A proven striker scores a barrowload in this Celtic side | OneFootball

It was a Friday night packed full of tremendous entertainment as the Hoops dismantled the Scottish Premiership new boys Falkirk 4-1 in a very one sided Premier Sports League cup contest…

Friday night football at Celtic Park. Photo The Celtic Star

Brendan Rodgers had the luxury of leaving out Kasper Schmeichel, Cameron Carter Vickers, Liam Scales, Reo Hatate, Benjamin Nygren and Adam Idah but still seen his side cruise to victory thanks to goals from Daizen Maeda, Alistair Johnston, Dane Murray and an OG from Falkirk’s Liam Henderson after fine work from Yang.

Celtic’s tempo, pace, and rhythm on the night was absolutely fantastic, with the likes of Kieran Tierney, Daizen Maeda, Alistair Johnston, and Arne Engels all shining as we cruised into the quarter finals.

Dane Murray of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s third goal with teammate Arne Engels during the Premier Sports League Cup match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on August 15, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

For all those who are quick to jump onto social media to criticise the 21 year-old Belgium international midfielder, they have been slow in dishing out praise when it is justified to do so. These agendas that exist, whether for Engels, Adam Idah or Liam Scales are unhelpful to the Celtic cause.

Johnny Kenny started in place of Adam Idah, but like his fellow Irishman he failed to convert any chances although he did put in a great shift to be fair, but yet again we looked toothless in the final third in terms of converting chances.

James Forrest and Arne Engels missed two gilt edge chances that a seasoned striker would have buried with their eyes shut. Although in fairness to both players they are not out and out target men, and both were fantastic on the night as they created numerous chances for their teammates.

Johnny Kenny of Celtic reacts during the Premier Sports League Cup match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on August 15, 2025 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Engels in particular had a fine game and his final ball was sublime all night. The Belgian’s assist from the corner kick which allowed Dane Murray to score the third was superb.

Deliveries from dead ball situations have been our Achilles heel in recent years, but Arne has made that all the better, we just need someone who can consistently put away all those opportunities he creates.

Much has been made of our lack of depth, and yes we do need a few new additions, but a quality striker has got to be our top priority, as in this Celtic side the right man scores a barrowload with the likes of Arne, Daizen, KT, Jamesy and Reo providing the creativity. Let’s hope we see some movement on the transfer front in the coming weeks to rectify that issue ad through in a back-up left-back and a couple of decent wingers and we’ll be flying this season.

Dane Murray of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the Premier Sports League Cup match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on August 15, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

This has not been an enjoyable transfer window for anyone at Celtic, it’s fair to say it’s left everyone frustrated and no-one more so than Brendan Rodgers. It will be a relief when it closes and hopefully by then Brendan is given what he clearly needs in terms of new signings and we can look forward to the Champions League, assuming we take care of Kairat Almaty. Like I said the other day we can have no excuses if the current Celtic squad fails to win this tie. We’d simply not deserve Champions League football.

Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic, waves as he arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier Sports League Cup match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on August 15, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

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CELTIC IN THE EIGHTIES BY DAVID POTTER, FOREWORD BY DANNY McGRAIN is published by Celtic Star Books on the fifth day of September. You can pre-order now to guarantee your copy which will be signed by Danny McGrain, with just a limited number of signed copies still available, although they are selling very quickly.

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And there’s another great benefit for readers who pre-order their copy of Celtic in the Eighties. You will also receive a copy of an earlier David Potter book – Celtic’ Icicle – Alec McNair – which you’ll receive for FREE when you pre-order with Celtic in the Eighties. So you get two great Celtic books by David Potter and better still the postage is only charged on one. Click on the image below to order. (Just order Celtic in the Eighties and we’ll automatically add a copy of the Alec McNair book).

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Foreword by Danny McGrain. Published on Celtic Star Books on 5 September 2025. Click on image to pre-order.

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