There were not many surprises last night in Celtic’s opening pre-season fixture against Shelbourne in Cork.
Martin O’Neill started the evening with some heavy hitters and some more youthful options before changing his XI at the break as his side left with a 1-1 draw.
Shels had taken the lead from the penalty spot late on before the rarely spotted Shin Yamada slotted home a spot-kick of his own in stoppage time. It was an evening to get minutes in the legs of the squad and little more.
We were delighted to present Sean Gannon with the Man of the Match award yesterday evening after Shelbourne’s 1-1 draw with Celtic, with a late Celtic goal denying Shels the win.
Presenting the brand-new chainsaw to the MOTM was our own Sean Duggan from the Chadwicks marketing… pic.twitter.com/STTOnTfsnD
— CHADWICKS (@ChadwicksIE) July 8, 2026
But while there were not many personnel shocks from the Northern Irishman, there was one post-match situation which had some punters inside the stadium scratching their heads.
Irish defender Sean Gannon was named man of the match for the hosts for his efforts at the back as he helped keep Celts at bay for the most part.
And yet, rather than a bottle of bubbly presented by the match sponsors as is perhaps most common, the full-back was handed a brand new chainsaw by Chadwick’s as part of their partnership with the club.
They took to social media to say: “We were delighted to present Sean Gannon with the Man of the Match award yesterday evening after Shelbourne’s 1-1 draw with Celtic, with a late Celtic goal denying Shels the win.
“Presenting the brand-new chainsaw to the MOTM was our own Sean Duggan from the Chadwicks marketing team. Congratulations, Sean!”
Celts earned themselves the draw despite not being at their best and they did so in front of shareholder Dermot Desmond who watched in attendance from the stands.
Now the Celtic squad travel to Portugal for their summer pre-season training camp as they anticipate welcoming back the players they have missed while at the World Cup with their respective nations.
O’Neill’s side will take on Sporting CP before heading back home to Lennoxtown to prepare for more friendly fixtures against the likes of AC Milan and Middlesbrough.
