before the half-hour and again Duran was the man in the right place.
Kieran Tierney, back in familiar territory down the left, whipped in a teasing cross. Duran had peeled away unmarked and swept a composed finish into the bottom corner. Two chances, two goals. Clinical, ruthless, exactly what O’Neill had been missing in Europe.
From there, the game should have been buried.
Benjamin Nygren repeatedly found himself on the end of promising moves. On 33 minutes he headed over from a cross. A minute later he burst into the box and lashed another effort over the bar. Before the break he tried again, only for Bain to tip his strike over.
The pattern continued after half-time. Parkinson spun in the area and fired over. Nygren was then denied at close range by Bain after a clever pass from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Moments later, Nygren curled one from just inside the box, the ball drifting inches too high.
Celtic were dominant, carving out chance after chance. They just refused to land the knockout blow.
Falkirk lifeline and a nervy finish
That wastefulness invited trouble, and with 18 minutes left, trouble arrived.
Jacob Murrell drove in a low shot that Viljami Sinisalo did well to save, but the rebound spun into chaos. Colby Donovan, trying to deal with the loose ball, only succeeded in turning it into his own net. From nowhere, Falkirk were back in the game at 2-1.
Celtic, missing injured captain Callum McGregor and Kasper Høgh, suddenly looked fragile again. Stephen Scales had already headed over from a Yang cross as the hosts chased a third; now the anxiety in the stands was matched on the pitch.
Nygren, still hunting his goal, ballooned another effort over with Baur raging beside him, convinced the ball should have been left. Osmand drilled a late effort straight at Bain, the goalkeeper clutching it gratefully as Falkirk clung on.
The final whistle brought more exhale than explosion. Three wins from three in the Scottish Premiership, but not without a reminder of how quickly control can slip.
John McGlynn’s Falkirk remain without a league victory, though their late push will give them something to cling to. Celtic, for all the noise around them, have points on the board and a striker in Duran who looks ready to carry the load.
The banner called them an embarrassment. The table, for now, tells a different story. How long that gap between perception and reality lasts will define their season.
