Celtic claimed a vital first victory of their Europa League campaign on Thursday, staging a second-half comeback to beat Besiktas 3-2 at Parkhead. With the team trailing 1-0 and staring down the prospect of a fourth consecutive defeat, manager Martin O’Neill turned to his bench, introducing Callum Osmand and Camilo Duran in place of Sebastian Tounekti and James Forrest. Hope in the stands was in short supply, with an hour gone at Parkhead on Thursday. Analysis and fan views, latest Celtic news.
The impact was immediate. Just 43 seconds after entering the pitch, 20-year-old Callum Osmand found the net with his very first touch, drilling a strike into the bottom corner of Alexander Nubel’s goal. This equalizer shifted the momentum, leaving the visitors rattled and providing Celtic with a newfound attacking threat.
As the match progressed, O’Neill opted to substitute club-record signing Kasper Hogh in the 77th minute after a lackluster performance. Moving Camilo Duran into a central role proved to be the decisive tactical shift. Shortly after, Osmand set up Duran with a precise pass; the Colombian striker rounded Nubel and coolly finished to put Celtic in front. Then, on 77 minutes, O’Neill withdrew Kasper Hogh after another underwhelming display from the club record signing and moved Duran through the middle. Celtic character shone through big time’ – O’Neill. It feels inevitable he will be among the Celtic substitutes for high-stakes games, despite Hogh’s price tag. Osmand too appears to have pushed himself to the front of the queue to start off the left.
While Orkun Kokcu responded with a fine strike to level the score for Besiktas, Duran restored Celtic’s lead two minutes later. He controlled a scuffed shot from Kieran Tierney before firing past the goalkeeper, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. This result marks a rare feat, as no Celtic substitute had scored twice in a European match, excluding qualifiers, since Johannes Edvaldsson against Jeunesse d’Esch in September 1977.
Former Celtic midfielder Stiliyan Petrov, appearing on TNT Sports, credited the change in structure for the win. He noted that the movement of Osmand and the shift of Duran into the middle created essential space for teammates like Nygren and Baur, resulting in a significantly more productive final 30 minutes. It was a really positive 30 minutes. It was in design to do exactly what it did.
Manager Martin O’Neill defended his decision to start with his current lineup, framing the substitutions as a planned rotation given that the team has played nine matches in 25 days. Regarding the goalscorers, O’Neill praised their contribution, noting that Osmand’s ability to impact the game immediately demonstrates his goal-scoring instinct, while highlighting that Duran has been consistently effective all season regardless of his position. The Northern Irishman was asked whether it was a case of inspired substitutions or rather evidence that he should have started his best players. Not at all,” he said, i’m not standing up for myself. Some players needed a breather and you can get re-energised from coming on the field, we’ve played nine games in 25 days. I’m going to say that that was our plan and those players were going to come on the pitch at some point in the game. The £11m Dane’s effort cannot be questioned. Stayed strong and we got our rewards, the team dug in.
The contrast in efficiency was evident in the statistics. Kasper Hogh, an £11 million signing from Bodo/Glimt, struggled to make an impact, finishing with zero shots and only one touch in the opposition penalty area before being withdrawn. He has now failed to score in 16 of his 17 appearances for the club. Conversely, in his brief half-hour appearance, Duran scored twice from two shots and recorded four touches in the box. But since arriving from Bodo/Glimt in the summer, he has now failed to score in 16 of his 17 Celtic appearances, he continued to battle to try to make things happen.
Reflecting on the match, Hearts defender and TNT Sports pundit Craig Halkett acknowledged the difficulty of the situation for Hogh, emphasizing that the forward must keep his head down and continue working hard to turn his form around.
Meanwhile, Osmand described the victory as a surreal experience, telling TNT Sports that he was simply happy to contribute to a win against a high-quality opponent while crediting Duran for his composure as a poacher.
