Johnstone's Impressive Celtic Debut Secures 1-0 Win
Sam Johnstone walked off McDiarmid Park grinning, the kind of grin that tells you a week has just flipped on its head.
"Amazing. What a feeling," he said, and it showed.
Twenty-one months since his last league start. A loan move from Wolves. Dropped straight into a Celtic side desperate to keep their perfect start alive on a tricky night in Perth. By full-time, they had a 1-0 win over St Johnstone, a preserved 100% record, and a new goalkeeping dilemma.
A surprise name, a big response
His name on the teamsheet raised eyebrows. Viljami Sinisalo, solid so far, sat this one out as Martin O'Neill turned to the 33-year-old with four England caps and a point to prove.
Johnstone did not waste the chance.
He faced three efforts from inside the box and repelled them all. The standout was a stunning, instinctive tip-over from Joel Cotterill’s first-time strike, a save that kept Celtic from falling behind and shifted the mood of the night. It was the kind of stop that instantly wins over a new dressing room.
He dominated what little aerial work came his way, winning his only duel and punching clear when required. With the ball at his feet he looked assured, completing 31 of 38 passes, five of them launched into the final third to relieve pressure and turn Celtic up the pitch. Only late cramp interrupted what had been a composed, controlled debut.
"It's been a rollercoaster week, coming in and getting to know the lads and staff, training and watching a couple of games," Johnstone said. "So to finally get on the pitch and get a win, clean sheet, play in front of the fans, it was an unbelievable feeling. I'm really happy."
O'Neill's pleasant problem
If this was an audition, it landed squarely with the manager.
O'Neill did not hide his admiration for the key moment of the night.
"The save was fantastic, a really, really brilliant reaction save," he said. "He's a fine goalkeeper and it's just a matter of him getting up to speed with things."
That, though, is only half the story. Sinisalo has been one of Celtic’s quieter success stories so far.
"Sinisalo's done very, very well indeed, and while I [ideally] do not want to use games like this, I have to find out about a number of players," O'Neill admitted. "We'll see what happens on Sunday but we've got loads and loads of games and it is really nice to know that I have actually two really decent goalkeepers."
Sunday, of course, is no ordinary fixture. A League Cup quarter-final. At Ibrox. Against Rangers. The kind of occasion that can define a season and a career, especially for a goalkeeper.
Two keepers, one derby
From the stand, former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner watched Johnstone stake his claim and saw a familiar authority between the posts.
"Johnstone looked commanding and had that terrific reflex save. He did good, he'll be under more pressure in other games," Bonner told BBC Sportsound. "It will be interesting to see what the manager does now - does he keep him in or go with Sinisalo? Celtic have two good goalkeepers at the moment."
That is the crux of it. One game, one clean sheet, one huge save – and now one major decision.
Celtic leave Perth with their record intact and their options strengthened. The question hangs over the next team sheet: does O'Neill ride the wave of Johnstone’s "rollercoaster week" into Ibrox, or return to the man who had the jersey?
The derby will reveal his answer.
