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Sinisalo or Johnstone - Martin O'Neill's big dilemma for Celtic's trip to Ibrox - Celtic Shorts

Celtic Shorts · Mark Dixon · 2026-09-10T11:15:32+00:00 · nguồn gốc

Martin O’Neill has one big dilemma for Sunday’s trip to Ibrox in the Premier Sports Cup. Does he give the gloves to Viljami Sinisalo or Sam Johnstone? Martin O’Neill chose to go with on loan goalkeeper Sam Johnstone for last night’s win in Perth over St Johnstone, and the former English international impressed the manager and supporters alike with a commanding and assured display as he registered a clean sheet on his first start for the club. Sam Johnstone impresses on his Celtic debut Sam is a highly experienced and talented keeper, as he showed throughout the 90 plus minutes at McDiarmid Park as the Hoops made it six wins out of six in the Scottish Premiership thanks to a Mika Baur strike early in the second half. The Germany under 21 international will naturally take the plaudits after grabbing the winning goal, his first for the club, but credit should also go to the big Englishman as he produced a terrific display between the sticks in what proved, as expected, to be a tricky away fixture. Johnstone made a stunning save to deny Saints the lead Although not being severely tested due to Celtic’s dominance in proceedings, Sam was alert when he needed to be, producing a stunning first half stop to deny the home side taking the lead. It wasn’t just his shot stopping skills that impressed, it was his overall commanding performance, as he looked calm and composed, showcasing all his years of experience as he looked a secure figure behind a vulnerable looking Celtic defence which was without first pick performer Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Kieran Tierney. Food for thought for Martin O’Neill Sam Johnstone’s impressive display has certainly gave his manager some much needed food for thought going into a vital run of games over the next ten days. Martin O’Neill now has a tough decision in regard to selecting a goalkeeper for the Premier Sports Cup quarter final at Ibrox on Sunday afternoon. Will the Celtic manager go with Viljami Sinisalo who has done little wrong since stepping in to replace Kasper Schmeichel at the end of last season, or will he opt for the experience and assurance of Sam Johnstone? Sinisalo perhaps could have done better at the recent Falkirk goal at Celtic Park and he was perhaps at fault for two of the five goals Celtic conceded in Linz in the Champions League playoff disaster against LASK. With the Europa League campaign beginning next midweek, Martin O’Neill may have it in his mind that he needs an experienced keeper between the sticks. However Johnstone has no idea what he’s walking into at Ibrox, especially as it will be wall-to-wall Rangers fans at the game. Sinisalo has played well in a number of games at Ibrox and even did Michael Nicholson’s job after one, calling out the throwing of objects into his penalty area by the home support. James McFadden reckons that Sam Johnstone is the new Celtic No.1 James McFadden on Sky Sports last night was adamant that Sam Johnstone will now be the first choice Celtic goalkeeper until the end of the season, after the decision by Martin O’Neill to make the swap last night. He may well be right but we are unlikely to know for sure until the Celtic team is announced on Sunday. It’s a difficult decision for the veteran Irishman, but he’s the main man, and it’s his choice to make. Sunday’s starting XI will be interesting for sure with hopefully Cameron Carter-Vickers returning alongside Camilo Duran and Benjamin Nygren. And a word about the Ox Perhaps Alex Oxlade Chamberlain sitting out the two away matches against St Mirren and St Johnstone was with these Glasgow Derby matches in mind. Remember he will serve his third and final UEFA ban in midweek against Ferencvaros. Martin O’Neill may well see him as the perfect midfielder to play at Ibrox alongside Callum McGregor and Benjamin Nygren. Just an Ordinary Bhoy HAVE YOUR SAY – Join the Celtic conversation in our comments section below… NEW FROM CELTIC STAR BOOKS…Celtic in the Fifties by Matt Corr, in two volumes, available now… Quick Tip – Add Celticshorts.com as your ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the Celtic content you value the most. It takes just a few seconds and you’ll notice the difference straight away! – Click HERE….Hail Hail!