Sam Johnstone Shines on Celtic Debut Against St Johnstone

Sam Johnstone walked off McDiarmid Park with a grin as bright as the floodlights above him.

"Amazing. What a feeling."

You could hear the release in his voice. Twenty-one months without a league appearance, parachuted into a Celtic side expected to win, and given the gloves for a tricky night in Perth. The Wolves loanee did not waste the chance.

Celtic’s 1-0 victory over St Johnstone kept their perfect league record intact, but this was no procession. It was graft, discipline, and a debut goalkeeper who looked like he had never been away.

A surprise name on the teamsheet

Johnstone’s inclusion raised eyebrows before a ball was kicked. Viljami Sinisalo has been assured, reliable, and largely unflustered. This felt like a bold call from Martin O’Neill, especially with a League Cup quarter-final at Ibrox looming on Sunday.

But if this was an audition, Johnstone played it like a man who has four England caps in his back pocket.

He faced three efforts from inside the box and repelled them all. The standout moment came when Joel Cotterill caught a first-time strike sweetly, the ball screaming towards the top corner. Johnstone’s reaction was instant, an instinctive tip over the bar that stopped Celtic falling behind and jolted his new team into life.

He dominated his area when called upon, winning his only aerial duel and punching clear once under pressure. With the ball at his feet he was composed, completing 31 of his 38 passes, five of them launched into the final third to relieve pressure and start attacks. Only late on did the exertions show, a bout of cramp creeping in as he saw out his shift.

For a keeper who has barely tasted league football in almost two years, it was an assured, grown-up performance.

“Rollercoaster week” ends in style

"It's been a rollercoaster week, coming in and getting to know the lads and staff, training and watching a couple of games," Johnstone said afterwards.

"So to finally get on the pitch and get a win, clean sheet, play in front of the fans, it was an unbelievable feeling. I'm really happy."

The emotion was obvious. This was not just another game for him; it was a restart.

O’Neill, too, knew what he had just seen.

"The save was fantastic, a really, really brilliant reaction save," the Celtic manager said. "He's a fine goalkeeper and it's just a matter of him getting up to speed with things. Sinisalo's done very, very well indeed, and while I [ideally] do not want to use games like this, I have to find out about a number of players.

"We'll see what happens on Sunday but we've got loads and loads of games and it is really nice to know that I have actually two really decent goalkeepers."

That last line will echo all week. Two good goalkeepers. One huge decision.

Ibrox question looms

Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner watched on and saw a familiar authority between the posts.

"Johnstone looked commanding and had that terrific reflex save. He did good, he'll be under more pressure in other games," Bonner told BBC Sportsound.

"It will be interesting to see what the manager does now - does he keep him in or go with Sinisalo? Celtic have two good goalkeepers at the moment."

That is the crux. Johnstone has arrived, made himself heard, and given his manager a genuine dilemma on the eve of a derby that can shape a season.

Sinisalo has not done much wrong. Johnstone has just done a lot right.

O’Neill wanted answers from this “rollercoaster week” of change. At McDiarmid Park, his new signing supplied one of them. Now comes the real call: does that performance in Perth earn Johnstone the gloves at Ibrox?