Falkirk secured their first victory over Celtic in 19 years with a memorable 2-0 home win, climbing to fourth in the Scottish Premiership.
First-half goals from Ethan Ross and Scott Tanser rewarded a confident performance from John McGlynn’s side, while goalkeeper Scott Bain made a series of outstanding saves to frustrate the league leaders.
The defeat leaves Martin O’Neill’s Celtic with just three wins in their past 10 matches and a four-point advantage at the summit.
Falkirk struck with their first attack after a costly mistake from the returning Cameron Carter-Vickers.
The defender diverted the ball straight to Ross, who fired home from close range.
Celtic threatened a response through Camilo Duran, whose angled effort struck the far post.
Haissem Hassan followed up with a curling shot, but Bain produced an excellent save to preserve the lead.
The Falkirk goalkeeper continued to repel the visitors before Tanser doubled the hosts’ advantage with a superbly worked goal.
Owen Eames split Celtic’s defence with an incisive pass, allowing Tanser to surge through and finish confidently before the interval.
O’Neill made changes in search of a revival, but Celtic squandered several clear opportunities as Falkirk held firm to seal their first win over the Glasgow club since March 2007.
Falkirk’s winning run gathers pace
A fourth consecutive league victory marked another significant step forward for McGlynn’s side, who had not managed three straight top-flight wins last season.
Their early breakthrough provided belief, while the quality of the second goal demonstrated the confidence flowing through the team.
Although Celtic created enough chances to threaten a comeback, Bain’s exceptional goalkeeping ensured Falkirk’s attacking efforts were matched by resilience at the other end.
McGlynn, his staff and his players delivered a result that underlined their progress and gave supporters a victory to savour.
Defensive concerns deepen for Celtic
Celtic’s latest setback raised further questions about their defensive organisation and struggling form.
They have kept only one clean sheet in 10 matches and have now conceded in the opening minutes twice in a week, repeatedly leaving themselves chasing games.
Duran offered a threat and was unfortunate to hit the post, but Celtic lacked cohesion and failed to convert their best opportunities.
Attention now turns to a Europa League meeting with Besiktas, with O’Neill’s side having lost all three of their matches in the competition so far.
After another damaging defeat, pressure is mounting on Celtic to find answers at both ends of the pitch.
Falkirk manager John McGlynn: "It was some shift the players put in. It's a huge testament to everyone, the work-rate, the effort, the desire.
"To get the 2-0 advantage was huge and I think Scott Bain had two outstanding saves. He had to continuously produce in the second half so a huge thank you to him for the game he's had. We needed him to have the game of his life.
"A huge performance, all the characteristics you'd want from your team playing against Celtic."
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill: "Naturally disappointed. We conceded some poor goals from our viewpoint and naturally one so very, very early on in the game, but we created enough chances to have won three games.
"We played some really decent stuff as well too on the surface and I thought we created a lot of chances, we just didn't take one of them. [Scott Bain] was absolutely magnificent. On the day, he was fantastic."
