Former Celtic and Ireland goalkeeper Packie Bonner expressed his delight at seeing Celtic and Ireland winger Mikey Johnston end his long-awaited goal drought. Johnston scored a brace against Dundee on St. Stephen's Day, marking his first goal since the 2019/2020 season.
Bonner, a Celtic legend and current FAI staff member, believes that Johnston's shift from the right wing to the left wing has allowed him to express himself by cutting inside from the wing.
"I’m delighted to see the young man score a couple of goals and build his confidence, because he needed that," said Bonner.
“He hasn’t made an impact in the games that he’s played so far playing out on the right-hand side; now he’s on the left, and that frees him up a little bit to come on the inside.
“You would expect the Dundee defenders to close him down a little bit better, but that’s taking nothing away from him, especially his second strike, which was really good.
“The goalkeeper will be a bit disappointed that he didn’t deflect the first one away to save it, but that’s taking nothing away from what Johnston did, and Celtic will be delighted to get those three points.”
Mikey Johnston (Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)Johnston also expressed relief about ending his goal drought with Celtic after the game. The 24-year-old, who spent the 2022-2023 season on loan at Portuguese side Vitória Guimarães, feels he can finally build on his brace from Tuesday.
“When you’re chasing a goal, sometimes it can be harder for the first one to go in,” said Johnston. “Once the first one goes in, they can keep coming after that.
“I came off the back of an injury at the start of the year, so it was like a pre-season in those first few games. It’s just not happened in some games, and in some, I’ve played well.
“The goal or assist just hasn’t come, and that final action is something I need to improve on to get my stats up for the team.
“What I’m striving for is more goals and assists, and the more I can help the team, the better.”
“I’m delighted because the boys have all left their families for Christmas, and to get the win is amazing, and to score a couple of goals is even better.
“We were cruising at 1-0, but you never know what can happen as a team can get a goal and sneak it, so we had to put the game away.
“Going forward, it’s a massive three points, as there are a lot of games in December and we need to win them all, but we won’t take anything for granted.”
Celtic play Rangers at 12:30 today.
