Match Pictures | Matches: 2025 – 2026
Trivia
- KO: 14:00, Sunday Sky Sports TV
- Sevco v Hearts @4.30 after this match. Sevco won 4-2
- Very tight at the top between the three sides.
- Hearts on top: P27, 57pts, -26GD, Sevco P27 55pts -26GD, Cetlic P26 54pts -22GD
- Engels out for a few weeks according to MON on Sky. Expected back end March. Iheanacho, Mvuka not on bench today.
- Finance: Celtic reported pre-tax profit of £13.2m in interim results for 2026H2. Took in £59.4m in revenue during the accounting period, down ~29% on previous year’s interim figure of £83.5m. Impact from commercial boycott by fan groups and failure to make Champions league.
- Celtic reportedly facing further legal action over allegations of historic abuse at Celtic Boys Club.
- Martin O’Neill has sought to temper expectations regarding a perm deal for Julian Araujo.
- Winter Olympics under way.
- Rugby Union: 6 nations underway; Scotland in surprising mauling of England yesterday.
- Reports:
- Nottingham Forest to make another move for Arne Engels in the summer after failing to sign him in January. However they just sacked their manager this past week so bizarre tabloid claim.
- Martin O’Neill dismissed reports that Celtic offered a contract to 28-year-old RB Leipzig midfielder Xaver Schlager.
- Martin O’Neill has urged the club to buy 27-year-old on-loan Boca Juniors left-back Marcelo Saracchi,
- Celtic assistant Shaun Maloney says he is still talks regularly with Roberto Martinez but insists he knows nothing about whether the Portugal head coach could be the new Celtic manager this summer. (Sky Sports)
- Eyeing respective highly-rated 22-year-old Dundee centre-half Luke Graham. Kilmarnock midfielder David Watson, the 21-year-old who has been linked with Celtic.
Summary
“The spirit the players has been absolutely fantastic,” he said of their win at Rugby Park after being 2-0 down. “I managed, coached, a really top quality side here 20-odd years ago who had loads of spirit, loads of resilience, loads of ability. “And these lads here are emulating that in many aspects and sometimes surpassing. “It was a wonderful second-half performance for us. “I thought we were very poor in the first half. As a team defending, we weren’t that good then we kept giving the ball away at times, but the second half was totally different. “We made the changes at half-time and then Seb [Tounekti] scores a wonder goal for us and puts us right back in the game, culminating in us winning the match. “Kilmarnock adapted to the conditions, the rain, the pitch, much better than we did and sometimes you just have to dig in – and that’s exactly what we did.”
Martin O’Neill post-match
I am just angry. It is a sore one to take. “Lost a game when I thought we deserved something out of it. “There’s a lot of disappointment there – so many good things within the match for us. “Two-nil up at half-time, I thought we were brilliant. Probably could have had a couple more. “But we spoke about it at half-time that Celtic would have a real push and have a go at it. “They made half-time substitutions, brought on a lot of quality and, when it got back to 2-2, it is just about managing the game properly. “It is an enormous amount of added time – seven minutes. I’m not sure where they got that from.”
Neil McCann Dundee Mgr
joebloggscity: It just keeps on happening, and it aint’ good for the heart, but another match that seemed to signal the end for the league campaign only for an incredible twist in the tale. No denying, that Celtic were woeful in the first half and Kilmarnock admittedly deserved their lead but extended it to 2-0 with little good in response. Too many players were off-key. It took some good substitutions, with Tounetki pulling Celtic back into the game with an incredible strike, with Nygren to level things up. Despite all the pressure, and many thinking points were going to be dropped, Araujo scored at the death in the 97th(!) min to send everyone into raptures. Incredible scenes, but really so much has to improve. Celtic can’t keep relying on these last minute goals, luck will run out.
Undeniably a very key win, and truly for the neutral an exciting game, but the performance from Celtic was poor despite the incredible fightback.
AG67 of KDS: At HT I didn’t see Celtic scoring one goal, never mind two or three and not conceding another after that desperate first half performance.
But this season has proved that if it will still ultimately be a successful one, it isn’t going to be pretty at all.
As much as the players deserve pelters for that first half abomination, credit where it’s due to quickly level then go on and get the winner when it looked like it was going to finish all square.
Araujo played well I thought even without the goal, if there is any chance of signing him permanently, get it done.
Shades of the 87/88 season with all these last gasp goals. I think Hearts were also involved in the Title race that season until near the end.
RemyM of KDS: Turned out nice again. First half was abysmal. MON got team wrong and addressed it at half time. We really upped the tempo and Tounetki scored a beauty and Nygren did a Nygren. Then we dropped the tempo again and looked like blowing two points. That winner, and the celebrations though are what football is all about. Fantastic. AOC js going to be some player for us. Needs to start next Sunday. It’s all back in our hands again.
M67 of KDS: 7 minutes? Easy. The big defender took the ball square on the face, which ran into subs from both teams. Game stopped for 2m 30s or so. They took 1m 15s to take a free kick, then another 1m 20s to make subs. The boy John-Jules went down and off with an injury, stopping the game for nearly 2 minutes. Then another player took the ball to the face, and the game was stopped for another 1m 30s. That doesn’t include the repeated 30-40s they wasted at every goal kick, free kick or corner kick, or all the subs. You’re lucky it was only 7 minutes..
Teams
Celtic
Manager: Martin O’Neill
Formation: 4 – 3 – 3
Starting lineup
01, K. Schmeichel
63, M. Saracchi 78′, subbed for M. Saracchi at 78 mins
05, L. Scales
06, A. Trusty
22, J. Araujo,90′-8, Yellow Card at 90 mins plus 8
41, A. Oxlade-Chamberlain 46′, subbed for A. Oxlade-Chamberlain at 46 mins
42, C. McGregor (c), Captain,74′, Yellow Card at 74 mins
08, B. Nygren
38, J. Forrest 62′, subbed for J. Forrest at 62 mins
09, T. Čvančara 46′, subbed for T. Čvančara at 46 mins
13, S. Tounekti 46′, subbed for S. Tounekti at 46 mins
Subs:
51, C. Donovan
49, J. Forrest
14, L. McCowan
47, D. Murray
21, A. Oxlade-Chamberlain
36, M. Saracchi
12, V. Sinisalo
23, S. Tounekti
11, T. Čvančara,70′, Yellow Card at 70 mins
Goals:
S. Tounekti (56′)
B. Nygren (64′)
J. Araujo (90′-7)
Assists:
K. Tierney (56′)
Kilmarnock
Manager: Neil McCann
Formation: 4 – 4 – 2
Starting lineup
13, K. Roos
03, D. Thompson
06, R. Deas
25, E. Brown
21, M. Schjønning-Larsen
11, J. Thomson 79′, subbed for J. Thomson at 79 mins
12, D. Watson, Yellow Card at 67 mins, subbed for L. Polworth at 79 mins
08, B. Lyons (c), Captain
52, A. Tshibola 63′, subbed for A. Tshibola at 63 mins
44, B. Anderson 79′, subbed for B. Anderson at 79 mins
24, M. Dackers 82′, subbed for M. Dackers at 82 mins
Subs:
19, B. Anderson
02, J. Brandon
09, M. Dackers
04, Z. Williams
07, R. McKenzie
31, L. Polworth
01, M. Stryjek
22, J. Thomson
36, A. Tshibola
Goals:
T. John-Jules (21′)
J. Hugill (28′)
Assists:
J. Hugill (21′)
T. John-Jules (28′)
Referee: Duncan Nicolson
Video Assistant Referee: Greg Aitken
Assistant Referee 1: Scott Robert Anderson
Assistant Referee 2: Alastair Taylor
Fourth Official: Duncan Williams
Assistant VAR Official: Ryan Lee
Venue:The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park
Attendance:8,090
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Match Links
Stats
Basic Stats
Overall possession
Kilmarnock 38.6%
Celtic 61.4%
Shots
Kilmarnock 17
Celtic 24
Shots on target
Kilmarnock 7
Celtic 10
Total touches inside the opposition box
Kilmarnock 21
Celtic 51
Goalkeeper saves
Kilmarnock 7
Celtic 5
Aerial duels won
Kilmarnock 16
Celtic 16
Fouls committed
Kilmarnock 7
Celtic 8
Corners
Kilmarnock 6
Celtic 7
In-depth match stats
Attack
Shots
Kilmarnock 17
Celtic 24
Shots on target
Kilmarnock 7
Celtic 10
Shots off target
Kilmarnock 7
Celtic 8
Attempts out of box
Kilmarnock 5
Celtic 6
Hit woodwork
Kilmarnock 1
Celtic 0
Total offsides
Kilmarnock 2
Celtic 0
Distribution
Total passes
Kilmarnock 296
Celtic 472
Pass accuracy %
Kilmarnock 65.2
Celtic 85.6
Backward passes
Kilmarnock 45
Celtic 81
Forward passes
Kilmarnock 148
Celtic 164
Total long balls
Kilmarnock 88
Celtic 45
Successful final third passes
Kilmarnock 51
Celtic 121
Total crosses
Kilmarnock 19
Celtic 26
Defence
Total tackles
Kilmarnock 17
Celtic 13
Won tackle %
Kilmarnock 76.5
Celtic 92.3
Fouls committed
Kilmarnock 7
Celtic 8
Total yellow cards
Kilmarnock 1
Celtic 3
Total clearances
Kilmarnock 23
Celtic 23
Pre Match Facts
Kilmarnock have lost each of their last six league meetings with
Celtic, last losing more in a row in April 2015 (8).
Celtic have only lost one of their last 21 league matches against Kilmarnock (W18 D2), a 1-2 defeat in December 2023.
After only winning two of their first 23 league games this season (D8 L13), Kilmarnock have since won two of their last three (L1). They have scored as many goals in these last three games (8) as their previous 14 in the Scottish Premiership beforehand.
This will be Martin O’Neill’s 300th game in charge of
Celtic in all competitions, the sixth manager to hit that milestone with the club. His 227 wins in 299 games to date is already the most within a manager’s first 300 matches in charge of the Bhoys (Jock Stein second with 224).
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored the winner on his
Celtic debut against Livingston last time out. The last player to score in both of his first two Scottish Premiership appearances for the Hoops was Moritz Jenz in August 2022, while the last British player to do so was Scott Sinclair in August 2016.
Articles
BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/cg5n633ng5vt#Report
At a glance
Araujo scores Celtic winner in stoppage time after Tounekti and Nygren also score in second half
John-Jules and Hugill had given Kilmarnock half-time lead
Kilmarnock stay eight points clear of bottom side Livingston
ByClive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland
Celtic came from two goals down to beat Kilmarnock as Julian Araujo’s dramatic stoppage-time winner fuelled their defence of the Scottish title in Martin O’Neill’s 300th game in charge of the Glasgow club.
Tyreece John-Jules and Joe Hugill had given the hosts a deserved lead at half-time.
But goals from Sebastian Tounekti and Benjamin Nygren after the break levelled for the Glasgow visitors before Araujo gave Celtic an overtime winner for the third game in a row.
Celtic are now unbeaten in 10 games, winning their latest five, as they moved above Rangers into second place while their city rivals were facing leaders Heart of Midlothian at Ibrox.
Despite positive signs under new manager Neil McCann, Kilmarnock remain three points behind third bottom St Mirren.
Perhaps inspired by their 4-3 midweek win over St Mirren, McCann’s side took the initiative from kick-off.
At the other end, Daizen Maeda stung the palms of home goalkeeper Kelle Roos with a powerful drive, but Kilmarnock were quickly up the other end to score on the break.
Just when John-Jules appeared to make a mess of his charge into the penalty box, he slipped inside Auston Trusty and curled his drive into the far corner.
Having added to his midweek hat-trick, the big striker turned provider as his chip into the six-yard box was met by Hugill, whose header looped over scrambling goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
Kilmarnock survived some late first-half pressure, but the introduction of new signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tomas Cvancara and Tounekti at the break turned the game.
Tounekti had already threatened before he cut inside and found the far corner with a trademark finish.
Celtic were back level when Kilmarnock failed to clear a long throw and Nygren stabbed in his 13th league goal of the season.
John-Jules fired a free-kick against the crossbar as both sides chased a winner.
However, it was Celtic who were creating the better chances and their pressure told when a tiring Kilmarnock failed to clear inside their penalty box and on-loan Bournemouth right-back Araujo swept in his first goal for the visitors to ignite wild scenes among the visiting fans.
Analysis: Lively Killie left to lament O’Neill time
You have heard of Fergie Time, a reference to so many late goals scored while Sir Alex Ferguson was Manchester United manager.
Now Celtic fans will be hailing O’Neill Time.
Last weekend, it was Dundee who thought they had caused a Scottish Cup shock before two late goals at Celtic Park. In midweek, it was Livingston being denied a surprise draw at the home of the reigning champions.
This time, it was Kilmarnock who were made to suffer for Celtic’s relentlessness under the veteran manager who is in his second spell as caretaker boss this season.
The much-criticised recruitment team must also take some of the plaudits given latest recruit Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the match winner against Livi while January arrival Araujo did the damage this time.
McCann will be angry at the concession of such a healthy lead, but they are not the first team to suffer in such a way against Celtic – and will not be the last.
The former Rangers winger will lament a missed chance to move closer to St Mirren and add to the eight points between themselves and Livingston, but he will surely see positives in the performance and hope for the rest of the season.
Former Crawley Town 25-year-old John-Jules, in particular, will be crucial if they are to avoid the drop after his fifth goal in four games.
What they said
Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann: “I am not devastated – I am just angry. It is a sore one to take.
“Lost a game when I thought we deserved something out of it.
“There’s a lot of disappointment there – so many good things within the match for us. It is an enormous amount of added time – seven minutes. I’m not sure where they got that from.”
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill: “The spirit the players has been absolutely fantastic.
“I managed, coached, a really top quality side here 20-odd years ago who had loads of spirit, loads of resilience, loads of ability and these lads here are emulating that in many aspects and sometimes surpassing.
“It was a wonderful second-half performance for us. You can’t keep doing that. We’ve got to put in the full 90 minutes.”
What’s next?
Kilmarnock visit Dundee United in the Premiership on Saturday (15:00 GMT), while Celtic host Stuttgart in the Europa League knockout phase play-off first leg on Thursday (20:00) before returning to league duty at home to Hibernian three days later (15:00)
Celtic spirit reminds O’Neill of glory years
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/ceqv908d5jro
Celtic captain Callum McGregorImage source, SNS
Image caption,
Captain Callum McGregor could not hide his euphoria at Rugby Park
ByClive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland
Published
1 hour ago
When your manager is a club legend and he starts comparing you to the side that made him such, you know you must be doing something right.
It might just be a clever bit of psychology to do so, but if it helps Martin O’Neill lead Celtic to another Scottish title, he will have worked his magic again.
Whatever words he used at half-time at Rugby Park, they were certainly clever considering the reigning champions came from two goals down to secure a 3-2 victory deep into stoppage time.
Chermiti hat-trick earns Rangers seismic win over leaders Hearts
Celtic score 97th-minute winner to down Kilmarnock
Formidable Motherwell carve out victory over Aberdeen
It was the third time in a week that Celtic had rescued victory from the jaws of a damaging result.
Last weekend, they looked to be exiting the Scottish Cup before Junior Adamu equalised in the 90th minute and Sebastian Tounekti scored the winner in extra time to secure a quarter-final place.
On Wednesday, they were seconds away from dropping a league point at home to bottom side Livingston, only for latest signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to produce a dream debut winner, again in the 90th minute.
This time, Kilmarnock looked destined for what would have been a deserved point until Julian Araujo smashed their resistance with a stunning strike seven minutes into overtime.
For some, it would have been a reminder of the “relentless” nature of Ange Postecoglu’s title-winning Celtic side.
For O’Neill, it brought back memories of his own glory days. Of the famous names like Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton and John Hartson who contributed to three league titles, three Scottish Cups, a League Cup and a journey to the Uefa Cup final.
“I managed, coached, a really top-quality side here 20-odd years ago who had loads of spirit, loads of resilience, loads of ability,” the 73-year-old Northern Irishman told BBC Scotland.
“And these lads here are emulating that in many aspects and sometimes surpassing.”
Late goals are certainly becoming a bit of a habit for his current charges since he returned for a second spell as interim manager following the dismal short spell under Wilfried Nancy.
Celtic have now scored six winning goals in the 90th minute or later in the Premiership this season, the most by any team in a single campaign since it was rebranded in 2013, surpassing the previous best by Rangers in 2016-17.
Indeed, until Araujo’s winner in Ayrshire, the Old Firm sides were sitting on eight goals apiece in the 90th minute or later in the Premiership this season.
The two Glasgow sides have had their problems this season, both sacking managers, with Heart of Midlothian having taken advantage to lead the table since September.
Celtic scorer Julian Araujo celebratesImage source, SNS
Image caption,
Julian Araujo scored a dramatic winning goal at Rugby Park
However, it is the kind of spirit that has been gradually pegging back Derek McInnes’ pacesetters as the traditional giants of Scottish football start to get their act together.
“The spirit the players has been absolutely fantastic,” McNeill said.
“It was a wonderful second-half performance for us. Kilmarnock adapted to the conditions, the rain, the pitch, much better than we did and sometimes you just have to dig in – and that’s exactly what we did.”
Celtic’s board has been under pressure this season for their recruitment, both on the field and off it, but their latest moves appear to be bearing fruit.
Adamu, the striker who arrived on loan from Freiburg last month, saved their blushes against Dundee and Tounekti, the summer arrival from Hammarby, secured cup progress before his opener inspired the comeback against Kilmarnock.
Right-back match winner Araujo was another January arrival on loan from Bournemouth, while former England midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain grabbed the midweek winner days after being plucked from half a season without a club.
Of course, O’Neill’s introduction of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tounekti and another January arrival, Czech Republic striker Tomas Cvancara, at half-time also proved to be a managerial masterstroke.
Despite the plaudits, O’Neill recognises that flaws remain.
“I thought we were very poor in the first half,” he said. “As a team defending, we weren’t that good then we keep giving the ball away at times, but the second half was totally different.
“We made the changes at half time and then Seb scores a wonder goal for us and puts us right back in the game, culminating in us winning the match.
“But you can’t keep doing that. We’ve got to put in the full 90 minutes.”
‘That’s the making of a title-winning team’
The win at Rugby Park had former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner harking back to yet another era.
“They know now that this game is not 90 minutes – it’s now now 96-97 minutes and they will keep going to the final whistle,” he said.
“And that’s the making of a championship-winning team. We did it in ’87-88 and we won games when we were almost out of it and that’s what it takes.
“You keep going. You might not play brilliantly in all of the games.”
Former Kilmarnock goalkeeper Cammy Bell suggested “small margins are going Celtic’s way” right now.
“They do not stop and you see the reaction of the players, the fans and the togetherness and the players will be in there on top of the world because that is a huge result for Celtic.”
With Rangers producing a comeback of their own to beat Hearts 4-2 in the later kick-off at Ibrox, only three points separate the top three title contenders, with third-top Celtic having a game in hand.
How many more stoppage-time winners will be crucial to the destiny of the silverware?
Drained Martin O’Neill likens Celtic to 2000s team and laments ‘big loss’ as Neil McCann explains anger
By Ross McLeish
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/latest-celtic-news/drained-martin-oneill-likens-celtic-to-2000s-team-and-laments-big-loss-as-neil-mccann-explains-anger-5598923
2Comments
Published 15th Feb 2026, 18:01 GMT
Keep Watching
Discussion on Wilfried Nancy’s sacking
How the managers reacted as Celtic come from behind to claim last gasp win at Rugby Park
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill praised his side’s character but said standards must improve after Sunday’s dramatic late 3-2 comeback victory at Kilmarnock.
After scoring last-minute winners against Dundee and Livingston in their previous two matches, the Hoops again left it late as Julian Araujo lashed home in the seventh minute of stoppage time at Rugby Park to secure a vital three points in the Premiership title race.
Celtic were woeful in the first half and trailed 2-0 after a Tyreece John-Jules curler and a Joe Hugill header, but hit back through Sebastian Tounekti’s wonder goal, Benjamin Nygren’s poked finish and Araujo’s late intervention.
In his 300th game in charge of Celtic, O’Neill likened his side’s resolve to that of his previous Hoops sides, though he admitted it was draining to continually watch his team leave it so late.
Celtic’s Julian Araujo celebrates scoring a last-gasp winner against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)
Celtic’s Julian Araujo celebrates scoring a last-gasp winner against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) | SNS Group
“Twenty-odd years ago, I managed a really fine team, who had loads of spirit, loads of determination and always saw it to the end,” he said.
“There were many traits here about this side and they’ve shown fantastic character, after a poor first half against a strong Kilmarnock side. We were 2-0 down at half-time and we never gave up.
“You can throw all the usual accolades around, but the players deserve them today because even at half-time, when we were so poor, there was still that feeling that we could turn it around if we could get a relatively early goal in the second half, and that’s what happened.
“Obviously, it’s unbelievably satisfying to win, and to win in the manner in which we did at the end was terrific. If that’s the way you have to win the games, though, if you have to win them like that, you just can’t keep doing that.
“It’s both worrying me and, well, it’s not great for my health. It’s really draining, honestly.
“Some of these lads, my coaching staff, I look around, they’re much, much younger than me and I think they can take the strain, but not for me.”
The 73-year-old revealed Arne Engels will be out for around six weeks, after the midfielder limped off against Livingston in midweek.
“It’s his thigh and it’s a big loss for us, absolutely,” the Northern Irishman added.
Celtic’s Liam Scales (L) and Kilmarnock head coach Neil McCann at full time. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)
Celtic’s Liam Scales (L) and Kilmarnock head coach Neil McCann at full time. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) | SNS Group
Kilmarnock boss Neil McCann, meanwhile, was devastated to see his side surrender a two-goal lead as they battle against the drop.
Performances and results have improved since McCann joined Killie at the start of the year and they looked set to secure their third straight home triumph in the league before the second-half turnaround.
McCann, whose side have conceded 11 goals in the past three league games, said: “I’m angry. Of course I’m angry. I’m so disappointed because I truly believe that we deserved something from the game.
“It’s taken a bit of brilliance from Tounekti to get them back into the game.
“The second goal, it’s so disappointing. We lost three goals against St Mirren, where it was just second balls bouncing in the box and we didn’t deal with it.
“But the last one’s the most sore because it’s right at the end of the game and there’s a minute left.
“I’d have been disappointed coming off with a point, to be honest, but the anger comes from not seeing that out and getting at least a point.
“I’m sitting here thinking I’m absolutely gutted we got nothing from the game.”
Never-say-die Celts refuse to lie down
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2026/february/15/never-say-die-celts-refuse-to-lie-down/
Match Report
By Gerry McCulloch
Share
15 Feb 2026, 4:15 pm
Scottish Premiership
Sunday, February 15, 2026
Rugby Park
KILMARNOCK…2
(John-Jules 21, Hugill 28)
CELTIC…3
(Tounekti 56, Nygren 64 Araujo 90-7)
An incredible second-half display from Celtic gave Martin O’Neill a 3-2 win against Kilmarnock in his 300th game in charge with Julian Araujo scoring the winner in the 97th minute!
Even though 2-0 down at halftime, Celtic’s never-say-die attitude won the day with second-half goals from Sebastian Tounekti and Benjaminn Nygren drawing Celtic level before the Mexican’s late, late winner. For the third game in a row, Celtic left it late, and the joy among the away support as the referee blew for full time matched anything in the campaign so far.
The home side had the better of the early stages, Findlay Curtis shooting straight at Kasper Schmeichel in the 13th minute when he perhaps should’ve done better having only the goalkeeper to beat.
Kilmarnock did eventually take the lead in the 21st minute when Tyreece John-Jules curled a shot past Schmeichel from the left side of the penalty area.
Celtic were struggling to carve out any clear-cut chances in front of goal when the home side then doubled their lead on 28 minutes, John Hugill sending a looping header into the back of the net.
Daizen Maeda had a great chance to pull one back for Celtic in the 37th minute but his powerful goalward shot was blocked in the six-yard box. With the away fans clearly frustrated, Celtic were trying hard to give themselves a lifeline before half time.
A glancing header from Liam Scales from a Kieran Tierney corner almost found the corner of the net but that was it for a largely disappointing first half for Martin O’Neill’s side.
39%
Possession
61%
17
Shots
24
7
Shots On Target
10
6
Corners
7
7
Fouls
8
1
0
Cards
3
0
Celtic made three changes at half time with Tomas Cvancara, Sebastian Tounekti and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain coming on for Junior Adamu, Yang and Reo Hatate
Just 10 minutes later Celtic had a goal back thanks to a wonderful curling strike from Tounekti who cut in from the left and beat Kelle Roos high to his left from 25 yards out. It was an incredible finish from the Tunisian internationalist.
James Forrest came on for Daizen Maeda on the hour and three minutes later Benjamin Nygren pounced on a loose ball inside the six yards box to draw Celtic level with a left foot strike. It was game-on at Rugby Park!
The home side weren’t lying down, however, and Robbie Deas came close to a third for Kilmarnock on 72 minutes with a header just over the crossbar. John-Jules then rifled the bar direct from a free kick from 20 yards out. Going into the final 15 minutes of the match, and with Saracchi on for Tierney, the game was wide open.
Tounekti saw his header go wide from a James Forrest cross as Celtic searched for a winner. It looked like the spoils would be shared but Tomas Cvancara had other ideas. Good play from the Czech forward on the left and his low cross was fired high into the net by Julian Araujo. Cue delirium. Next up Stuttgart in the Europa League.
Kilmarnock: Roos, Schjønning-Larsen, Brown, Deas, Thompson, Curtis (Tshibola 63′), Lyons, Watson (Polworth 79′), Kiltie (Thomson 79′), John-Jules (Dackers 82′), Hugill (Anderson 79′)
Subs: Stryjek, Brandon, Williams, McKenzie, Dackers, Anderson, Thomson, Polworth, Tshibola
Celtic: Schmeichel, Araujo, Trusty, Scales, Tierney (Saracchi 78′), Nygren, McGregor, Hatate (Oxlade-Chamberlain 45′), Hyunjun Yang (Tounekti 45′), Adamu (Čvančara 45′), Maeda (Forrest 62′)
Subs: Čvančara, Sinisalo, McCowan, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tounekti, Saracchi, Murray, Forrest, Donovan
…
Julian Araujo and team’s self-belief for match-winner
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2026/february/15/julian-araujo-and-team-s-self-belief-for-match-winner/
First Team
By Joe Sullivan
Share
15 Feb 2026, 5:25 pm
There was an element of the numbers game today at a rain-sodden Rugby Park with Martin O’Neill taking his 300th game in charge of Celtic, a 97th-minute scorcher from Julian Araujo to take all three points and it was goal No.1 for the Mexican in Celtic colours.
At the end of the day, though, those three points are the most important thing, and all the sweeter in that they were, indeed, sealed right at the end of the day.
And they were the sweetest for none other than the Celt who smashed in that winning goal.
Araujo could hardly contain his delight when he spoke to Celtic TV immediately after the game – with a little help from an unexpected source.
The match-winner said: “I don’t think I’ve ever scored a goal like that.
“I think this is why everybody has told me what Celtic is, and now I know why.
‘This is a feeling that I’ll never forget, a feeling that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.’
“It was probably one of the craziest atmospheres to have everybody run on like that and I’m excited and proud that we were able to get the three points.
“I don’t remember anything, I think I just lost myself in there.
“I had to enjoy it a little bit for the fans as they stuck through the 90 minutes with us, and obviously without them we wouldn’t have got it done today.”
After falling behind 2-0 to Kilmarnock in the first half, the men in green and white showed massive self-belief in themselves to fight for the three points
Araujo said: “Coming in a half-time we knew we played badly. It was as simple as that, we didn’t show up for the first half.
“In the second half, definitely from the first ball, we maintained a lot of possession.
“We knew that once we got one in, we were going to win. As soon as we got one in, we knew this was going to happen.
“We just had to believe in ourselves and stick to our principles, and we did that for the full 90 minutes and we were able to get the three points.”
Manager: Players were magnificent in battling back to beat Kilmarnock
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2026/february/15/manager–players-were-magnificent-in-battling-back-to-beat-kilmarnock/
First Team
By Paul Cuddihy, Celtic View Editor
Share
15 Feb 2026, 4:47 pm
Martin O’Neill marked his 300th game as Celtic manager with a 3-2 victory over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, but his side left it late again to get the victory.
Trailing 2-0 at half-time, the Hoops battled back after the break and drew level thanks to goals from Sebastian Tounekti and Benjamin Nygren before Julian Araujo fired home the winner in the 96th minute of the match.
And the Celtic manager was delighted to see his side deliver another late goal to win the game, following Wednesday’s last-gasp winner from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against Livingston.
Speaking to Celtic TV after the game at Rugby Park, Martin O’Neill said: “It was unbelievable. I was just saying to the players at the end of the game that I managed a really top-quality side here 20 years ago and they showed great spirit, but I’m telling you now that this was characteristic of this group – they were just magnificent.
“In the first-half I thought we were very poor. We created some chances but we didn’t defend properly as a team. When we got the ball we gave it away and we had to improve.
“I thought the substitutions coming on at half-time made a massive difference to us.
“Seb scored a great goal and put us back in the game, Alex is just a class player and big Tomas – what a turn for the final goal – so it was just magnificent to win.
“We’ve won today, it’s great and this is the start of a massive couple of weeks for us now.”