In our inaugural loan watch, there was mixed reaction for many Celts as several competed in playoffs up and down the country.
With news of Maryan Shved arriving back at Parkhead, many will be looking to join him in trying to make a mark in the first team. In order to do that, they’ll need to continue impressing at their loan clubs.
Therefore, let’s have a rundown and see how the Celtic loanees got on yesterday, with all but one in action:
LEWIS MORGAN – Sunderland
It’s difficult to say this was an overly-successful afternoon for Lewis Morgan. The former St Mirren star has had an up-and-down time at the Black Cats, but is part of the League One playoffs to try and get into the Championship.
Sunderland kicked off their playoff run at home to Portsmouth yesterday – sealing a vital 1-0 win in the process.
Morgan didn’t take any part in the goal. In fact, he was subbed after 58 minutes due to not making any form of impact. It didn’t help either that his substitute, Chris Maguire, got the winner in the closing stages.
The second leg will take part on Thursday night. A date at Wembley could beckon for Morgan, but question marks now arise over whether he’ll actually start against Portsmouth.
ROSS DOOHAN/CALVIN MILLER – Ayr United
Both Ross Doohan and Calvin Miller’s season came to an unceremonious end yesterday. Ayr United were knocked out of the Premiership playoffs at the quarter-final stage.
The performance on the day at Inverness was a positive one. Ayr managed a 1-1 draw at the Caledonian Stadium, but it wasn’t enough to overturn the 3-1 deficit they suffered at home last week.
Doohan didn’t have much to do in the contest. It was largely dominated by an Ayr side looking to get back into the tie. He was beaten from a glancing header from Coll Donaldson in the second-half. Outside of that, he didn’t have much on his plate.
Miller, meanwhile, only came on for the final 13 minutes with the tie effectively dead. Between both Miller and Doohan, they’ve managed 61 appearances. But big decisions will need to be made on their immediate futures this summer, with neither yet ready to play in the first-team
YOUSSOUF MULUMBU – Kilmarnock
Midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu is now finally getting a run of games as his fitness seems to be improving each week.
Steve Clarke knows how to get the best out of him. He did so yet again yesterday too, with the Congolese midfielder getting 90 minutes in the 1-0 win over Hibernian.
Mulumbu helped boss the midfield with Gary Dicker and Alan Power. As well as that, his brilliant interceptions were nearly overshadowed by a superb assist for Eamonn Brophy. But the striker fluffed his lines when through on goal.
Mulumbu has now started the last seven matches outside of the Celtic defeat. Whether he gets a shot next season remains to be seen, but it still feels unlikely.
ANDREW GUTMAN – Charlotte Independence
Things go from bad to worse for Andrew Gutman at Charlotte. Perhaps not on an individual level, but certainly collectively.
Charlotte suffered their fourth consecutive game without a win in yesterday’s 3-1 home defeat to Loudon United. Gutman, thankfully, wasn’t at fault for any of the three goals. In fact, he did a good job marshaling his opposite man, but struggled to influence things going forward.
He’s another who got 90 minutes yesterday. Gutman is one of the more consistent players at Charlotte, but he hasn’t been able to halt them from sliding to third bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Next up is a US Open Cup second-round clash against Florida Soccer Soldiers. Gutman will be hoping to drag his team out of their slump before leaving them for Parkhead next season.
FOR THOSE NOT MENTIONED:
Manny Perez, the other American Celtic signed alongside Gutman on deadline-day last January, will play today at 19:00GMT against Ottawa Fury. His North Carolina side are flying in the Western Conference, and sit seventh with two games in hand.
Kundai Benyu wasn’t a part of the Helsingborgs squad that lost 1-0 to Kalmar yesterday.
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