It’s two wins from two for Celtic in pre-season but they left it late to beat Cork City 2-1.
Celtic and Cork made history by becoming the first ever men’s football match to be played at a GAA Stadium.
Despite playing in his hometown, there was no place for Adam Idah in the squad whereas Hayato Inamura made his debut.
Brendan Rodgers still fielded two different XI’s for each half, with several young Hoops stars featuring again.
It took 28 minutes for the deadlock to be broken as Arne Engels’ neat flick was tucked home by Luke McCowan to give the visitors the lead.
It looked like it would be another comfortable workout for the Hoops but poor judgement from Stephen Welsh meant he allowed Matthew Murray to muscle him off the ball and fire past Ross Doohan into the net.
But, with four minutes remaining, Celtic found a winner thanks to Donovan’s free header inside the box.
With that, here are five things we learned from the game at Pairc ui Chaoimh.
The Hayato Inamura experiment proves to be a success
Unlike his new teammates, Inamura is already match fit due to the J League season starting at a different date so used the game to adapt to a new style.
The Celtic manager has hinted that the 24-year-old won’t be a regular first-team player but as the Bhoys look for a left-back to challenge Kieran Tierney, they may already have his deputy right under their noses.
Inamura started the game in the left-back spot and was sharp in the opening stages, picking out plenty of passes, both long and short, as well as joining the attack on a number of occasions.
All in all, a solid introduction to life as a Bhoy.
James Forrest proves that Celtic have ready-made Nicolas Kuhn replacement
Nicolas Kuhn’s move to Como means that the right wing slot is up for grabs and James Forrest certainly made his case to get that starting role.
The most decorated player in Celtic history started on the right wing and was busy all half, getting plenty of shots away and cutting inside to create opportunities.
He arguably should’ve scored too, only to be denied by a great save from the goalkeeper.
Michel-Ange Balikwisha is reportedly close to joining Celtic and fellow transfer target Isak Jansson has been pulled out of training amid the latest rumours.
However, there is still life in Forrest yet and he can certainly consider himself in contention to start.
Colby Donovan and Kyle Ure have first team potential
Pre-season is a chance for some young players to audition and stake a claim for a spot in the first team one day.
Colby Donovan and Kyle Ure are two of those who will have ambitions of walking out on Saturday’s at 3pm at Celtic Park.
Donovan and Ure are two of the most talented prospects and once again impressed. The right-back’s defending was perfect and he also wasn’t shy to get forward, showing shades of Alistair Johnston.
As for Ure, the 2024/25 academy player of the year made an instant impact, slipping through a brilliant through ball that Callum Osmand was inches away from getting to.
In the end, Donovan ended up scoring the winner, confirming his status as a great performance.
Auston Trusty will be fearing for his place
If there was one concern for Rodgers, it would be Auston Trusty.
The centre-back was lacklustre with his passing, with some attempts going straight out of play.
Additionally, the USMNT was meant to the leading figure in a back four featuring Dane Murray, Donovan and Inamura but looked the most out of place.
Justin de Haas would be an excellent signing for Celtic according to a Dutch expert and the 6′ 4″ defender could move up in the list of priorities if Rodgers wants a partner for Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Stephen Welsh must be sold
In both games so far, Welsh has been the second half captain for the Bhoys but this game has proved that his time is up.
The defender spent the second half of last season out on loan in Belgium but has come back with the hope that he can force his way back into the team.
Welsh picked up an injury early doors and there’s every chance that he didn’t fully recover from it but the mistake for the Cork equaliser seemed like a mistake too many and it’s time to part ways.
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