Celtic’s opening pre-season friendly against Shelbourne finished 1-1.
The clash in the Dublin sun saw two separate Celtic XIs battle it out with the side placed fifth in the League of Ireland, who are right in the middle of their current campaign.
It was the first preparation game since Martin O’Neill was confirmed to be staying as permanent manager.
But what are some of the less obvious points to take from the game? We picked out three things you may have missed from the game.
✅ First pre-season friendly ticked off…
What did we make of the performance?
Three things you may have missed in Celtic 1-1 Shelbourne
The Ross Grant effect?
The game was also the first since the arrival of new set piece specialist coach Ross Grant, with Gavin Strachan having departed the club for West Brom.
Lifelong Hoops fan Grant joined from Hearts, who had plenty of joy from dead balls in their title push last season.
Celtic had eight corners in the game, from which they generated some of their best chances. Michel-Ange Balikwisha’s delivery didn’t look shabby.
In the second period, the penalty won by Celtic’s Shin Yamada came from an effective deep free-kick delivery by Arne Engels.
READ MORE: Dermot Desmond makes rare appearance at Celtic pre-season opener vs Shelbourne
Hatton and Kennedy impress
It can be easy to lose track of who is on the park in these kind of games, as lesser-seen academy players start being drafted in.
But the two who impressed the most on Tuesday were 19-year-old Thomas Hatton and 17-year-old Liam Kennedy.
Left-winger Hatton injected some much-needed intensity with his dribbling; he didn’t hesitate to take on his defender and often got the team up the pitch in doing so.
The younger Kennedy was equally as impressive as a holding midfield player. Blessed with a strong physical profile despite his tender age, he was keen to receive the ball and progress it with composure.
Name the Celtic players who you think need a BIG pre-season? 🍀🤔
Share your thoughts, Celtic fans…👇🍀
Positional experiments for some Bhoys
A few players were used in different positions to those which they have been seen in previously.
Sean McArdle, who made a few cameos as a central midfielder under Brendan Rodgers last year, started as a right-winger cutting in on his left.
Francis Turley, also handed minutes as a midfielder by Rodgers, came on at right-back in the second half.
Then there’s Balikwisha, who was signed as a winger but started in midfield. O’Neill has previously confirmed that he does not see the 25-year-old as a wide player.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
