Promising signs from Celtic new boy in Middlesbrough draw as empty seats in the stands send board a message

Celtic drew 1-1 with Middlesbrough in front of a subdued Parkhead crowd as a planned boycott protest against the board left an unusual atmosphere.

In the match itself new striker Camilo Duran once again looked sharp as he got on the scoresheet for the second consecutive game when he cancelled out David Strelec’s opener for the vistors. Callum Osmand found the funny side after he hit the post with twice within the space of a second. Teenager Sean McArdle showed up well on his first start for the club. No noticeable injuries were picked up during the game.

Two months ago, 60,000 Celtic fans passionately celebrated their team’s dramatic league-clinching victory over Hearts in nail-biting fashion. Today was a stark contrast, as the board’s lack of transfer movement led to a boycott from supporters. Only 12,000 fans watched on from the Celtic Park stands - 5,000 of which were travelling fans. While a friendly fixture was always destined for a below-average attendance, to put it in perspective, 45,000 watched last season’s warm up match against Newcastle United.

Tale of the tape

As Celtic fans cry out for new players in their message to the board, ironically it was Celtic’s only signing of the season who stood out. Duran played on the edge all afternoon and looked a constant threat. He found himself one-on-one with early on but hit his shot straight at Boro keeper Sol Brynn. The linesman’s flag went up but the early warning signs were there.

Strelec broke the deadlock in the 28th minute after Celtic failed to deal with a Middlesbrough corner. Five minutes later, Duran struck back, as he rifled the ball in the net after some neat build up play. Luke McCowan, who also looked sharp bagged the assist.

Hoops boss made several changes at half time to get some more minutes in the legs for as many players as possible. One of whom was Callum Osmand, who had the chance of the second half when he turned a Joseph Haney cross onto the post before hitting the other post with the rebound. Amid the friendly atmosphere, the Welshman saw the funny side of the bizarre series of events.

Elsewhere, Hoops winger Sean McArdle didn’t look out of place playing in the first team for only the third time. Defensive stalwart Cameron Carter-Vickers got some much needed minutes in the legs after recovering from his ACL injury. Celtic will face AC Milan in another friendly next Saturday before their season officially gets underway against Dundee on flag day on August 3.

What were Celtic trying to gain from the Middlesbrough friendly?

Prior to the match, O’Neill told Celtic TV: “This is just the start now, it's another pre-season game for us. A chance for us to get fitter again as much as possible, and of course, trying to work out some things tactically that we've been working on, so we'll see if they work during the course of the game.

"I think getting closer to the start of the season, things like performances and fitness become more and more important. Particularly fitness, we're still leaving out the World Cup lads until next week. It's also about bonding as well as these games, when there's a few new faces in or a few people leave, then that takes getting used to."

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