Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain kept their title hopes alive with a stunning stoppage-time winning goal on his Celtic debut to secure a dramatic 2-1 win over Livingston.
Robbie Muirhead’s penalty canceled out Marcelo Saracchi’s opener and Celtic’s hopes of staying within reach of leaders Hearts were beginning to fade as Celtic struggled to break down bottom-of-the-table Livingston.
But Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had only signed for the club four days earlier, introduced himself to the home crowd in perfect style, coming off the bench in the 78th minute to make his debut, before stepping up to score the winning goal in the 91st minute.
Martin O’Neill said: “It was a fantastic goal from a special player.” sky sports After the match. “I couldn’t be happier for him.
“He is a good player and if he can adapt to the pace of the game he will be valuable to us.”
The win was thrilling and should have been more convincing given their dominance that night, but the Hoops were consistently thwarted by Livingston goaltender Jerome Pryor, who made nine saves in total.
Martin O’Neill’s side currently remain at the top of the table, six points behind Hearts, and will face Kilmarnock on Sunday. sky sportshopes to keep the pressure on in the title race.
Rangers drew with 10-man Motherwell after conceding a late goal following a goal from Celtic loanee Stephen Welsh, meaning the Hoops now sit just one point behind their rivals.
Asked about Wales’ goal against Rangers, O’Neill added: “It’s great for us. He’s a Celtic player.” “Good job, man.”
O’Neal: Tonight was huge for us, we’ve been chasing it all season.
celtic boss Martin O’Neill talk to sky sports:
“We found ourselves in a situation where we could have missed a chance and their goalkeeper played very well. One goal is never enough and there was always a chance of conceding. That’s the nature of the game.”
“In the end it was a great win for us. We have shown spirit and determination but that may not be enough to get us through. Tonight was a big, big win for us. We should have been well in front.”
“I think it’s the same. We’ve been chasing all season and obviously there’s no room for maneuver. It would have been disappointing if we dropped points tonight, but we didn’t. So we keep chasing.”
Bartley: We lost to ‘top’ player Oxlade Chamberlain
livingston boss Marvin Bartley:
“First and foremost, I have to give a lot of credit to the players’ performance.
“We had to come up with a game plan and it took a lot of energy, and I thought they executed it.
“At the end of the day, we lost in the end with a great goal from a player who played at the top level.
“I’ve been here so many times and you never think you’ve got it until the final whistle. If you look at the amount of goals Celtic scored late on, it’s not like they’re completely out of the woods.
“As long as we can keep standing, that belief will never go away. If they’re worth the effort, we’ll be fine. We need to get to the division, and I’ll put my team against another team.”