Celtic loanee Johnny Kenny is still working his way into a regular rhythm during his loan spell at Bolton Wanderers.
Following a highly productive cameo at the weekend, where he provided two crucial assists from the bench, the young Celtic forward earned a return to the starting XI for Tuesday night’s 0-0 draw against Doncaster Rovers.
While Bolton ultimately failed to find a breakthrough during what became a scrappy second half, Kenny’s individual first-half performance certainly caught the eye.
Manager Steven Schumacher singled the striker out for praise, describing his contribution as “excellent” and noting his play fully justified the decision to freshen up the attack.
Although Kenny is still fighting to become a permanent fixture in the starting XI, this energetic display proves he is ready to take his opportunities.
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Johnny Kenny’s stats in another start for Bolton
The underlying numbers from Kenny’s clash against Doncaster explain in part why Schumacher was so quick to praise the Celtic loanee.
Completing the full 90 minutes, the Irishman proved to be a persistent attacking outlet for Bolton. While he only registered 31 touches across the evening, the forward was incredibly direct whenever he received the ball.
This intent was highlighted by his willingness to drive at defenders, recording a standout progressive carry of over 30 metres to push his team up the pitch.
Furthermore, Kenny linked the play neatly with a 75 per cent pass completion rate in the opposition half.
Although his crossing radar was slightly off, his relentless drive and a total of five shots perfectly illustrated the energetic fighting spirit his manager demanded when speaking to Wanderers TV.
- Minutes played: 90
- Shots: 5
- Shots on target: 1
- Accurate crosses: 0/7
- Passes in the opposition half: 6/8 (75%)
- Touches: 31
- Unsuccessful touches: 4
- Was fouled: 2
- Total carrying distance: 109.3 m
- Carries: 9
- Progressive carries: 2
- Total progression: 42.3 m
- Progressive carrying distance: 47.6 m
- Ground duels won: 2
- Sofascore: 6.2
“A little bit of freshening it up (from the last game regarding changes, and a little bit of tactical,” said Schumacher.
“I thought Johnny Kenny was excellent – everybody deserved to play who started the game. The first half performance was really good. I thought the rest of the half we were well on top.
“Loads of good play. Loads of good football. The second half was a bit scrappy.”
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