Dermot Desmond watches Celtic start pre-season with Shelbourne draw as glaring transfer need laid bare
Celtic defender makes first appearance since October in Dublin draw
Celtic played out a 1-1 draw against Shelbourne in their first pre-season friendly of the new campaign in Dublin as the club’s majority shareholder Dermot Desmond watched on in warm late evening sunshine.
Boss Martin O’Neill, who revealed pre-match that Qarabag striker Camilo Duran is set to become the club’s first summer signing, fielded two different teams in each half at a packed Tolka Park against the mid-table League of Ireland side.
A mixture of first-team regulars, fringe men and academy prospects were given a run-out. For large spells of the contest, it looked as though Celtic would fail to find the net on their return to action for the first time since ending last season on a high by clinching a domestic league and Scottish Cup double.
However, late drama ensued with Harry Wood's 88th minute penalty for the hosts quickly cancelled out by Shin Yamada's spot-kick at the opposite end in stoppage time.
There was plenty of encouraging signs for O'Neill, including the long-awaited return of central defender Cameron Carter-Vickers from a ninth-month injury absence. Returning loan players Maik Nawrocki and Yamada showed up well, while 17-year-old midfielder Liam Kennedy sampled his first taste of senior football and didn't look out of place.
Celtic fans anticipating their first glimpse of some new signings were forced to wait a while longer as they made the short trip across the water to the Irish capital with no new recruits unveiled as of yet.
Their preparations for the new campaign were ramped up against Shelbourne, who are currently in the midst of their domestic season and were playing in front of their biggest home crowd since 2006.
Over 8,000 supporters turned out to witness a cagey affair, with the home side looking a tad sharper and posing a greater attacking threat in the opening 15 minutes. James Roche crashed a low shot off the woodwork before the visitors gradually grew into the contest as the half wore on.
Paulo Bernardo, James Forrest and Callum Osmand all came close to breaking the deadlock, while forgotten winger Michael-Ange Balikwisha featured from the outset but flattered to deceive with his end product letting him down on several occasions.
O’Neill rotated his entire team at the interval, with Yamada and Kyle Ure both trying their luck shortly after the restart. Luke McCowan fired narrowly wide after 68 minutes before Adam Montgomery was penalised for bringing down James Bailey in the box with two minutes left.
Wood slotted home before Celtic were awarded a penalty of their own two minutes later when Nawrocki went to ground and Japanese frontman Yamada duly dispatched.
Fit-again Carter-Vickers played the opening 45 minutes as he made his first appearance since October following a ruptured Achilles.
“At first, I just thought I had a bit of cramp in my calf,” he said of an injury sustained in a Europa League win over Sturm Graz. “Pretty soon after that, when the physios saw it, they thought it was a rupture in the Achilles, which it turned out to be. Obviously at that point, you know it’s going to be a long-term injury.
“For me, it was just about understanding that’s the situation you’re in and just working towards getting back in the best shape and the best way possible. It was just about not getting too far ahead of yourself and kind of chasing small gains and being happy with small gains.”
For a second successive year, Celtic now head to Portugal for a warm-weather training camp. They'll play a friendly match against Sporting Lisbon at the Estadio Algarve next Tuesday before fixtures against Middlesbrough and AC Milan back on home soil.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.