If Jonny Hayes felt he had a point to prove against the side that released him in May last year, prove it he most certainly did.
Last night, Stephen Glass’ new-look Aberdeen team took the game to Celtic in a way Derek McInnes’ side never did. And it was veteran left-back Hayes who came to epitomise a confident, suddenly up-and-at-em Dons.
The 33-year-old Ireland international was his typically tenacious self in midweek.
And the irony wasn’t lost on Celtic supporters as Hayes, 11 months after his three-year Hoops career came to an end, gave his £3 million replacement the runaround at Pittodrie.
The expensively acquired Greg Taylor still has his share of doubters and another underwhelming display last night did little to dispel those concerns.
Taylor offered very little at one end and struggled to contain a rampaging Hayes at the other.
And with Diego Laxalt expected to return to AC Milan, his once promising loan spell going south quicker than Brendan Rodgers sniffing out a Premier League job, it seems inevitable Celtic will be in the market for a left-back this summer.
Perhaps they should have kept Hayes all along?
Here’s what some Celtic fans on Twitter had to say about Hayes’ performance:
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