It’s two wins out of two for Celtic in pre-season.
On Tuesday evening, Celtic beat Cork City in Ireland in a pre-season friendly, days after their win over Queen’s Park last Friday.
Once again, it was a mix of senior players and youngsters being handed a chance, as Brendan Rodgers changed the majority of his starting XI at half-time.
One young man who started the game was academy player Ben Summers, as he started high up the pitch, and he impressed.
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Ben Summers praised for Celtic performance against Cork City
Premier Sports were broadcasting the game on their platform, and Kenny Cunningham was on commentary duty.
The former Republic of Ireland star stated that he was ‘really impressed’ by Summers, including how ‘clever’ he was on the ball for Celtic.
Summers was on the pitch when Luke McCowan opened the scoring, and Cunningham was sharing throughout the half what he was seeing from the 21-year-old.
“Those are the type of balls Johnny Kenny needs,” said Cunningham. “A clever little reverse ball around the corner (from Summers).
“It’s a good pass initially from McGregor into Summers. He got himself into that kind of pocket of space, but he is smart, the young lad. His head is up. He is looking for the next pass. Little ball around the corner, and Johnny Kenny is taking it on first time.
Cunningham continued later on: “Interesting what the Celtic supporters make of Summers’ performance so far. They wouldn’t have seen too much of him playing. He would have been on that loan to Austria last season.
“But I have been impressed with his contribution so far. He has really impressed me. Head up and looking for the next pass.”
Summers’ loan spell last season
Summers has two senior appearances to his name, both coming in the Premiership, but that was two years ago under Ange Postecoglou.
The current Celtic manager is yet to use Summers in an official capacity, and you wonder what a positive pre-season would do for the player.
Last season, Summers was out on loan in Austria playing for Admira Wacker, who are in the second tier, and he got some much-needed experience under his belt.
- Games: 19
- Goals: 2
- Assists: 2
- Minutes: 1,411
- Red cards: 1
- Wins: 10
- Draws: 3
- Losses: 6
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