Martin O'Neill revels in Celtic 'wonder goal' in milestone match while issuing injury update on night of consequence
The Celtic boss
In what could be a monumental batch of midweek results in terms of the title race, a last-minute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain strike gave Celtic a massive three points after they huffed and puffed against Livingston.
Livi keeper Jerome Prior had the game of the life, with his saves tally going into double figures, but despite his first half heroics, he was rooted to his spot for Marcelo Saracchi’s long range effort. Against the run of play, the visitors then equalised through a Robbie Muirhead spot kick, leaving a nail-biting finish in Glasgow’s East End. The Parkhead faithful grew evermore frustrated at Celtic’s wastefulness in front of goal until ‘The Ox’ grabbed a late winner with a stunning curled effort from the edge of the box.
On paper, against a side bottom of the table who are winless in 24, it should’ve been a routine victory for The Hoops, however the manner of the dramatic late winner could in turn give them confidence, especially since Rangers dropped points at Fir Park, as Celtic loanee Stephen Welsh done his parent club a favour with a late equaliser. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s late winner means Martin O’Neill’s side keep pace with Hearts, who bagged a last-gasp winner themselves in Tuesday night’s Edinburgh Derby.
‘Hopefully, he’s just beginning’ - O’Neill delighted with Ox debut
In what was his 200th league game in the Celtic dugout, O’Neill was delighted with his new man grabbing the late winner and says at the age of 32 he’s only just beginning. He also gave an update on the injury Arne Engels looked to have sustained unchallenged in the first half which forced him into an early substitution. When asked if ‘The Ox’ will be part of O’Neill’s plans going forward, he told Celtic TV: “Absolutely, hopefully he's just beginning. It was a class goal from a player who has been class throughout his career.
“It was a late again for us, but in all honesty we should have been 3 up or 4 up in the first 15 minutes of the game. We get one and it's never enough, it's never enough and we allow them back into the game with a penalty kick, and then we're driving and driving and driving, it looked as if, it might not happen, then Alex comes up with a wonder goal. A wonder goal from a very special player.”
When asked about the Engels injury, he responded: “I don't know what it is. It might be a thigh one as that’s what he was holding when he came off. I haven't had the chance to speak to the medical team yet about that there. But it will be a problem for us, because Engles has been a very, very good player for us.”
What Oxlade-Chamberlain said after dream debut
Celtic’s hero on the night said: “It couldn’t have gone any better (debut). I was sort of drawing that goal up in the hotel room earlier and they’re the things you dream of. Still at this age, later on in my career, to get moments like that is why we play this game and you can never get bored of stuff like that.
“I’m just delighted that the club’s given me the chance to get back on the pitch and have put a bit of faith in me to be able to produce moments like that and I know that’s my job, to try and add a bit of quality like that. The boys were knocking the door down for a long time and we’re going to have to learn that we’ll need moments like that and to be a bit more clinical.
“But again, great character from the boys, they stayed focus all the way through the game and we got the job done in the end. Character is everything, we saw it the other night as well (against Dundee) and again tonight proves it. I’ve watched Celtic over the years and now to feel that atmosphere is great and it’s our job as players to keep inspiring the fans and keep them with us.”