Daizen at the double as Celtic pick up all three points

Scottish PremiershipSaturday, April 25, 2026Celtic Park CELTIC…3(Maeda 30 & 82, Tierney 43) FALKIRK…1(Wilson 70) Celtic picked up all three points in their first post-split fixture, with a double from Daizen Maeda and a thunderous finish from Kieran Tierney securing a vital 3-1 win over Falkirk for Martin O’Neill’s men. Celtic started quickly and fashioned two  chances within the opening 10 minutes, the first of which came about as a result of Daizen Maeda’s relentless work-rate which saw him race back in to the Celtic half and sweep the ball away from Dylan Tait before sending the Hoops forward. Shortly after, Maeda was presented with a half chance when Benjamin Nygren fired the ball towards him at the front post after a well-worked passing move which began deep within Celtic’s half. However, the Japanese forward was unable to connect with the ball and direct it towards goal from a tight angle. Viljami Sinisalo was called in to action for the first time in the match with just over 20 minutes gone when Brad Spencer fired a shot towards goal from outside the box, but Sinisalo judged the shot from Spencer well and pushed it wide. A few minutes later Anthony Ralston, who scored a cracker in last weekend’s semi-final against St Mirren, went close to putting Celtic in front with a low curling shot from the edge of the box, but Falkirk keeper Nicky Hogarth was able to make the save down to his left. On the half-hour mark, Celtic took the lead in emphatic fashion through Daizen Maeda. His pressure on the St Mirren goalkeeper in last weekend’s semi-final led to a goal within the first minute, and with similar relentless intent this evening, he pressured Falkirk defender Keelan Adams and won the ball back 25 yards from goal before firing a first-time shot beyond Hogarth, making it 1-0 to Celtic. With half time approaching, Kieran Tierney doubled Celtic’s lead with a blistering strike which rattled the underside of the crossbar on its way in. Once again, Daizen Maeda played a pivotal role, spinning on the edge of the box to buy himself some space before playing the ball through for Kieran Tierney, who needed no invitation to unleash his shot and fire Celtic into a two-goal lead.Ten minutes in to the second half, the Hoops put together a quick counter-attack which saw Callum McGregor carry the ball half the length of the pitch before slipping the ball to Kieran Tierney. He then found James Forrest, but the winger was unable to hit the target from inside the area. Moments later, Yang had the ball in the back of the net after a clever pass from Benjamin Nygren. Yang’s initial shot was saved, but he put the ball beyond the keeper with a header on the rebound. The offside flag was raised, however, bringing a swift end to the celebrations. With an hour gone, Martin O’Neill made his first change of the evening, bringing James Forrest off and replacing him with Sebastian Tounekti. The visitors went close to pulling a goal back in the 65th minute when Kyrell Wilson sent the ball towards Barney Stewart at the front post, but the Falkirk forward was unable to hit the target. The away side’s next attack saw them cut the deficit. A long ball from Leon McCann reached Kyrell Wilson on the right wing. He did well to bring the ball under control and produced a fine finish beyond Sinisalo. Martin O’Neill made three changes immediately after the goal, bringing Kieran Tierney, Yang and Anthony Ralston off for Marcelo Saracchi, Kelechi Iheanacho and Alistair Johnston, with the latter making his long-awaited return after a lengthy recovery from injury. There was one further change for the Hoops with 12 minutes to go, with Callum McGregor making way for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. In the 82nd minute, Daizen Maeda restored Celtic’s two-goal advantage with a tidy finish from inside the box. Sebastian Tounekti sent a low ball across Falkirk’s penalty area which reached Maeda and he found the bottom corner with conviction to make it 3-1 to Celtic.FixturesCeltic Vs. Falkirk – Sat, Apr 25th 2026, 17:30