Celtic legend points out Sam Johnstone mistake as Martin O'Neill's goalkeeping experiment continues

Legendary Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner has expressed some concern over Sam Johnstone as the veteran keeper tries to win over Martin O'Neill.

Johnstone is being given a chance to impress over a run of games, with O'Neill claiming he wants a good look at the former England international now that he knows what Viljami Sinisalo can offer.

Wednesday night's 2-2 draw with Dundee United was Johnstone's third straight start, and his actual goalkeeping has ;largely been okay, with his distribution being the main bone of contention, especially when compared to Sinisalo, who likes the ball at his feet.

But there was an issue with the second United goal on Wednesday night, according to Bonner, which wound up being an own goal from Liam Scales, who later atoned for his error with a goal at the other end.

Bonner said on BBC's Sportsound: “Probably Sam Johnstone might have been able to come and get a punch and it goes right into the six-yard box from quite a distance out.

“He didn’t come. Then there was hesitation. The ball dropped down, second phase, and they had two or three bodies there to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Regardless of the error, Johnstone is going to get a few games to stake his claim, with O'Neill expecting to make a decision on his number one for the rest of the season in a few weeks' time.

He said after the game on Wednesday night: "Sam, yeah, I thought he did fine, really fine in the game. So it'll take us a few weeks before we find out who will stay in goal for hopefully the rest of the season."

Celtic obviously shouldn't be in the position where they are assessing the situation on the fly, but they did not add a back-up goalkeeper until the end of the transfer window, even though they knew they had to replace Kasper Schmeichel in some capacity for the entirety of the summer, even before the transfer window opened.

Johnstone was added late on, and now O'Neill is having to use competitive games to try to figure out his best goalkeeping options.

Then again, most feel as though Sinisalo is the clear winner between the two. Other than the Benfica game recently, the keeper has largely been reliable on all fronts, and he forces the back-line up the pitch with his positioning and willingness to receive the ball.

But clearly O'Neill wants to see for himself, and the experiment will continue.