Sydney FC came from behind to beat Celtic 2-1 on Thursday night in the inaugural match of the Sydney Super Cup.
A frantic opening 30 minutes saw the Sky Blues hit the crossbar twice before Kyogo Furuhashi opened the scoring for the Scottish giants.
Sydney FC responded quickly, however, with Robert Mak getting the Australian team level within three minutes.
Celtic emerged from the break eager to reclaim their advantage but Sky Blues goalkeeper Tom Heward-Belle was proving a hard man to beat.
Against the run of play, Max Burgess then curled Sydney ahead in the 60th minute with the Hoops unable to find a response despite dominating the closing stages.
Celtic will now look to bounce back when they face Everton on Sunday afternoon in their second and final match in Australia.
The Sporting News followed Celtic vs. Sydney FC live with updates and highlights provided below.
MORE: Sydney Super Cup explainer and fixtures
Goals:
FULLTIME: Sydney FC hang on for a famous 2-1 victory over Celtic.
𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐘𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐘 pic.twitter.com/il3SwuQtoj
90+3 min: Celtic probe into Sydney’s box but the Sky Blues do just enough to defuse the danger.
90th min: Haksabanovic with some brilliant work in the box but his ultimate is blocked with five minutes of injury-time to come. Now or never for Celtic.
88th min: O’Riley takes a pop for Celtic but his effort was always soaring over the crossbar.
86th min: Jota attempts a bicycle but it skies high and wide. Celtic getting a bit desperate now as Sydney sit deep going into the dying minutes.
83rd min: Haksabanovic tries his luck from distance but his effort lacks power to trouble the Sydney goalkeeper.
82nd min: Celtic have been wasteful from set-pieces in this match as they once again fail to make the most of a corner.
77th min: 21 shot to nine in favour of Celtic tonight so far and yet they trail 2-1. Can they find that cutting edge in the final 15 minutes?
75th min: Welsh down for Celtic after a head clash following a corner.
72nd min: Sydney doing well to dig in here and frustrate Celtic at the moment.
67th min: Celtic win a free-kick in a good position but the resulting shot from Robertson hits the Sydney wall.
60th min: GOAL! Sydney FC take the lead via a super strike from Max Burgess. The attacking midfielder is afforded too much time in the box and he curls his shot into the far left corner. Celtic made to pay for not taking their earlier chances.
BEND IT LIKE BURGESS 🔥💫
Incredible strike to give @SydneyFC the lead!#SYDvCEL #celsyd #SydneySuperCup pic.twitter.com/KPEqFwBtw9
59th min: Another chance goes begging for Celtic as Jota is fed through on goal by Kyogo, but he can’t keep his effort down.
56th min: Turnbull skims a shot just over the crossbar from the top of the box. Sydney FC sitting back so far this half and struggling to soak up the pressure.
54th min: Hatate has a long-range shot blocked as Celtic continue to push forward relentlessly. They look hungry for a goal.
49th min: Ralston has a shot from close range saved with Sydney then surviving shouts of handball in the aftermath. A strong start to the half so far from Celtic.
HUGE RIGHT HAND 🧤
Howard-Belle is having some night in the sticks🔥#SYDvCEL #celsyd #SydneySuperCup pic.twitter.com/PoiBJGenbU
46th min: We are back underway at Allianz Stadium, Celtic with the first touch of the second half, who have brought on Jota among five changes at the break.
46′ – Back underway for the Bhoys in Sydney – #COYBIG ✊
🔛 Hatate, O’Riley, Taylor, Abada, Jota
↩️ Ideguchi Abildgaard, Bernabei, Hakšabanović, Forrest
🟢1️⃣-1️⃣🔵#CELSYD | #SydneySuperCup | #CeltsInSydney🍀🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/y8AoHCD9qd
HALFTIME: All square at the break with both teams getting on the scoresheet once and going close on several more occasions. Sydney FC arguably deserved to lead on the balance of play and hit the crossbar twice. Celtic seem to be labouring off the ball but still look capable of creating magic very quickly in the final third. Safe to say more goals should be on there way in the second 45 minutes. Confirmation too that there will be a penalty shootout if this game ends level after 90 minutes.
Great performance so far but we go in level 🤝#SydneyIsSkyBlue | #CELSYD | #SydneySuperCup pic.twitter.com/wrkQjhWxaG
45th min: Lolley with curling effort for the Sky Blues but Siegrist does well to palm it away from goal.
42nd min: Ideguchi tries his luck from distance but it’s well off target. Kyogo follows up just moments later but is denied by the feet of the Sydney goalkeeper.
Spiderman mode…activated 🕷
Phenomenal reactions by the Sydney FC shot-stopper 🧤#CelSyd #SydvCel #SydneySuperCup pic.twitter.com/O5qxqbBzHa
38th min: A deflected shot from Lolley falls to the feet of Burgess but he can’t adjust in time with goal gaping.
35th min: Abada chips the goalkeeper but his shot veers wide and Sydney FC do just enough to clear the ball with Kyogo looking to tap the ball home.
34th min: A great run forward from Grant for Sydney but a return ball to the defender just misses its mark in the box. Celtic looking fairly sluggish tonight, perhaps still a bit jetlagged.
31st min: Siegrist does well to come out and stop Mak from latching onto a ball in the box.
26th min: GOAL! Sydney FC respond immediately through Robert Mak. He shows great pace to beat his defender before calmly slotting it past Siegrist. Celtic didn’t see that coming…
MAK ATTACK TURNS ON THE JETS 🔥
Brilliant response from Sydney FC to level the scores. What a game! 👏#CelSyd #SydvCel #SydneySuperCup pic.twitter.com/WbC2eqo8si
23rd min: GOAL! Celtic open the scoring through Kyogo Furuhashi. A shot from distance deflects off the Japanese forward and into the back of the net.
Kyogo knew exactly what he was doing 😏🙆♂️#CELSYD | #SydneySuperCup | #CeltsInSydney🍀🇦🇺
pic.twitter.com/RCcAW7MT6z
22nd min: OFF THE POST! Sydney FC once again denied by the crossbar after a powerful shot from Lolley. Crazy this game hasn’t delivered a goal yet.
Mak strikes the woodwork! 😱
Big chance for the Sky Blue#SydvCel #SydneySuperCup pic.twitter.com/fzZzZf7PFz
18th min: Kyogo goes close for Celtic this time but the goalkeeper comes out quick enough to smother the chance. End-to-end action so far at Allianz!
16th min: OFF THE POST! Celtic very lucky not to fall behind as Mak this time hits the crossbar for Sydney after being picked out inside the box.
15th min: Another big chance for Sydney FC but Mak takes too long with his first touch after being played through on goal by Burgess.
13th min: A quick pan to the stands suggests there are more Celtic fans in attendance tonight than those cheering on the home team.
10th min: Sydney FC burst up the other end with Grant finding himself with time in the box and forcing a strong save from Siegrist.
10th min: Turnbull gets the first shot on target for Celtic but it was a harmless effort from the top of the box.
8th min: The first big chance of the match falls to Abada but he can’t steer his header from right in front on target. A wake-up call there for Sydney.
5th min: Quite a calm first five minutes from Celtic here with the side in no great rush to get into the final third.
2nd min: A lively start from Sydney FC, who are asking some early questions of Celtic’s defence.
Kickoff: We are underway in Sydney with the Sky Blues getting the ball rolling at their home ground.
5 mins from kickoff: A nice moment for Postecoglou before he gets down to business tonight.
🇦🇺 Joining the @FootballAUS Hall of Fame 🏆
🙌 Ange Postecoglou 🙌
#CELSYD | #SydneySuperCup | #CeltsInSydney🍀 pic.twitter.com/Xa9I6GwBLp
15 mins from kickoff: While Celtic aren’t at their strongest tonight it’s hard not to see them dominating this match. Sydney have been struggling in the A-League Men and start with a relatively inexperienced backline the Hoops could very well tear to shreds. My money would be on plenty of goals being scored over the 90 minutes.
30 mins from kickoff: Former Socceroo Harry Kewell is an assistant coach at Celtic this season and he’s savouring the chance to work at the club and with Postecoglou.
“To be part of this huge club is something special”
Australian Football legend and @CelticFC Assistant Manager at Harry Kewell chats with us pre-game about life at Celtic and what it means to work alongside Ange Postecoglou#SydneySuperCup #SYDvCEL pic.twitter.com/Q2LUL1foMv
45 mins from kickoff: Sydney FC have also announced their lineup for tonight with star attackers Joe Lolley and Robert Mak both starting.
📋 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀
A rotated squad for the challenge of Celtic with 5⃣ changes to the XI from last weekend’s derby 🔁#SydneyIsSkyBlue | #CELSYD | #SydneySuperCup pic.twitter.com/uCJIPMY3eJ
One hour from kickoff: Celtic have confirmed their lineup for tonight with Joe Hart a notable omission from an otherwise quite strong starting side. Star attacker Jota is on the bench.
📋 #CeltsInSydney Team News! 🍀🇦🇺
Here’s how the Bhoys line up against @SydneyFC ⤵
Watch Live on @CelticTV Worldwide (Exc. Australia)
🔗 https://t.co/hiI9BAA1JH #CELSYD | #COYBIG💚 pic.twitter.com/FR7pvqzWLj
One hour and 30 mins from kickoff: Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has provided his thoughts on the match to come.
🗣 The Boss previews #CELSYD ✊#COYBIG | #CeltsInSydney🍀🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/36YhTa4P9l
Two hours from kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Celtic vs. Sydney FC. A sunny, relatively cool day here in Sydney with even finer conditions expected when this match gets going under lights. Check out our preview and prediction for the game here.
Allianz looking mighty fine on a Thursday afternoon 👌#SydneyIsSkyBlue | #CELSYD | #SydneySuperCup pic.twitter.com/pkgGKThkby
Celtic will be without a host of players called up for the World Cup including Aaron Mooy, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Daizen Maeda.
Sydney FC will also be without veteran defender Alex Wilkinson and main striker Adam Le Fondre through injury, while Jack Rodwell is yet to make his debut for the club and won’t feature tonight either.
Australia: Network 10 will show all Sydney Super Cup matches live and free in Australia. This game will be televised on 10 Bold with livestreams available on 10 Play.
UK: This game will be streamed live on Celtic TV to all fans outside of Australia.
