Front Three Star - Partick Thistle 0-4 Celtic Player Ratings
- By LIAM McBRIDE
- Sep 25
- 4 min read
Apologies Everyone, due to some technical issues here on acsom.net we're a bit late to the party on this one.
Nevertheless, here is Liam McBride's player by player assessment of our recent win over Partick Thistle.
Celtic Set up Semi Final With Govan Dodgers
Celtic booked a place in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final with a convincing 4-0 derby victory over Mark Wilson’s Partick Thistle. They now face Rangers, their first meeting with their Glaswegian rivals at this stage of a domestic cup since a 2-1 win in the Spring of 2023.
Viljami Sinisalo - 8
As expected, Sinisalo had very little to do the whole afternoon. Midway through the second half, he made a solid save from a close-by header, one of his two saves throughout the tie.
His distribution was clean, particularly his wide switches to Donovan. As was his ability to start counterattacks. From the brief spells that we have seen, the 23-year-old seems ready to take the place of Schmeichel whenever called upon and has the makings of a future number one.
Colby Donovan - 8
His debut start at Kilmarnock was solid if unspectacular. At times, his ball control was poor, with his tackles similarly mis-timed. Yet, on Sunday afternoon, the 19-year-old grew into the role and showed the promise that has led Brendan Rodgers to speak so highly of him. He ventured forward with purpose, providing excellent crosses for the forward line.
He was solid in the air, often being the last man to head back to the grateful hands of Sinisalo. Overall, it was a pacy and powerful performance, which questions his status as third-choice right back, with reasons to believe a promotion might be in the making.
Cameron Carter-Vickers - 5.5
An uncharacteristically slack performance. Twice in the first half, he was found slacking on the ball, giving it away in dangerous positions due to a perceived lack of concentration. He also struggled to deal with Tony Watt early on, giving away a needless foul in a dangerous left-hand side position. Naturally, as Celtic accelerated after the opener, his defensive work became scarce.
Liam Scales - 6.5
The Irishman doubled the scoring with his sixth career goal in the green and white hoops. Admittedly, Lewis Budinauckas should have saved it, but in these situations, all you can do is get your head on it and force a question; sometimes, like this time, you can get lucky.
Soon beforehand, he played a wonderful pass through for Sebastien Tounetki, with Celtic to soon win a corner. In the second half, he was slack a few times in possession and was incredibly lucky not to give a penalty away.
Kieran Tierney - 7
It proved to be the first occasion that he lasted the full ninety minutes. A minor milestone in his Celtic comeback. Ultimately, the left-hand side was about his partner, Sebastian Tounetki. Tierney simply provided him with the ball as often as possible in a quiet but effective display.
Callum McGregor - 6.5
Early on, the Captain found himself in advanced areas and had a few shots at goal. None really came close. Other than that, it was a performance with little to shout about.
Reo Hatate - 6.5
Similarly to McGregor, Hatate failed to influence the game in the first half. With Paulo Bernardo’s introduction and a more open second half, he began to get more joy in attacking situations, but was soon substituted, likely with an eye on Wednesday
night.
Benjamin Nygren - 7
Like many of Nygren’s games early in the season, he wasn’t a major influence across the whole ninety minutes but popped up with crucial moments of brilliance. In the early stages, he looked to bring the ball from the right-hand side into a more central area, with his quick turns and open body shape.
Although the opening goal for which he was involved came from the left-hand side. A really intelligent cross from the Swede set up Yang for his first goal of the season.
Surrounded by near-post players and blind to the full picture, he lofted a pass to the back post, which the South Korean couldn’t have missed. Soon after, his corner set up Liam Scales for his header.
Yang Hyun-Jun - 8
Had it not been for a lack of a right-wing replacement, Yang would have been walking out the door down to Birmingham City. Instead, he formed part of the Bhoys’ front three against Partick Thistle.
It must be said, the 24-year-old impressed all afternoon. It’s easy to say with a goal beside his name, but his all-around dribbling and link-up play were really positive. He set up Reo Hatate for a gilt-edged opportunity soon after the second goal, and combined well with Maeda in the second half, with the striker coming close.
Kelechi Iheanacho - 8
The Nigerian showed great touches and overall awareness from the striker area. He often dropped deep, providing a vocal point, and was incredibly comfortable with his back to goal.
It’s the sort of presence in attacking areas that the Champions have been missing since Kyogo. Iheanacho’s flick through to set up Tounetki’s goal was first class. Brendan Rodgers now has a real selection headache over who to pick for Wednesday night’s trip to Belgrade.
Sebastian Tounetki - 8.5
Simply wonderful again from the Tunisian winger. In the opening stages, virtually all Celtic’s threat was coming down the left-hand side. Tounetki showed the ability to cut inside and create a chance, as well as getting to the byline. Moreover, there was a wonderful balance to his play.
At times, he opted to slide through Benjamin Nygren, into the near-left-hand side area in the box. Just a minute into the second half, he capped his performance with a neatly worked goal. It’s early days, but the 23-year-old has all the signs of a really good piece of recruitment.
