IT WAS a well-nigh impossible task to give any Celtic player passmarks after the tepid display in the 3-0 loss at Ibrox yesterday.
The Hoops toppled out of the Premier Sports League Cup much in the same manner as they capitulated in Austria to exit the Champions League after a horrendous showing in the 5-1 nosedive against LASK.
However, the Scotland Under-21 international right-back, standing in for the crocked Alistair Johnston, is one of the Parkhead contingent who is exempt from blame after he watched his team-mates being overwhelmed in other areas of the pitch.
The youngster, who turned 20 just seven days ago, put in a real shift and Martin O’Neill labelled him “an absolute warrior” as he reflected on a mystifyingly tame 90 minutes-plus from the champions.
TRUE GRIT…Colby Donovan flies into a tackle in a battle for possession.
Sifting through the wreckage of a shambolic defeat, the Celtic manager said: “Young Colby? He has come out of this with great credit.
“He’s an absolute warrior, he’s got a big heart and I think we can all learn from that.
“Because of the size of his heart he was booked in the first-half, but he kept going to the end.
“He was booked against St Mirren after about eight or nine minutes and kept going to the end that night, as well.
“He’s been a big bonus for us in terms of heart and desire.”
Donovan was a rarity on an afternoon to forget and O’Neill had some explaining to do about a couple of his team selections.
He gave the nod to keeper Sam Johnstone to make only his second appearance for the team while leaving Viljami Sinisalo among the stand-by squad.
LATE STARTER…Haissem Hassan had to wait until the second-half to make an appearance.
There were more than a few who pondered the veteran team chief’s green light to Sebastain Tounekti on the left wing while Haissem Hassan, a stand-out in the 1-0 win over St Johnstone in Perth in midweek, had to wait until the start of the second-half to come on as a replacement for the Tunisian.
O’Neill, speaking to the Scottish Sun, explained the Johnstone selection: “I want people to experience these games because what other way will I learn about what people can or cannot do?
“What I don’t want to do is just put people in so I can learn something from it, because the main objective is to try to win. It’s a fine balancing act.
“As for Haissem, he had an overnight problem and didn’t get much sleep. It was just a matter of not starting him because of that.”
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