Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is instant Celtic hero as clock turned back 12 years with Parkhead rescue act

Thrust into the fray off the bench for his debut with Celtic being held at home to lowly Livingston and seemingly set to drop precious points in the championship chase, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain found himself filling the role of the unlikely hero.

As the clock ticked into the second minute of time added on, the former Liverpool and Arsenal midfielder showed a level of composure lacking in most of his new team-mates as he curled in an effort from the edge of the box to win the match.

Oxlade-Chamberlain had scored on the ground before for England 12 years ago but this one was perhaps even more significant as Celtic followed Hearts’ lead from the previous night by claiming a late winner when all hope had seemed lost.

It was quite the way to mark Martin O’Neill’s 200th league game in charge of Celtic, although there will surely also be concerns with how profligate Celtic were throughout much of the game. Marcelo Saraccchi’s first half goal had been cancelled out by Robbie Muirhead’s penalty just shy of the hour mark as Celtic missed chance after chance before Oxlade-Chamberlain’s decisive intervention.

This was a 26th match without a victory across all competitions for Livingston who remain rooted to the foot of the table, seemingly destined for an immediate return to the Championship. But what heart and succour they ought to take from how they fought and scrapped here.

Celtic laid siege on their goal for much of the contest but by half-time only had one goal to show for their efforts. Jerome Prior was a big reason for that, with the Frenchman seemingly determined to keep out Celtic largely on his own. Callum McGregor, Sebastian Tounekti, Benjamin Nygren, Daizen Maeda and Tomas Cvancara were all wasteful, some more glaringly than others. Cvancara’s effort, in particular, looked more like a pass back than anything more menacing.

Given that profligacy from open play, it was perhaps not a huge surprise that, when Celtic finally claimed the lead after 15 minutes, it came from a set-play. Arne Engels, in one of his last involvements before he went off injured, sent over the corner where it was headed out to the edge of the box. There awaited Saracchi who took a deft touch to control it and another to rifle a ferocious effort beyond Prior, with the aid of a slight deflection.

Any expectation that the floodgates would then open, however, would prove misplaced as Livingston continued to thwart Celtic’s attempts to put the game to bed with some doughty defending to frustrate their hosts.

Such wastefulness tends to come with consequences and so it was here when Livingston drew level after 57 minutes. Reo Hatate didn’t seem aware that Muirhead was approaching on the blind side and swiped the striker to the ground. It was a stick-on penalty and Muirhead made no mistake to draw his team level. That looked like being the game’s telling moment but Oxlade-Chamberlain had other ideas.