adminJohn McGlynn sends message to the Celtic star who caused Wreckage to his game plan after devastating 3-1 defeat to Hoops
John McGlynn felt his Falkirk side did a lot right against Celtic, but he was also honest about the one player they simply couldn’t handle as Daizen Maeda proved decisive in a 3-1 defeat at Celtic Park.
The Bairns went in at the break two goals down, with Maeda and Kieran Tierney putting Celtic in control. Falkirk were dealing with a makeshift defence and looked like they might be in for a long afternoon, but they responded well after the interval.
There was a real shift in energy from McGlynn’s side in the second half. They played with more belief, moved the ball better, and eventually got their reward through substitute Kyrell Wilson, who produced a brilliant volley past Viljami Sinisalo to pull one back.
For a spell after that, Falkirk actually had Celtic under pressure. They pushed forward, tried to build momentum, and looked like they might force a nervous finish.
But Maeda had other ideas.
The Japanese forward, who had already scored in the first half, was the one constant problem Falkirk couldn’t solve. His movement, pressing, and timing kept stretching the game, and in the end he delivered again to seal the win late on.
McGlynn didn’t hide the impact he had on the match.
“I thought we were very brave,” he said. “We asked the players to be brave. We felt disappointment last weekend, and we lost too many goals in the second half against Rangers.
“Mentally, this was a big, big challenge. A huge challenge. I think the players did remarkably well to be 2-0 down at half-time to come out for the second half the way they did. A lot of teams would have buckled and that could have been a five or six.
“But I think we were so brave getting the goal back. We were on top of the game at that point. I would have liked to have got a second. But we looked a little tired toward the end in regards to their third goal, we just couldn’t get to Maeda.
“I’m so pleased with the response that we’ve got from last weekend. I think, looking at the stats and what I felt in the game, there wasn’t a lot in it.”
While Falkirk left with nothing from the result, McGlynn’s frustration was mixed with admiration for how his team responded. But the difference, as he pointed out, came down to one player Falkirk just couldn’t live with when it mattered most.
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