Camilo Durán scored twice in the opening half-hour as Celtic saw off a spirited Falkirk 2-1 at Celtic Park to maintain their unbeaten start to the Scottish Premiership season, though the afternoon carried an undercurrent of supporter frustration aimed at the club's hierarchy.
Deployed through the middle in his favoured centre-forward role, the Colombian forward was decisive early on, netting twice inside 29 minutes to put the champions firmly in control. Beyond his goals, Durán was also a constant threat in creating openings for his teammates throughout the contest.
Falkirk, however, grew into the game after the interval and were rewarded for their improved second-half showing when Colby Donovan turned the ball into his own net in the 72nd minute, setting up a nervy finish for the home side. Celtic held on to secure the three points and keep their perfect domestic record intact.
The victory came against a backdrop of visible discontent among sections of the Celtic support, still smarting from Thursday's Champions League qualifying exit. The Scottish champions had squandered a four-goal aggregate advantage before crashing to a 5-1 defeat away to LASK, ending their European ambitions for another season.
Before kickoff, Celtic's ultras made their feelings known, unveiling banners referencing the club board's stated ambition to be "world class" in every facet of its operations. The displays listed the various clubs that have knocked Celtic out of Champions League qualifying over the past 14 years, with one banner sarcastically labelling the situation a "'world class' embarrassment." A chant of "sack the board" briefly emerged from the standing section but failed to spread across the rest of the stadium, with supporters largely rallying behind the players for the remainder of the match.
Elsewhere in the Premiership, Hearts survived a tense finish to edge past St Johnstone 2-1 at home, climbing to second in the table despite an underwhelming overall performance. The Edinburgh side, fresh off their Conference League playoff win at Rapid Vienna in midweek, raced into a commanding position through an early James Wilson strike followed by an own goal credited to St Johnstone debutant Enes Alic. Hearts lost momentum after the break, though, and had to hang on after Ruari Paton reduced the deficit shortly into the second half.
Dundee United delivered an impressive display in the absence of manager Jim Goodwin, thrashing Kilmarnock 4-0 at Rugby Park for their first league win of the campaign. Goodwin was hospitalised on Thursday, with the club confirming Saturday morning that the 44-year-old remains affected by an ongoing medical issue. Assistant Lee Sharp took charge, and his players responded emphatically, racing to a three-goal lead by the 41st minute through Emmanuel Agyei's opener, a Zac Sapsford penalty, and a stunning strike from Will Ferry. Jesse Randall completed the rout late on. The result ended United's scoreless run stretching back three matches, while Kilmarnock's defensive struggles continued — they have now conceded 13 goals in just three top-flight fixtures and remain rooted at the bottom of the table without a point.
Attention now turns to Sunday's action, when Rangers travel to face Aberdeen in a lunchtime kickoff, having been eliminated from the Conference League on penalties by Jablonec earlier in the week. Hibernian, who also exited the same competition following defeat to Gent, face Dundee, while Motherwell — beaten heavily by Freiburg — head to St Mirren.
Based on reporting from The Guardian.