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This was a little more fraught than it needed to be and looked as if it would be for Celtic. Still, Martin O’Neill can focus on the most important fact in that he has guided the Scottish champions into the Europa League’s playoff phase. Job done, once again, for the effervescent O’Neill.
Celtic were fully deserving of their win in what became an entertaining clash. Their wobble in the second half proved to be only that. O’Neill, thought to be a managerial yesterday’s man not so long ago, continues to do his bit for 70-somethings everywhere. The Irishman will know Celtic must improve in order to make meaningful, further progress in this competition but such detail can wait. Even continuation in the Europa League had looked a long shot in the latter part of 2025. Utrecht will be delighted to see the back of a tournament which yielded just a single point from eight grisly fixtures.
This occasion marked more than two decades since O’Neill last managed Celtic in a home European game. Milan were the visitors for a scoreless draw back then, in a period when Celtic jousted with the best on the continent. The intervening years have not been particularly kind to Celtic in European context but in O’Neill, they have a manager who relishes foreign forays. Far from seeing progression to the knockout stage as a distraction from a domestic title race, O’Neill will revel in the challenge.
Here began what had scope to be a hugely significant few days for Celtic. Victories over Utrecht and Falkirk, coupled with the making of much needed headway in the transfer market, would raise optimism levels among a supporter base who have been unconvinced by events of the campaign so far. The good news to begin with was that Utrecht, already eliminated from this competition and treading water in their domestic league, looked hugely favourable opposition.
That notion was proved correct inside 11 minutes. It remains to be seen whether Benjamin Nygren will emerge as a strong Celtic player but the midfielder does have a useful knack of scoring goals. Nygren converted a rare, right-footed cross from Kieran Tierney to send Celtic in front in the sixth minute. Utrecht decided it was wise to leave Nygren in splendid isolation, six yards from their goal as Celtic completed a short-corner routine.
The second for Celtic was even more disastrous from the visitors. The goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas – once and forgettably of this parish – played the ball directly to the feet of Daizen Maeda. In his rush to clear Maeda’s ball across goal, the Utrecht captain Nick Viergever sent the ball into his own net.
Any sense Utrecht’s evening could not get any worse, and rapidly, was wrong. The referee Mohammad Al-Emara was sent to the monitor to assess a potential handball by Dani de Wit at a Tierney cross. The Finn harshly determined De Wit was guilty, affording Celtic a penalty which Arne Engels cracked home. Celtic have not enjoyed many blissfully straightforward fixtures in this campaign, meaning they were entitled to revel in this one. Utrecht’s support, realising the ludicrous nature of their team’s display, took to cheering when three passes were strung together.
Some further relief did arrive for those fans before the break. De Wit curled a shot beyond the motionless Kasper Schmeichel from 20 yards to reduce the deficit. It was a smart finish, not at all in keeping with anything the Dutch side had offered until that point.
Celtic’s second-half challenge was to reduce this to a non-event. As Adrian Blake flashed the ball across the front of Schmeichel’s goal after three minutes of the restart, a warning had been served. Celtic responded through Nygren, who rounded off a sweeping move which ran the length of the field by firing a shot which Barkas tipped over.
It was Blake’s next intervention which triggered panic in the stands. A low shot from 25 yards should not have caused Schmeichel a particular problem yet the Dane was unable even to palm it away. Schmeichel’s shortcomings have been an ominous feature of Celtic’s recent history.
Celtic now needed breathing space. It arrived via an unlikely source, Auston Trusty heading an Engels corner high into the Utrecht net. It is a funny old game; on Sunday, Trusty’s red card at Tynecastle helped Hearts to win a point against Celtic. Now O’Neill had cause to be hugely grateful to his centre-back.
Trusty’s header removed Utrecht’s brief hope. Amid a raft of substitutions, the game fizzled out in a manner which suited Celtic just fine. O’Neill does not expect to be in office beyond May. If a Celtic upturn in fortunes under his watch continues, it will become reasonable to ask just why that should be the case.
