Scottish Premiership Sunday, February 15, 2026 Rugby Park KILMARNOCK…2 (John-Jules 21, Hugill 28) CELTIC…3 (Tounekti 56, Nygren 64 Araujo 90+7) An incredible second-half display from Celtic gave Martin O’Neill a 3-2 win against Kilmarnock in his 300th game in charge with Julian Araujo scoring the winner in the 97th minute! Even though 2-0 down at halftime, Celtic’s never-say-die attitude won the day with second-half goals from Sebastian Tounekti and Benjaminn Nygren drawing Celtic level before the Mexican’s late, late winner. For the third game in a row, Celtic left it late, and the joy among the away support as the referee blew for full time matched anything in the campaign so far. The home side had the better of the early stages, Findlay Curtis shooting straight at Kasper Schmeichel in the 13th minute when he perhaps should’ve done better having only the goalkeeper to beat. Kilmarnock did eventually take the lead in the 21st minute when Tyreece John-Jules curled a shot past Schmeichel from the left side of the penalty area. Celtic were struggling to carve out any clear-cut chances in front of goal when the home side then doubled their lead on 28 minutes, John Hugill sending a looping header into the back of the net. Daizen Maeda had a great chance to pull one back for Celtic in the 37th minute but his powerful goalward shot was blocked in the six-yard box. With the away fans clearly frustrated, Celtic were trying hard to give themselves a lifeline before half time. A glancing header from Liam Scales from a Kieran Tierney corner almost found the corner of the net but that was it for a largely disappointing first half for Martin O’Neill’s side.Celtic made three changes at half time with Tomas Cvancara, Sebastian Tounekti and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain coming on for Junior Adamu, Yang and Reo Hatate Just 10 minutes later Celtic had a goal back thanks to a wonderful curling strike from Tounekti who cut in from the left and beat Kelle Roos high to his left from 25 yards out. It was an incredible finish from the Tunisian internationalist. James Forrest came on for Daizen Maeda on the hour and three minutes later Benjamin Nygren pounced on a loose ball inside the six yards box to draw Celtic level with a left foot strike. It was game-on at Rugby Park! The home side weren’t lying down, however, and Robbie Deas came close to a third for Kilmarnock on 72 minutes with a header just over the crossbar. John-Jules then rifled the bar direct from a free kick from 20 yards out. Going into the final 15 minutes of the match, and with Saracchi on for Tierney, the game was wide open. Tounekti saw his header go wide from a James Forrest cross as Celtic searched for a winner. It looked like the spoils would be shared but Tomas Cvancara had other ideas. Good play from the Czech forward on the left and his low cross was fired high into the net by Julian Araujo. Cue delirium. Next up Stuttgart in the Europa League.FixturesKilmarnock Vs. Celtic – Sun, Feb 15th 2026, 14:00
Never-say-die Celts refuse to lie down
Celtic FC · 1h
Never-say-die Celts refuse to lie down
Never-say-die Celts refuse to lie down
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