Celtic's Narrow Win Over St Johnstone Leaves O’Neill Unimpressed
Celtic took the points. They didn’t take many plaudits.
A 1–0 win over St Johnstone on Wednesday kept Martin O’Neill’s side moving in the Scottish Premiership, yet the manager walked away from Celtic Park distinctly underwhelmed by what he had seen.
His team controlled almost everything that usually matters. Sixty percent of the ball. An expected goals tally of 2.22 to St Johnstone’s 0.77. Fifteen attempts on goal, nine of them on target.
And still, only one strike found the net. One moment of end product to separate the sides in the sixth matchday of the campaign.
For a side with Celtic’s attacking talent, that wastefulness cut through the numbers. It also sharpened the focus on a big call O’Neill had made before kick-off.
Duran Left Out – and Immediately Missed
The teamsheet carried a jolt. Camilo Duran, the Colombian forward who has quickly become central to Celtic’s attacking identity, dropped to the bench.
It was not a punishment. It was a gamble.
Duran has been relentless since arriving from Qarabag in the summer for €5.5 million. He has started the season at a blistering pace: nine matches across the Premiership, League Cup and Champions League qualifiers, and nine direct goal contributions – six goals and three assists.
He had set up a goal against St Mirren on September 5, playing 83 minutes. Before that, he produced a goal and an assist against Aberdeen on September 2, lasting 75 minutes. The workload was heavy, the output outstanding.
O’Neill saw something else, though. Fatigue.
Speaking to Clyde 1 Superscoreboard after the win over St Johnstone, he explained his thinking and, in doing so, laid down a stark verdict on his team’s display without their Colombian livewire.
“(Camilo) Durán doesn't start for us. He's just been class, and he looked tired in the game against St Mirren. But I'm not surprised for the amount of things that he does for us, both with the ball, which is terrific, and also the work that he does off it," O’Neill said.
"He's second only to Daizen (Maeda) in terms of closing players down. So I wanted to try and see if we could do without him, and the answer is probably not.”
That last line landed like a challenge in the dressing room. To the forwards in particular. Celtic had dominated territory and chances, yet only when Duran was finally introduced – for a brief 17‑minute cameo – did the attacking play regain some of its familiar edge.
The win went in the book. The performance went under the microscope.
A Thin Margin Before a Defining Month
Celtic’s narrow victory comes at the front end of a season-defining stretch. September offers no room for lethargy.
Next up: Rangers. Twice.
On Sunday, September 13, Celtic face their fiercest rivals in the Scottish League Cup quarterfinals. Seven days later, on September 20, the same opponents await in the Premiership’s seventh matchday.
Those fixtures would be demanding under any circumstances. They will be even more so without Yang Hyun-jun, who is set to depart for the Asian Games with South Korea and will miss both derbies. His absence strips O’Neill of another hard-running, high-pressing option in the forward line.
Wedged between those two Old Firm clashes is another major test. On September 17, Ferencvaros come to Glasgow for Celtic’s opening match in the UEFA Europa League group stage. Three high-stakes games in eight days, each with a different kind of pressure attached.
O’Neill now knows something with absolute clarity: this Celtic side, as currently constructed, leans heavily on Camilo Duran’s energy, movement and end product.
The question is no longer whether they can win without him on a quiet midweek against St Johnstone. They did.
The real question is whether they can afford to take that risk again when Rangers and Europe are waiting.
