A meek 3-0 exit at Ibrox has put Martin O’Neill’s team selection under real scrutiny, and on the evidence of Sebastian Tounekti’s start and Sam Johnstone’s recall in goal, the criticism is fair – even if selection alone doesn’t explain a performance this flat.
Celtic went out of the Premier Sports Cup at the quarter-final stage, beaten 3-0 by Rangers at Ibrox having trailed 1-0 at the break. Tounekti started and didn’t survive the interval. Johnstone kept his place in goal despite Viljami Sinisalo having kept four clean sheets in eight appearances this season. Two selection calls, two obvious questions, according to BBC Sport.
Why the selection is under scrutiny
With Yang Hyun-jun away on international duty, Tounekti was handed only his second start of the season in the midweek 1-0 win over St Johnstone, a game covered in detail as Celtic’s win at McDiarmid Park was assessed before Ibrox. He lost possession 23 times in Perth – only the opposition goalkeeper gave the ball away more often.
That should have been a warning sign heading into a game against Rangers right-back Dujon Sterling. Instead, Tounekti started again, with Haissem Hassan – signed from Real Oviedo in a deal reportedly worth up to £9m – left among the substitutes, a decision worth weighing against the broader picture around Celtic’s attacking options and fitness levels heading into the derby.
The attacking calls that backfired
Sterling dominated Tounekti so completely that the winger was hooked at half-time. Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner didn’t hold back on Tounekti’s inclusion: “That was a question, should Tounekti start or not?” Bonner said. “O’Neill went with him but I think I think he now realises that maybe he’s not the player that’s going to be dominant in this team. Sterling absolutely dominated him, and Sterling was playing almost like a third centre-half.”
Bonner’s preference was clear. “Out of all of the wingers we’ve seen, I think Hassan should have started,” he said, while acknowledging the Egyptian may not have been at full match fitness. It’s hard to argue with the logic – you don’t pay £9m for a player to sit and watch Ibrox unravel from the bench.
The central role brought its own confusion. Camilo Duran had been excellent through the middle, but with Kasper Hogh fit again, the Dane started centrally at Ibrox and Duran was shunted wide. Hogh was withdrawn after 64 minutes, Duran followed 13 minutes later for Shim Mheuka – two changes that spoke of a front three that never settled.
The case against making selection the whole story
Swapping Tounekti for Hassan at half-time made little difference to the outcome – Celtic were already chasing the game and never looked like finding a way back. Andy Halliday’s assessment of Hogh was withering. “Kasper Hogh has blown hot and cold for Celtic so far, but he was absolutely freezing today,” Halliday said on Premier Sports. “On the ball, off the ball – no desire, no willingness to get back and defend for his team.”
Fans writing in were blunt about the collective effort, not just the team sheet. One supporter, Gordy, put it plainly: physically and mentally Celtic weren’t up to the task, with Rangers overloading midfield and winning the second ball throughout. That’s a squad problem as much as a selection problem.
The evidence in goal and defence
O’Neill also broke up the Cameron Carter-Vickers–Auston Trusty centre-back pairing that had started seven of Celtic’s nine games this season, bringing Kieran Tierney back at left-back and shifting Liam Scales inside. It’s the kind of reshuffle worth revisiting given the context around how Celtic prepare for Old Firm fixtures.
Then there was Johnstone in goal – his second competitive appearance since March – ahead of a keeper who’d kept four clean sheets in eight games. Kevin Kelsy should have scored early on when a Johnstone clearance dropped straight to him, and Kim Min-Su was denied only by a Scales goal-line clearance after Johnstone palmed a cross into danger. Johnstone spent the rest of the afternoon being goaded by the home end every time he touched the ball.
What the key voices said
O’Neill himself didn’t dodge the question after the game. “If you’ve been beaten in a game you always think about selection,” he said. “I’ll think about my own part in proceedings first of all and then we’ll see. I wanted people to experience this atmosphere and they certainly did that today.”
That last line will grate with supporters who felt the experience came at a heavy cost. Fan Biggar summed up the mood succinctly: Tounekti shouldn’t be near the first team, Hassan should have started on the right, and Sinisalo was harshly dropped.
Verdict: wrong calls, but a wider failure
Tounekti being withdrawn at half-time after Sterling dominated him is damning enough on its own. Add Hogh and Duran never finding a settled role up front, and Johnstone’s shaky recall in goal, and O’Neill has genuine selection questions to answer.
But 3-0 at Ibrox isn’t a scoreline you get from one or two wrong names on a teamsheet – it’s a whole team that didn’t turn up for the fight. O’Neill got calls wrong. Celtic, collectively, got the day wrong too.
Mon The Hoops.
