Martin O'Neill lauds Celtic man of the hour in Falkirk win as summer transfer uncertainty turns distant memory
The Celtic boss was also delighted with the return of a man from the treatment room
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill waxed lyrical about Daizen Maeda’s performance against Falkirk in their 3-1 win and isn’t surprised to see the Japan international get back to his best.
A first half masterclass from the striker gave the Hoops a healthy two goal cushion going into the break as he dispossessed Falkirk on two occasions to score himself and assist Kieran Tierney. The Bairns managed to get one back through substitute Kyrell Wilson, before Maeda put the game to bed in the 83rd minute for his second and final goal of the afternoon. The result means they keep the pressure on both Hearts and Rangers, who will be in action tomorrow.
Celtic’s Duracell Bunny has at times looked a shell of the player he was last season, when he won Player of the Year and hasn’t been able to emulate his numbers. This wasn’t helped by his future at the club becoming uncertain in the summer, when he was linked with a move to the Bundesliga and expressed a desire to leave the club at the end of the season. However, having also scored against St Mirren in similar fashion in the Scottish Cup, now with five goal contributions in his last two, the 28-year old is finding his groove again at an ideal time.
O’Neill on Maeda heroics
Speaking after the match, the veteran boss praised the work-rate and quality of his talisman, who he now believes is over the summer transfer debacle. He said: "It's a big win. Daizen (Maeda), who was fantastic throughout the game, gets us a goal out of nothing and continues to play brilliantly through the course of the match, which was tough. It’s a boost to have Daizen playing like that. Terrific. Last week he gets a goal out of nothing from closing down. His closing down is amazing. Even in the 85th minute, he closes someone down. I thought he was brilliant. I was pleased the one that he missed was actually offside, otherwise I'd have killed him!
"It may well have been that move to the Bundesliga may have affected him at the time. Maybe he thought he was all set up - or so I believe, I wasn't here at the time. I think he had maybe done his job here and felt 'well, maybe I deserve to go to the Bundesliga'. And when it didn't happen, and apparently it may have been at the 11th hour, there will be a natural disappointment. I'm only putting that out - it may not be that at all - but he's come roaring back. He deserves any accolades that have been bestowed on anyone over the past few weeks.”
Johnston returns to the action
The Falkirk victory also marked the return of right back Alistair Johnston, who has been out since October with a recurring hamstring issue. The Canadian entered the field of play to a standing ovation from the Parkhead faithful, something the Celtic boss thought was a nice touch. He continued: “I thought that was amazing (Johnston’s standing ovation). He is very popular here and there’s reasons for that. That was very encouraging. I thought he did fine. This week’s training will bring him on again. He’s itching to go.”
In more worrying news, goalscorer Kieran Tierney went off with a knock with 18 minutes to go, but O’Neill claims this was just a precaution. He added: “I’m hoping he will be alright, from the knock I thin k he will recover but the general fatigue I think is still causing a problem. It was a great goal from him.”
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