Mikey Johnston came off the bench to put the finishing touches on Celtic’s 3-0 Scottish Premiership victory against Motherwell on Wednesday.
Celtic roared back to life against Motherwell on Wednesday night.
Brendan Rodgers’ side needed a response after their 2-0 defeat away to Hibernian at the weekend and they produced exactly that in front of their own supporters with a number of Celtic’s second string players staking a claim for a more regular place in the starting XI.
Young right-back Anthony Ralston marked a rare appearance with the opening goal, while a Scott Sinclair penalty put the game beyond Motherwell on the half hour.
But it was Mikey Johnston’s goal that will live long in the memory. The 19-year-old replaced the injured Odsonne Edouard in the first half and scored Celtic’s third and final goal soon after, cutting inside to fire home a stunning finish.
And, speaking to the Evening Times, Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson believes his side could have done better with the first two goals but admitted that Johnson’s finish was a moment of sheer quality.
“We were done by two individual errors. We don’t go with the runner at the first and then go to ground in the tackle for the second,” Robinson said. “The third (Johnston’s goal) I have to say was a magnificent finish. But if you switch off against Celtic for a minute they hurt you.”
With Edouard seemingly set for a spell on the sidelines and Leigh Griffiths out of action too, Johnston might have an opportunity to force himself into Celtic’s starting XI over the festive period, albeit in an unfamiliar centre-forward role.
The teenager has certainly aced his audition.
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