Reo Hatate deserves praise for cameo in Celtic vs LASK
Celtic star Reo Hatate deserves some credit after his cameo during the Champions League playoff first leg on Wednesday night. The Bhoys put one foot in the Champions League league phase with a 3-0 home win that saw Benjamin Nygren score the opener and Camilo Duran score a brace.
All three goals were of top quality, and in a rather open game that Martin O'Neill described as a 'basketball game', finishing really was the difference.
There were some obvious standout performances, including those of Duran and Colby Donovan, but Hatate deserves some praise for his late cameo.
Hatate comes in from the cold
Hatate has been heavily linked with an exit this summer, reportedly wanting a new challenge, and that may well have played a part in his missing out on appearances to start the season, although his form last season won't have helped his case.
Still, with O'Neill short of options in midfield due to the exit of Arne Engels and Alex Oxlade-Chmberlain's UEFA suspension, he turned to Hatate to play in a holding midfield position after Mika Baur picked up an ankle injury.
Like Baur, Hatate is used to playing further forward, but despite playing out of position and having not yet played this season, he produced a confident cameo late in the game.
The Japanese international played a little-known role in the third goal, holding off his man to create the angle for Auston Trusty to play the ball into midfield, and he then sprinted almost the length of the pitch to make it into the box, where he occupied two men and allowed Nygren to get into an advanced position to receive and play the one-two back to Duran.
That kind of effort wasn't required of a player coming off the bench with around half-hour left and already with his side possessing a two-goal. It's going above and beyond, and you don't often see that with players who are coming in from the cold.
That deserves praise, especially with Hatate having been criticised by many this summer.
What O'Neill has said about Hatate's situation
Speaking about Hatate last week, Hoops boss O'Neill said: "I think there are a number of tentative enquiries. Nothing has come up that is beneficial to him or the club.
But that might change. If it did not change I would be happy. Reo is a fine footballer. He has dropped down the pecking order at this moment. But if he could recapture the form he showed two seasons ago he would still be an asset.
“Any player who feels as if they are being squeezed and they want to play and they feel they are not going to play, then playing is the most important thing.
“A bit like Paulo Bernardo. He has gone on loan (to Gornik Zabrze) because he did not want to be sitting in the stand for games. And while no one pushed him out the door he thought we might try to get another couple of players in so he has gone certainly until January.”
