‘Dynamic’ player suffers difficult debut after leaving Celtic and is subbed at half-time

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Daniel Kelly has found life after Celtic tough after making his debut for Millwall in the Carabao Cup last night against Leyton Orient.

The former Celtic academy graduate joined Millwall this summer after the London club paid a £400,000 fee to take him to The Den early after he signed a pre-contract with the EFL club this summer.

Manager, Neill Harris, was delighted at the Celtic capture and wasted no time in throwing young Kelly his debut last night in the Carabao Cup tie against Leyton Orient.

Interestingly, Kelly made history last night after becoming the first signing from Celtic to play for Millwall for 65 years.

Described as ‘dynamic’ and ‘athletic’ by Millwall’s Director of Football, Steve Gallen, Kelly has found life after Celtic difficult after a tough introduction to English football.

Daniel Kelly suffers League Cup heartache

Kelly was given a home-starting debut for Millwall in the cup last night against League One’s Orient.

Unfortunately for the former Celtic youngster, it was a debut to forget as the Championship club crashed out of the cup after suffering a 1-0 defeat to the lower league club.

However, for young Kelly, the midfielder was hooked at half-time as The Lions struggled to break down a stubborn Orient defence.

In the 45 minutes he was on the pitch, Kelly was rated 6.5 by Fotmob and got just 17 touches of the ball. Within that, Kelly made just nine passes with an accuracy of 67% and made two passes into the final third.

Winning 50% of his tackles, the new Millwall signing tried to help his new team in the defensive third winning 5 out of his six duels, making four defensive actions and two ball recoveries.

Neil Harris comments on former Celtic youngster

Speaking post-match, Millwall manager, Neil Harris was clearly disappointed but stressed the need to give young Kelly time to settle in at the club.

Speaking to South London News, Harris said, “We brought some young players in, in Dan Kelly and Femi (Azeez) for example.

“You want them to hit the ground running but you have to be patient as well. Macaulay Langstaff has come from the lower leagues – it is almost like bringing in a young player because he has never played at the level, so we have to be patient as well.”

It’s still early days for Kelly at Millwall and he is likely to have learned a lot from his debut but as every Celtic fan knows, he is a quality player and more often than not, quality always shines through and, if given time, Kelly’s will too.