Celtic had Nicolas Kuhn to thank for saving their bacon against Ross County in the Scottish Premiership, but Alistair Johnston also deserves a major slice of the credit.
With the Bhoys staring down the barrel after Ronan Hale’s penalty opened the scoring for the Staggies before the interval, there were several key men who stepped up to the mark for Brendan Rodgers.
None more so than Alistair Johnston, who stepped up to divert home an equaliser just under 15 minutes from time before his threaded pass paved the way for Kuhn to send the away support into raptures.
Overall, Celtic’s dramatic victory over Ross County may be one supporters don’t realise the gravity of until midway through the international break.
In hindsight, securing three points became more important than ever in the early formation of the Scottish Premiership title race. Following Aberdeen’s win over Hearts later in the day, paying homage to Johnston feels like the right thing to do.
Without his decisive input in Dingwall, Celtic could’ve been headed into their top-of-the-table clash against the Dons on October 19th chasing Jimmy Thelin’s men. Nevertheless, the Vancouver-born man put in another storming display, illustrating why he is so important to the cause.
Alistair Johnston continues to lead by example for Celtic
Now up to five goal contributions in his opening ten games this season, Johnston regularly carries the torch for Celtic down the right flank to pass onto teammate Kuhn.
Never shy of taking responsibility, the Canada international is a stalwart for club and country, leading by example on and off the pitch.
At the start of the season, Cameron Carter-Vickers labelled Johnston as a Celtic ‘leader’ in the dressing room alongside Greg Taylor.
Looking back at his comments, his defensive counterpart was onto something there. He stated: “I think there’s a few. The ones you name, Greg’s also fairly vocal. Ali Johnston, I’d class as a bit of a leader as well. The team is so close that anyone can really have an opinion and if it’s a good one everyone will listen and accept it.
“I don’t know if it’s a case of real big leaders. It’s just a case of a collaborative effort to go in the right direction and pull in the right direction.”
Alistair Johnston is part of the Celtic dressing room core
When you think of Celtic’s experienced characters who carry the Bhoys over the line, Callum McGregor, James Forrest, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Carter-Vickers are some of them who come to mind.
On current evidence, it is impossible not to afford Johnston that tag. Any success the club has had in recent times since his arrival from CF Montreal, he has been front and centre.
Mixing his love for a battle with genuine attacking quality, the 25-year-old has a unique blend of explosivity that makes a real difference at both ends of the pitch, which has become more apparent over recent months.
Celtic are lucky to have Johnston among their arsenal of weapons in the chase for further silverware. Rest assured, he will have a significant role in any forthcoming achievements.
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