Yamada grabs a late equaliser for Celtic in Dublin | OneFootball

FriendlyTuesday, July 7, 2026Tolka Park, Dublin

SHELBOURNE…1(Wood 88)

CELTIC…1(Yamada 90+1)

Celtic kicked-off their pre-season fixture schedule in Dublin tonight with a 1-1 draw against Shelbourne at the historic Tolka Park.

There was a welcome sight for Celtic supporters in the starting XI for this evening’s match, as Cameron Carter-Vickers made his first appearance in the Hoops since picking up a serious injury in October.

Whilst Celtic are just beginning their work towards match sharpness ahead of next season, Shelbourne are over halfway through their campaign in the League of Ireland, and the hosts looked lively from the off, with Joey Wuna drawing a save from Ross Doohan early in proceedings.

The Dublin side looked sharp in attack, and with just over a quarter of an hour gone, James Roche thought he had put his side ahead with a good strike from distance, but his effort struck the base of the post and the score stayed level.

Just before the half-hour mark, both sides made their way to the sidelines for a hydration break, which was understandable given the heatwave that Ireland has enjoyed over the last few days. Indeed, the temperature inside Tolka Park was around 27 degrees Celsius at kick-off.

10 minutes before half-time, the home side mounted a promising looking attack which was brought to an end by Celtic’s young left back, Joseph Haney, who managed to get a vital, well-timed touch on the ball to prevent a shooting opportunity from close range.

Moments later, Callum Osmand, the scorer of that iconic third goal in the Hoops’ final-day league win over Hearts last season, hammered a shot towards goal from inside the box, which was saved by the keeper. The ball broke to Michel-Ange Balikwisha in a good position, but he was unable to bring it under control and the chance was gone.

The second half saw an entire team change for Celtic, with the starting XI replaced by a fresh line-up, one of whom, Shin Yamada, had a good opportunity seconds after the restart. His shot from the edge of the area, however, rose high over the bar.

Celtic’s next chance came just before the hour mark, when the ball broke to young midfielder Liam Kennedy on the edge of the box, but his low effort went wide of target.

Shelbourne managed to craft a chance shorly after when Daniel Kelly and Sean Moore linked up well, giving Kelly a chance to shoot, however his curling effort didn’t trouble Vil Sinisalo as it drifted wide of his right-hand post.

Just before the second-half hydration break, Luke McCowan came close to scoring after winning the ball back on the edge of the area and spinning to give himself room for a strike. His shot skimmed the outside of the post and went wide, though a number of supporters on the far side of the stadium thought that the ball had gone in, so close was McCowan to finding the back of the net.

The home side’s Harry Wood sent a dangerous ball in to the box with five minutes of the 90 remaining, but Maik Nawrocki read the danger well and made a sliding block to prevent Daniel Kelly from having an opportunity from point-blank range.

With just three minutes left, Shelbourne were awarded a penalty after Adam Montgomery brought James Bailey down in the box. Harry Wood stepped up and drove his effort in to the bottom corner from the spot to make it 1-0.

Just when it looked like Shelbourne were going to snatch the win, there was more late drama as Celtic were awarded a penalty for a shove in the back of Maik Nawrocki. Shin Yamada was the man to step up for the Hoops, and he found the back of the net to level the score in stoppage time.

Celtic’s pre-season continues with a trip to Portugal, where the Bhoys will face Sporting CP at the Estádio Algarve next Tuesday (July 14, KO 5.30pm).

CELTIC (first half): Doohan, Haney, Murray, Carter-Vickers, Donovan, McGregor (c), Bernardo, McArdle, Forrest, Balikwisha, OsmandSubs: Sinisalo, Scales, McCowan, Nawrocki, Yamada, Engels, Ure, Bonnar, Montgomery, Hatton, Dargie, Turley, Obidiwe, Charlton, Kennedy

CELTIC (second half): Sinisalo, Montgomery, Scales (c), Nawrocki, Turley, Ure, Engels, Kennedy, McCowan, Hatton, YamadaSubs: Bonnar, Dargie, Obidiwe, Charlton

Fixtures

Shelbourne Vs. Celtic - Tue, Jul 7th 2026, 18:00