Daizen Maeda Praises Unsung Celtic Hero vs LASK

Former Celtic forward Daizen Maeda was full of praise for Colby Donovan on Instagram after the Hoops right-back starred against LASK in tonight’s 3-0 Champions League first-leg win.

Donovan, starting in Alistair Johnston’s absence through injury, stepped up and then some. He looked really comfortable on a European night at Paradise at only 19 years old, something rarely said about a Celtic academy graduate in recent years, and Maeda shared his confidence post-match.

Donovan defended brilliantly one-v-one, put some great balls in behind the LASK defence and linked up brilliantly with his teammates, including man of the match Camilo Durán and Benjamin Nygren, to name a few.

With talk of Celtic signing a new right-back in Johnston’s injury absence, the young Scottish defender looks to be the future of the Hoops.

A young full-back who can defend one-v-one and get forward is a rarity in the Scottish game, and Martin O’Neill is nurturing Donovan into a strong member of the squad.

Donovan’s rise at Celtic may be one of O’Neill’s lasting legacies at the club. Since he returned, the Irishman has favoured Donovan over Anthony Ralston, putting his faith in a 19-year-old over a Scotland international, and it’s paying off.

The Celtic right-back will undoubtedly be tested next Tuesday in Austria, but the signs are very positive.

Given the dearth of Scottish players breaking through at Celtic in recent years, you simply cannot have enough young players coming through into the first team from the academy, and hopefully it’s the beginning of a new generation of players set to step up from Celtic B.

Durán will earn the plaudits for his man-of-the-match display, but Maeda was right to point to Donovan as the somewhat unseen hero who quietly did his job and arguably ran Durán close for man of the match, given the nature of his performance at right-back.