STANDING in the Ibrox tunnel, Sam Johnstone, anxiety betraying his obvious discomfort, looked as though he would prefer to face a firing squad than step out onto the pitch in front of 50,000 howling, baying home fans.
As the tension mounted and the decibel levels rose, the 33-year-old keeper, who has represented England four times at senior international level, was clearly riddled with nerves.
There was no disguising that look of trepidation.
It took only four minutes into the action for Johnstone to present the opposition with a gilt-edged scoring opportunity which, thankfully, they blew.
Moments later, he raced from his line as a long high ball from the left dropped into the box. He mistimed his run and misjudged his leap and was left flailing as the cross created chaos.
He was bailed out by Liam Scales who kicked the ball off the line with the net again gaping.
GOVAN AND HELL…Liam Scales and Sam Johnstone after the third goal.
At that stage, we all realised – including those in the rival camp – that it was only a matter of time before a doomsday scenario was inflicted upon the visitors. And so it proved to be.
This is not a personal attack on the on-loan Wolves netminder. He is not the first and nor will he be the last performer to have been overcome by paralysing stress factors on such a traumatic occasion where every error is examined and dissected.
There is no hiding place in a Glasgow derby. To his cost, Johnstone will now be more than aware of that fact.
As Martin O’Neill prepares his players for tomorrow night’s Europa League opener against Ferencvaros at Parkhead, he has a question to answer:
Does he continue with Johnstone?
I understand the logic behind observers stating the Englishman should remain in place. You could make a case for giving him support in his first appearance at Celtic Park.
There is a school of thought about immediately getting him back on the horse. That may well work for outfield players. They can be afforded the opportunity to respond to an awful performance and be pitched in at the start of the next outing.
They may send a pass or two astray, miss the target with a shot or lose a tackle. No-one is about to scream the place down to have them removed. He will be given time to settle.
ON THE BALL…a rare moment of tranquility for Sam Johnstone at Ibrox.
Goalkeepers, the Aunt Sallies of the beautiful game, don’t have such a luxury. Throw one into the net and there will be a cacophony of derision. There is no safety net for the men with the gloves.
Is Johnstone in the right frame of mind to play against the Hungarians? Only one man can truthfully answer that.
The keeper had no chance with the three shots that flew past him at Ibrox, but, deep down, as a professional sportsman, he will be aware that his performance had been deeply flawed.
Undoubtedly, he will do much better in future. Sunday was a culture shock for him. Derby days across the border will not have been played in such an unpleasant, raw and toxic atmosphere.
O’Neill explained the inclusion of Johnstone by saying he needed to see how he would react at that level. There was a fair amount of risk involved. Indisputably, the gamble backfired.
The Irishman could stubbornly stick to his selection process and field the keeper again to see how he fares in European competition.
I believe that would be a mistake. The bleakest scenario could see Johnstone once again suffering an attack of the jitters and having to be substituted with Viljami Sinisalo replacing him.
That could be an embarrassment from which Johnstone might never recover. Confidence is everything to a footballer, especially the guy who stands between success and failure every matchday.
What sort of signal does it send out to Sinisalo if he is stuck on the bench while a shaky loanee again gets the nod ahead of him?
I can’t see that the Finn has done too much wrong since taking over as No.1 following the enforced retirement of Kasper Schmeichel whose last appearance was in February.
RISE AND SHINE…Viljami Sinisalo holds onto a high cross during Celtic’s 4-0 Premier Sports League Cup win over Dundee United at Tannadice.
Sinisalo may not have the awesome presence of his predecessor, but he does possess good hands and breathtaking agility. I read and heard a lot of so-called experts blaming him for the Champions League exit when five LASK efforts eluded him.
Critics making those observations wouldn’t know the difference between a goalkeeper and a goldfish.
I reckoned Sinisalo was slow to move his feet and get across his line for the fifth and deciding goal, but he had done a helluva lot more than the blokes in front of him to keep Celtic alive up until that point.
Even a late penalty-kick save couldn’t inspire his team-mates to that last push in another European horror show.
For what it’s worth, Sinisalo has faced the Ibrox club four times and is yet to be on the losing side. Read into that what you will.
If you asked me who is the superior and more dependable keeper between Sinisalo and Johnstone at the moment, I would unhesitatingly go for the former.
Whether the Celtic manager shares the same viewpoint remains to be seen.
ALEX GORDON
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