John McGlynn pinpointed Schmeichel as Celtic’s difference maker

The Hoops climbed into second spot in the Scottish Premiership with a hard-fought victory over Falkirk at Celtic Park. Strikes from Tomas Cvancara and Benjamin Nygren proved decisive as the Scottish champions extended their unbeaten league run under Martin O’Neill.

Despite the scoreline, Falkirk were far from overawed, with manager John McGlynn instructing his side to take the game to Celtic whenever possible. The visitors created chances and applied sustained pressure, but ultimately left Glasgow’s east end suffering their fourth defeat to Celtic this season.

McGlynn later pointed to one standout Celtic performer as the difference between the sides, suggesting his team were denied at least a point. Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who has faced scrutiny in this season, produced two crucial saves that ensured Falkirk’s efforts went unrewarded and preserved Celtic’s victory.

Speaking via BBC Sport Scotland, McGlynn said: “Thought our performance was good. Really pleased with our performance. On another day we might be walking out of here with a point, maybe even more if we take the lead.”

“Kasper Schmeichel has made a great save, if we go in front, you know, things could have been different. But we started the game exceptionally well, opening 10 minutes or so. After that, Celtic got a bit of grip of the game. So we had to defend. And I thought we defended well, for the vast majority.”

The Falkirk boss added: “Bain makes a great save from Yang and kept us at 0-0 and we were in the game. Unfortunately, they’ve moved the ball about really, really well.

“Tierney’s got a little bit of space, and of course, the striker’s got a gut-instinct header and that has managed to go in off the post.”

The Bairns remain six points in front of Aberdeen in the race for top six after the Dons were defeated 3-0 from Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Saturday. McGlynn reckons his side can take a lot of heart from their performance at Celtic Park.

He continued: “So yeah, we could be marking closer and tighter in the box, absolutely. Mostly that was 40 minutes or so, close to half time.”

“The second half we came out the traps and done really well. Put them under pressure again, create good opportunities.”

“Again, Schmeichel makes a really good save which could turn the game. And then, to be fair, I thought Celtic’s probably scored a really good second goal, albeit Scott’s saying that maybe he should do better for it.”

“Scott’s been brilliant for us. So we’re not going to point the finger at anyone. Thought we kept going. We kept going, we kept rallying. And I thought we finished the game trying to get back in here, trying to get a goal, which I’m really pleased about.”

Highlights from yesterday match below…

Here’s John McGlynn’s post match thoughts via Falkirk TV…

Conor Spence