O'Neill rues wastefulness in shock Falkirk loss
Martin O'Neill lamented Celtic's wasted opportunities in its 2-0 Scottish Premiership loss to Falkirk, saying his side "created enough chances to have won three games".
Celtic suffered its first defeat to Falkirk in 19 years, having gone unbeaten in each of the last 19 meetings between the sides before this.
Ethan Ross netted on Falkirk's first attack of the match, with the returning Cameron Carter-Vickers diverting the ball straight to him, allowing him to slam in the opener in the third minute.
Its second came in the 38th minute through Scott Tanser, who burst through Celtic's defence after latching onto Owen Eames's through-ball to slot home.
Scott Bain was the standout performer for the host side, though, as he made nine saves to keep out Celtic, including making brilliant saves to deny Haissem Hassan, Camilo Duran, James Forrest and Mika Baur throughout.
Duran also struck the woodwork shortly after Falkirk had first taken the lead, but Celtic could not hit the back of the net with any of its 24 shots.
"Naturally disappointed. We lost the game," O'Neill said. "Tough old match for us.
"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.
"I do believe that we should tighten up defensively, and I think that we should be looking at some clean sheets, definitely.
"I thought 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. He made some stops that I'm not so sure that that many goalkeepers would've got to. On the day, he was fantastic."
It was only Celtic's second league defeat of the season, and it means it failed to extend its four-point lead at the top of the Premiership table.
It has now won just three of its last 10 outings in all competitions, but O'Neill says he understands the scrutiny that comes with his position.
"I don't know whether [supporters] are angry," he saids. "Every single time that Celtic lose a game, people can be angry and frustrated.
"Every single time that we lose a game, we come under scrutiny, and so we should, because this is it; the club is used to winning.
"It's a long season; it's a long season ahead. This time last year, we were in a worse position.
"Why would you not change the team? Because we have an abundance of games. We're playing European football. We're trying to hold the Scottish flag up at the end of it all, so we have to change. It's hard for the same players to play every single week."
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill
Celtic FC
