Nancy Finally Celebrates First Celtic Win

Wilfried Nancy finally breathed a sigh of relief as Celtic secured their first victory under his management, defeating a ten-man Aberdeen side 3-1 at Parkhead. The French coach had faced mounting pressure following an unsteady start to his tenure, with consecutive defeats against Hearts, Roma, St Mirren, and Dundee United leaving fans anxious about the club’s direction.

The breakthrough came thanks to midfielder Benjamin Nygren, who gave the Hoops the lead in the 39th minute, before Aberdeen suffered a further setback just before half-time. Young defender Dylan Lobban, aged just 20, was shown a straight red card following a foul on Daizen Maeda, leaving the Dons down to ten men. Despite a few brave saves by goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov and a couple of near-misses against the woodwork, Aberdeen could not stem the tide.

The visitors briefly threatened a comeback when Kenan Bilalovic, coming off the bench, equalised in the 74th minute. However, Celtic’s relentless pressure was rewarded late on, with Keiran Tierney and substitute James Forrest scoring decisive goals, moving the Hoops within six points of Premiership leaders Hearts, while holding a game in hand.

Nancy admitted he had not been fortunate since taking over. “I don’t believe in luck but since I’ve been here I haven’t had luck,” he said. He recalled how a series of misfortunes – from conceding to Hearts in unusual circumstances to missing a penalty against Roma – had plagued his early days. Nevertheless, he praised the resilience of his players.

“They kept attacking despite setbacks. Attack, attack, attack – waves, waves, waves. The two goals we scored were a reward for their grit and resilience,” he added.

Nancy, formerly head coach at Columbus Crew, revealed he could have delayed his arrival at Celtic until December but chose to come early to assess the squad ahead of the January transfer window. “The timing was right to evaluate the team,” he explained.

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin accepted the result graciously, acknowledging that his side had struggled in the first half and were hindered further by the red card. “It’s a fair result. We wanted to grab a point but didn’t,” Thelin admitted.

For Nancy, this victory marks a turning point, demonstrating the potential of his squad and hinting at a more confident, attacking style for Celtic as they chase Premiership glory.