Celtic starlet Colby Donovan couldn’t hide his excitement after making his Europa League debut in Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw with Crvena zvezda, admitting the experience felt almost unreal.
A second-half strike from substitute Kelechi Iheanacho had put the visitors on course for victory early in the second-half, though Brendan Rodgers’ side were forced to settle for a point after experienced former West Ham United star Marko Arnautović levelled the scores shortly after the Nigerian’s opener.
After securing a deserved point in the Serbian capital, teenage talent Donovan was singled out for special praise after impressing Celtic fans with a mature performance in testing circumstances. The 19-year-old has started the club’s last three games after a spate of injuries to both Alistair Johnston and Anthony Ralston, but he kept his place in the starting XI and was handed his first European start in Belgrade despite Ralston’s return to full fitness.
“It was brilliant to get the start,” said Donovan. “To come in for a big game, even though it’s a hard place to come, they put me in to start. To put the performance in I did, and to get the point over here is just brilliant. I’m over the moon. It was a bit of nerves, but you’ve always got to have nerves as a young player going in. But as soon as I got here, it left me, and as soon as I heard the first whistle, I knew it was time to go – time to work.”
Heralded for his performance in the intimidating Rajko Mitic Stadium atmosphere by Rodgers in the aftermath of the game, the Celtic boss said, “Coming to this stadium, which is a real challenge. He played with personality, he played with composure, and he has a toughness to him where he’s not going to get beaten easily.”
Donovan admits he just took all in his stride, though, telling TNT Sports: “It’s a hard place to come with the atmosphere. You hear the crowd behind you as you come in for the warm-up; they’re just on you non-stop. As a team, when you hear that, it makes you want to play better and get forward. We got what we deserved.
“As a young player, I take pride in my personality and how I go about my day-to-day life. Playing under the gaffer has been brilliant. He’s been brilliant with me, he’s given me wee touching points on my game. The boys have been great, too, taking me under their wing. Playing for this club is a dream come true. It’s a big confidence boost. He’s a top, top manager. I’m over the moon.”
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