Watch Balde and Pukki score against Trabzonspor

Amido Balde and Teemu Pukki hit the goal trail tonight as Celtic beat Trabzonspor 3-1 in the Antalya Cup.

Neither player has done enough to convince Neil Lennon that they were worth a regular starting place in his team despite the need for strikers and goals to replace the departed Gary Hooper.

Playing together for the first time the new look strike partnership put Celtic 2-0 up with both goals coming in a five minute spell late in the first half.

Pukki opened the scoring with a low 25 yard drive in the 32nd minute with Balde panicking Trabzonspor defender Sol Bamba into turning the ball past his own keeper to put the hoops 2-0 in front.

“I was pleased with their performance,” Lennon said. “The two of them worked very hard, deserved their goals and that will do them the world of good.

‘We will give them a bit of a run out on Sunday. They have shown what they can do and that will do their confidence no harm whatsoever.”

After the heavy schedule of matches over Christmas Lennon freshened his side up with Derk Boerrigter and James Forrest providing width to a central midfield pairing of Scott Brown and Nir Biton.

At the back Lucasz Zaluska was given a rare outing but was forced to pick the ball out of the net shortly before the interval when Gural pulled a goal back for the Turks.

At the interval Charlie Mulgrew, Joe Ledley and Kris Commons were introduced with Balde scoring a spectacular long range effort in the 57th minute to restore Celtic’s two goal advantage.

Darnell Fisher and Cork bhoy Eoghan O’Connell were given 30 and 20 minutes to impress as Celtic hung on to record a worthwhile victory.

Tomorrow Ajax face Galatasaray with the winners playing Celtic on Sunday for the Antalya Cup.

CELTIC (4-2-3-1) Zaluska; Matthews (Fisher 60), Ambrose (Mulgrew 46), van Dijk (O’Connell 66), Izaguirre; Biton, Brown (Ledley 46); Forrest (Commons 46), Pukki (Atajic 78), Boerrigter; Balde
Sub not used: Fasan