When Julián Araujo was ruled out of Celtic’s crucial Premiership clash against Motherwell, Martin O’Neill was left with another key player missing.
The Bournemouth loanee has been a standout performer on the right flank, and his absence left a noticeable void in a must-win game for Celtic.
That anxiety around Parkhead only grew when Elijah Just gave Celtic’s high-quality visitors an early 1-0 lead.
However, stepping into the spotlight under immense pressure, Colby Donovan delivered another brilliant performance.
The young defender didn’t just fill Araujo’s jersey during Celtic’s 3-1 victory over 10-man Steelmen; he showcased why there is so much hype around the player, because he was defensively outstanding in a very tricky game.
A closer look at Donovan’s match numbers highlights exactly how effective he was at nullifying the Motherwell threat.
- READ MORE: Five things we learned as Celtic pass Motherwell test with flying colours from Yang and Maeda
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Colby Donovan’s stats as Celtic beat Motherwell
Donovan registered a massive seven defensive contributions, reading the game expertly to make two vital clearances, one interception, and a crucial ball recovery.
Most impressively, when isolated against direct runners, Donovan was an absolute brick wall. He won 100% of his tackles (4/4) and dominated the physical battles, coming out on top in four of his six ground duels.
It was a mature, gritty shift that proved O’Neill has a highly capable deputy ready when called upon.
Unfortunately, Donovan couldn’t play the entire game, as he seemed to injure his knee, or something of that sort, which meant that he was replaced by Anthony Ralston late in the second half.
Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious because Celtic already have injury problems to deal with, and O’Neill doesn’t need another headache.
- Minutes played: 78
- Yellow cards: 1
- Total shots: 1
- Accurate passes in the opposition half: 12 out of 15
- Accurate long balls: 1
- Touches: 63
- Carries: 11
- Total progression: 11.5 m
- Defensive contributions: 7
- Tackles won: 4 out of 4
- Interceptions: 1
- Clearances: 2
- Recoveries: 1
- Ground duels won: 4 out of 6
- Sofascore rating: 6.7
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