CELTIC 2 FALKIRK 0: New Bhoy Tomas Cvancara proves he’s a striking upgrade at Parkhead as Martin O’Neill’s men blast back into title contention

When Celtic announced the loan signing of Tomas Cvancara from Borussia Monchengladbach, Martin O’Neill was quick to play down expectations on the new striker.

The pressure of being thrust into a title race, and into a club who have been crying out for a new centre-forward all season, could easily have placed an added burden on Cvancara’s shoulders.

It was a cute move from O’Neill and spoke of his experience and man-management skills. Yet, whatever pressure Cvancara may or may not feel, he is clearly coping just fine and taking it all in his stride.

The big Czech frontman opened the scoring in this win over Falkirk with a brilliant header in the first half and looked the part up front throughout the 72 minutes he was on the pitch.

For all that O’Neill may have been keen to stress that Cvancara will not instantly be the cure to all of the club’s ills, the reality is that he is a significant upgrade on anything else Celtic have in terms of strikers.

His header set O’Neill’s side on their way to what was a fairly routine three points in the end, with Benjamin Nygren adding a second goal after half-time.

Cvancara’s header after 39 minutes opened the scoring and his account for the club

Cvancara was in the thick of things all afternoon, including a tangle with Falkirk’s Henderson

With Rangers dropping points in a laboured 0-0 draw against Hibs at Easter Road, this was a day which saw Celtic move back up to second in the table. Six points behind Hearts, they are clinging on.

It still feels slightly incongruous to refer to Celtic as reigning champions, given the turmoil they have endured for much of the season. But champions they are. And it’s clear that, despite all the infighting and off-field chaos, they won’t give up their crown without a fight. O’Neill simply won’t allow it.

A potentially tricky fixture against Falkirk was negotiated with minimal fuss, with all eyes now on deadline day and the mad dash to bolster O’Neill with more new signings alongside Cvancara.

That the club are scrambling around on deadline day is a nonsense in itself, given the obvious need for new recruits that has been screaming out to all observers in recent months.

But, like an old episode of supermarket sweep, O’Neill and Celtic will now desperately try to find a few bargains and chuck them into the trolley in the race to win the title.

O’Neill made three changes on the back of Thursday night’s victory over Utrecht which clinched Celtic’s place in the knockout rounds of the Europa League.

Benjamin Nygren continued his electric form for Celtic with a well-taken second goal

Dane Murray came in at centre-back for the suspended Auston Trusty, with the club losing an appeal against the American’s red card against Hearts at Tynecastle last weekend.

Julian Araujo and Cvancara also came in to take the places of Colby Donovan and Sebastian Tounekti as O’Neill looked to freshen things up.

Having won so many plaudits this season both for their results and adventurous style of play, John McGlynn’s Falkirk travelled to Glasgow in confident mood.

Over the past fortnight, McGlynn’s side had knocked Hearts out of the Scottish Cup before then battering Hibs 4-1 to cement their place inside the top six.

Finn Yeats, who signed a new deal during the week, dropped to the bench in favour of Sheffield United loanee Louie Marsh.

The standing section in the corner of Celtic Park held up a banner prior to kick-off, branding the Celtic board as ‘traitors’ and calling on them to end the ban handed out to the Green Brigade earlier this season.

McGlynn had actually referenced the ongoing civil war in the build-up and felt that his side could capitalise on the toxic atmosphere and the absence of Celtic’s ultras.

Arne Engels feels the force of a Leon McCann challenge and was later linked with a move away

The Bairns started brightly and came within a whisker of taking the lead on nine minutes when Barney Stewart glanced a Leon McCann cross towards the far corner.

Kasper Schmeichel has not been without his critics this season and, whilst mistakes have been far more frequent and high-profile, he does still continue to make big saves.

That was evident when he made a stunning stop late in the game when these two sides met a fortnight ago, with Celtic grinding out a 1-0 win.

He was at it again yesterday, throwing himself full stretch to claw Stewart’s header away from goal when it looked bound for the bottom corner.

Celtic were having some joy in the wide areas, especially through Yang Hyun-jun on the right. A much-maligned figure for the majority of his Parkhead career, he has looked lively under O’Neill.

But the opening goal came from the other flank on 39 minutes, with Kieran Tierney sending in a good cross which was there to be attacked.

Cvancara duly obliged. The big Czech striker got across his marker and glanced a terrific header past Scott Bain in the Falkirk goal.

Veteran managers John McGlynn and Martin O’Neill shake hands after the match at Celtic Park

The ball struck the post before trickling along the goalline and nestling into opposite corner, with the Celtic Park crowd rising to acclaim their new hero up front.

That gave the home support a much-needed lift shortly before half-time. So, too, did the news at the break when it filtered through that Rangers had dropped points in a 0-0 draw with Hibernian at Easter Road.

We may only be at the start of February, but, in a three-way title race, these instances of results being cheered elsewhere when rivals drop points will become ever more frequent over the coming months.

Yet, for all they led through Cvancara’s header, Celtic were far from comfortable. Falkirk were quick and incisive every time they got forward.

That sense of ambition has become a hallmark under McGlynn, who will surely be in the running for manager of the year come the end of the season.

The impressive Calvin Miller had a pop from distance as the Bairns chased an equaliser, with Stewart also seeing a clever backheel effort blocked from close range.

Cvancara almost doubled his account when he was released by a through ball from Callum McGregor, but he dragged his left-foot shot wide of the target.

Searching for a second goal to make things more comfortable, Celtic finally doubled their lead just after the hour.

Falkirk keeper Scott Bain is greeted by former Celtic colleague Kasper Schmeichel at full-time 

Nygren exchanged passes with McGregor out on the left, before the ball was fed back inside to the Swedish midfielder. He let fly with a left-foot shot which Bain probably could have done better with, only for the ball to nestle in the corner of the net for 2-0.

In fairness, it could have been 3-0 only minutes later when Bain made a fine stop to prevent Nygren from making it a quickfire double.

On as a late substitute, Tounekti rifled into the net for what looked to be a third goal, only for it to be ruled out.

But it was all comfortable enough for Celtic in the end. All eyes now turn to what business the club can do in the final hours of the transfer window.

Celtic (4-3-3): Schmeichel 7; Araujo 7.5, Murray 7, Scales 7, TIERNEY 8 (Welsh 84); Engels 6 (Hatate 72), McGregor 7, Nygren 7.5; Yang 7 (Forrest 48), Cvancara 7.5 (Tounekti 72), Maeda 6 (Iheanacho 84). Booked: None. Manager: Martin O’Neill 7.5.

Falkirk (4-2-3-1): Bain 5; Adams 6, Allan 6, Henderson 5, McCann 6; Spencer 6, Tait 5 (Cartwright 64); Wilson 6 (Ross 64), Miller 7 (Nesbitt 85), Marsh 6 (Yeats 64); Stewart 6 (Graham 74). Booked: McCann, Cartwright. Manager: John McGlynn 6.

Referee: David Dickinson.