Celtic eased into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup on Sunday with a 3-0 win away to League One outfit Clyde, although one decision by manager Neil Lennon during the game caused a stir among plenty of Hoops fans on social media.
As noted by @CelticFC on Twitter, Lennon made his first substitution of the day on 71 minutes, withdrawing James Forrest and bringing on Jonny Hayes in his place.
71' – Christie's free-kick goes over the bar.
First #CelticFC sub:
ON ➡️ Hayes
OFF ⬅️ Forrest0⃣-2⃣ #CLYCEL #ScottishCup
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) February 9, 2020
It was a change which meant that January signing Ismaila Soro, who has yet to feature for the club, remained on the bench, as did rarely-seen right winger Marian Shved, whose frequent omission has been lamented by some Hoops fans. However, the Ukrainian was later brought on in place of Mohamed Elyounoussi.
Hayes’ introduction off the bench on Sunday was his 23rd appearance of the season for Celtic, with the Republic of Ireland international scoring just once and providing two assists during a campaign which has frequently seen him play at left-back rather than the right midfield role he has often occupied in his career.
These Celtic fans on Twitter were not happy at seeing the 32-year-old being called upon over the likes of Shved and Soro for Lennon’s first substitution at Broadwood:
That’s just not what we want to see
— Ryan (@ElyounoussiCSC) February 9, 2020
Is lenny just being stubborn now!
— james corcoran (@jamesy0891) February 9, 2020
Bizarre substitution! Just give Shved a run
— Norrie Sinclair (@Sinky65) February 9, 2020
Why. Just why
— Liam Markey (@liammarkey7) February 9, 2020
Can Lennon please stop playing his pals and let us see Shved
— Liam (@LiamPaterson_98) February 9, 2020
Cant wait to see what this new guy hayes can offer …………..😐🤨
— steve 🏴 (@Stevee5) February 9, 2020
Seriously. What is going to be learned by this?
— steven (@Beaumontbhoy) February 9, 2020
What were your thoughts when Lennon brought on Hayes for Forrest? Do you think he should have given Soro a chance and introduced Shved earlier? Comment below with your views!
