St Mirren 'rode their luck but deserved a point'
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South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Dane Murray celebrates contract with goal as Celtic ease past Falkirk
The 22-year-old defender headed home Celtic's third goal of the second-round clash at Parkhead. Murray, who has already overcome two separate cruciate ligament injuries in his career, earlier signed a new deal that keeps him at the club until 2028. Daizen Maeda and Alistair Johnston were also on target and Falkirk defender Liam Henderson put through his own net before Keelan Adams scored an impressive consolation goal for the Premiership newcomers. Centre-back Murray was one of six players coming into the Celtic line-up alongside goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo, Auston Trusty, Arne Engels and Johnny Kenny. The Hoops beat then Championship side Falkirk 5-2 on their way to winning last season's tournament and this was another open encounter with both sides creating chances in the first half. Kenny volleyed wide early on after James Forrest's lay-off and former Celtic goalkeeper Scott Bain saved long-range strikes from Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney before scrambling to meet Henderson's wayward passback, which just went wide. Ross MacIver dragged a shot wide at the other end after a loose pass from Murray. The breakthrough came in the 26th minute after McGregor returned the ball into the box following a corner. Tierney ran on to meet the cross and nodded the ball down for Maeda to score with a diving header. There were further chances at each end before the break. Sinisalo saved brilliantly from Calvin Miller's 25-yard strike before denying Alfredo Agyeman and MacIver. Engels and Forrest missed close-range headers at the other end. Celtic were more dominant after the break and doubled their lead in the 54th minute after Falkirk lost possession from a throw-in. Johnston chased down Miller as the former Celtic player headed back towards his own goal and the right-back won the ball before curling into the far corner with his left foot. Murray got his big moment in the 61st minute when he headed home from an inswinging corner from Engels. Celtic went further ahead three minutes later as Yang Hyun-jun made an instant impact after coming on with home debutant Shin Yamada. The South Korean winger ran past two opponents after Celtic won the ball back deep in the Bairns half, and his low ball across the goalmouth was turned into his own net by Henderson. The noisy visiting fans got a chance to celebrate three minutes later when right-back Adams arrowed a shot into the top corner from 20 yards. That ended the flurry of goals as Celtic safely navigated their way into Saturday evening's quarter-final draw and avoided any injuries ahead of their Champions League play-off first leg against Kairat Almaty on Wednesday.
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Brendan Rodgers: Sky's the limit for Dane Murray after scoring in Celtic cup tie
The 22-year-old headed home Celtic's third goal from an Arne Engels corner as the Hoops beat Falkirk 4-1 at Parkhead to reach the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals. The central defender made his first appearances for Celtic in the Champions League play-offs against Midtjylland in 2021 but subsequently suffered two separate cruciate ligament injuries and did not play another first-team game for three years. He was recalled from a loan spell at Queen's Park midway through last season but injury ended his campaign prematurely after he returned to the Celtic team. However, he was one of six players drafted in by Rodgers for the cup tie and he took his chance with a deft header from close range. Rodgers said: 'It's great for him because he's a great boy. He's got a lot of potential. And I think over the next 12 to 18 months, he's going to really grow. 'His ceiling is so high. There's areas of the game that he needs to clearly, obviously, work on. 'But he's 6ft 4in, he's quick, he can take the ball. He has a comfort with the ball which aligns with top players. 'Just, concentration is something that's key for defenders. But I really, really like him and that's hence the reason we've tied him down – and I think he's got a great future.' Daizen Maeda scored the only goal of an open first half with a diving header and Celtic took full control after the break with a flurry of goals from Alistair Johnston, Murray and Liam Henderson's own goal, before Keelan Adams notched an impressive consolation. 'I thought the performance was very, very good from the first whistle,' Rodgers said. 'You've seen the hunger in the team and the intensity in the team. 'The first half we were good with the ball, but not so good without it. It gave Falkirk a couple of wee opportunities to break through. 'We weren't aggressive enough and tight enough. When we corrected that at half-time, we really dominated the second half. 'The goals were excellent and I thought we played really, really well.' Falkirk manager John McGlynn was frustrated that two Celtic goals came from set-pieces and two others came from his side losing possession deep in their own half. But he was pleased with the way his top-flight newcomers approached the challenge. 'Kind of cheap goals, but Celtic deserved to win by that margin,' he said. 'Of course they did with the amount of pressure they had on us, the amount of corners and the amount of attempts. So I didn't have any complaints about that. 'We were kind of causing our own downfall, but I thought Celtic were very, very good. And we'll need to take learnings from that. 'But you're spending millions of pounds building a team like that. And I know the Celtic fans are still wanting more signings, but there didn't look much wrong with that team to me.'
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Dane Murray celebrates contract with goal as Celtic ease past Falkirk
The 22-year-old defender headed home Celtic's third goal of the second-round clash at Parkhead. Murray, who has already overcome two separate cruciate ligament injuries in his career, earlier signed a new deal that keeps him at the club until 2028. Daizen Maeda and Alistair Johnston were also on target and Falkirk defender Liam Henderson put through his own net before Keelan Adams scored an impressive consolation goal for the Premiership newcomers. Centre-back Murray was one of six players coming into the Celtic line-up alongside goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo, Auston Trusty, Arne Engels and Johnny Kenny. The Hoops beat then Championship side Falkirk 5-2 on their way to winning last season's tournament and this was another open encounter with both sides creating chances in the first half. Kenny volleyed wide early on after James Forrest's lay-off and former Celtic goalkeeper Scott Bain saved long-range strikes from Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney before scrambling to meet Henderson's wayward passback, which just went wide. Ross MacIver dragged a shot wide at the other end after a loose pass from Murray. The breakthrough came in the 26th minute after McGregor returned the ball into the box following a corner. Tierney ran on to meet the cross and nodded the ball down for Maeda to score with a diving header. There were further chances at each end before the break. Sinisalo saved brilliantly from Calvin Miller's 25-yard strike before denying Alfredo Agyeman and MacIver. Engels and Forrest missed close-range headers at the other end. Celtic were more dominant after the break and doubled their lead in the 54th minute after Falkirk lost possession from a throw-in. Johnston chased down Miller as the former Celtic player headed back towards his own goal and the right-back won the ball before curling into the far corner with his left foot. Murray got his big moment in the 61st minute when he headed home from an inswinging corner from Engels. Celtic went further ahead three minutes later as Yang Hyun-jun made an instant impact after coming on with home debutant Shin Yamada. The South Korean winger ran past two opponents after Celtic won the ball back deep in the Bairns half, and his low ball across the goalmouth was turned into his own net by Henderson. The noisy visiting fans got a chance to celebrate three minutes later when right-back Adams arrowed a shot into the top corner from 20 yards. That ended the flurry of goals as Celtic safely navigated their way into Saturday evening's quarter-final draw and avoided any injuries ahead of their Champions League play-off first leg against Kairat Almaty on Wednesday.
