2010-07-31: Celtic 2-2 Lyon, Emirates Cup

Celtic's late show seals unlikely draw with Lyon in Emirates Cup Celtic 2-2 Lyon

Georgios Samaras, , celebrates with Gary Hooper after scoring Celtic's second goal against Lyon. Photograph: Tony Marshall/Empics Spor

t Aiden McGeady was upstaged on his long-awaited return to action today as Celtic scored twice in the final eight minutes to snatch a draw in their Emirates Cup opener against Lyon.

McGeady made his first appearance since May in the first match of this weekend's four-team tournament, with the transfer speculation surrounding the Republic of Ireland winger having reached fever pitch.

In a cameo that lasted just under an hour, the 24-year-old showed flashes of the ability which has seen Spartak Moscow bid a reported £9.5m for him and prompted rumoured interest from Aston Villa and Tottenham.

He left the field this afternoon with his side 2-0 down to last season's Champions League semi-finalists thanks to goals from Michel Bastos and Harry Novillo. Celtic then staged a dramatic late comeback, with Gary Hooper scoring on his debut before the substitute Georgios Samaras's header made it 2-2, giving both sides three points in a tournament in which goals are also worth points.

Lyon took the lead midway through the first half when Celtic gave away a needless free-kick near the left corner of the area, which Bastos thumped past Lukasz Zaluska high into the net. Although it was fiercely struck, the Celtic goalkeeper will have been disappointed at leaving so much space to his right after shuffling the other way.

The French side made it two early in the second half, Clément Grenier sliding the ball to Alexandre Lacazette, who cut it back for Novillo to fire home via a deflection.

The goal sparked a raft of double and triple substitutions by both sides over the subsequent 20 minutes, including the withdrawal of McGeady.

Celtic refused to lie down however, and their persistence was finally rewarded in the 82nd minute when Forrest's cross was volleyed in by the unmarked Hooper from point-blank range. Minutes later Charlie Mulgrew sent in a free-kick from which Samaras made no mistake.

Manager Neil Lennon pleased with Celtic spirit(BBC)

Celtic manager Neil Lennon hopes the 2-2 draw with Lyon in the Emirates Cup will inspire a Champions League recovery against Portuguese side Braga.

Michel Bastos and Harry Novillo gave Lyon the lead but Celtic bounced back through late strikes from new signing Gary Hooper and Georgios Samaras.

"I think they will get confidence from the performance never mind the comeback," said Lennon.

"We kept going with a lot of young kids out there. I was thrilled with them."

Celtic trail 3-0 heading in to the second leg of their Champions League qualifier in Glasgow following a dismal defeat in Portugal midweek.

And Lennon will be hoping captain Scott Brown will be fit for the encounter after the midfielder limped off in London.

"Scott Brown got a bang on the foot. We'll just have to see how it is on Sunday," said Lennon, who will field a side against hosts Arsenal tomorrow.

"But we've got to take a lot of positives from this performance, the chances we created, the way we pressed well. "They know now they can play against top players and compete well. I know it was a pre-season game but it's a positive sign."

Aiden McGeady made his first appearance for Celtic since May, despite transfer speculation linking the winger with a big money move away from the club.

And Lennon insists he will have no problem playing the Republic of Ireland star against Braga.

The midfielder's omission from the first leg further fuelled rumours Celtic were trying to preserve his market value by ensuring he would not be cup-tied for the competition.

But Lennon insisted McGeady had been injured despite travelling to Portugal and claimed cup-tying the player was the last thing on his mind.

"That's not my problem," he said. "I'm not even thinking about that.

"He looked a wee bit flat but that's understandable. He's not had any football and we'll give him a run-out again tomorrow."

Brown believes McGeady would grace any league in the world but is desperate for him to remain in Glasgow once the transfer window closes.

"He's a huge player for us, he's great, he's talented, can create chances and score goals," said the skipper.

"We've maybe missed that in the last couple of games but you've seen over the last four or five seasons he's played for Celtic, he's been frightening.

"He creates chances from nothing and I think everyone in the dressing room wants him to stay."

Youngsters Filip Twardzik, Milan Misun and James Forrest all performed well against Lyon, with the latter setting up Hooper to score.

Of the new arrival from Scunthorpe, Lennon said: "His movement is very, very good. Even first half, some of the runs he was making, when the ball was in wide areas.

"We just need him to do it on a consistent basis and I think he'll score a lot of goals for us."