Mikey Johnston made his Republic of Ireland debut last night and has sent the Irish fans into meltdown with his wonderful trickery and quick-feet from the wings. The on-loan Celtic man has been enjoying a really productive season in Portugal with Vitoria Guimaraes and was called up to the Republic of Ireland squad by Stephen Kenny for their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
The first name on the fixture list was Latvia and that took place in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin yesterday evening, with Kenny’s men running out 3-2 winners and getting their first three points of the qualification process on the board. Johnston was introduced to the fold later on in the game and came on to show the Irish fans exactly what he will bring to the table if given more opportunities.
His weaving in and out of the Latvian defensive line created chaos at the back and allowed Ireland to get a goal thanks to Johnston’s strike that hit off of the post and fell right at the feet of Chiedozie Ogbene, who made no mistake poking the ball away to put the match up at 3-2 for the Republic and sending the fans into raptures inside the national stadium.
Johnston had another delightful dribbling display during the match in which he was unlucky not to score again, hitting a shot which was goal-bound but for a Latvian defender blocking for a corner-kick, leading to loud applause from the home supporters in acknowledgement of his wonderful performance from out on the wing during his first outing for the country of his grandparents.
The Irish supporters have been taking to social media to comment on the young Johnston and have been calling on Kenny to start him against France in their next showdown for Euro 2024. Take a look at the reaction below:
Squint your eyes and that could have been Bernardo Silva out there! This is the first time I’ve seen him play and he was sharp, with good feet, and quick passing, the kind of player Ireland needs.
— 🇮🇪NOLA Gooner☘️ (@NolaGooner) March 23, 2023
Mikey Johnston was such an exciting talent when he broke through at Celtic. So unlucky with injuries. Great to see him look so confident on his Ireland debut tonight. A rare winger who tries to beat defenders
— Stephen Doyle (@dubsoulrebel) March 23, 2023
The game was dead last night before Mikey Johnston came on and produced a Jimmy Grimble of a cameo. He’ll be fun to watch. https://t.co/v4nQQjyowC
— Anthony Pyne (@AP_Pyne) March 23, 2023
Sensational stuff from him, looks decent
— Rambon (@rambonthefirst) March 22, 2023
Magic Johnston
— Chris McGrath (@ChrisPockets) March 22, 2023
Paul Gillespie
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Really can’t believe what I’m reading about Mikey,Latvia 133 game a friendly nothing at stake,when it comes to serious business he will either get hurt pulling out of a tackle or disappear from sight definitely not good enough for Celtic