After ending their brief stay in Wales with two victories to their name from clashes with Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic, Celtic were ultimately frustrated in their bid for a third successive pre-season win as Bristol City kept the scoreline goalless for the entirety of the 90 minutes.
Despite failing to find the back of the net on the night, recently-appointed manager Ange Postecoglou looked at the positives from his side’s performance, and Celtic fans would likely have taken notice of Rangers’ lowly defeat to Tranmere Rovers ahead of next season’s title battle.
Celtic will take on West Ham United in their final pre-season friendly next week, but there is also the small matter of a two-legged Champions League qualification tie with FC Midtjylland to take into account, the first game of which will take place next Tuesday.
Furthermore, with Postecoglou having been dealt a couple of injury blows during the goalless draw against Bristol City, Saturday ought to provide some of the young Bhoys an opportunity to write their names into the new manager’s good books early on.
Meanwhile, Preston’s trip to St Johnstone unsurprisingly turned out to be a much more low-key affair than their visit to Bamber Bridge, during which Frankie McAvoy’s men came out on top in an 11-goal thriller by eight strikes to three.
Preston did draw first blood against the Scottish Cup double winners thanks to Benjamin Whiteman’s 35th-minute effort, but St Johnstone levelled through David Wotherspoon five minutes into the second half before he failed to find the target from the penalty spot in a 1-1 draw.
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Following the encounter, McAvoy lamented ‘too much tippy tappy’ from his side at McDiarmid Park, but he was nonetheless able to look on the bright side of the result before an even sterner test awaits in the form of Celtic, albeit a bruised and battered one.
The Deepdale club will also face relatively friendly fixtures with Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic before the end of the month, but McAvoy’s side will
also be testing themselves against both Manchester clubs as they seek to carry the momentum forward from their strong finish to the Championship campaign
