Size doesn't matter: Paul McGowan

What a breath of fresh air Paul McGowan's performance was today.

The almost forgotten man of Celtic Park started his first ever competitive match and there was only one contender for the man-of-the-match award.

At 22 and with his contract expiring at the end of the season McGowan's career is at a crossroads with today's display likely to provide him with a few other options.

From his first touches in the match when he was looking to pick out Robbie Keane it was obvious that McGowan was determined to make the most of his unexpected opportunity.

It's taken Tony Mowbray a long time to give him his chance but after the match the Celtic boss wasn't slow to praise McGowan's performance.

He said: "I think sometimes young players just need an opportunity and sometimes you have got to be brave and put them in.

"He showed that this arena, this fantastic football stadium, does not leave him short. He grew into it

"Paul trains with us every day and I know what a talent he is. He has great energy and a great little brain for the game and I'm sure he will have a long, successful career."

McGowan has been working away this season with Neil Lennon's development squad scoring regularly from Inverness to Dublin with his last appearance being in the 2-1 defeat at Sunderland on Tuesday where ineviably he scored the Celtic goal.

After today's performance he said: "I only found out on Friday that I was starting.

"I was obviously a bit nervous but I have been playing well with the reserves and training a lot with the first team.

"I've waited a long time for it. I was starting to become disillusioned. In the last month or two I have been there or thereabouts.

"But last week the manager told me that I would be training with the first team all the time.

"My contract is up at the end of the season so hopefully things can turn for the better.

"There was some talk a couple of weeks ago (about a new contract) but nothing yet. I will have to keep going.

"You can't ask for any more than learning from players like Robbie Keane. I like to play just behind the main striker but I'm happy to play anywhere.

"I would like to have capped it off with a goal but I'm just happy that the team won. The result matters more."

There has never been any doubting McGowan's ability as a footballer, both as a goalscorer and as someone who can link play up and ping passes about that others don't have the vision for.

But making the breakthrough as a striker at Celtic must rate as one of the hardest taks in football.

Since he made an 18 minute substitute appearance against Inverness Caley Thistle in September 2008 McGowan has been waiting on the sidelines behind almost a dozen strikers with only a loan spell at Hamilton Accies last season giving him a taste of first team football.

At 5 foot 7 most managers will have reservations about McGowan's ability to cope with the physical demands of the game but unlike Paul Caddis the strikers stocky frame and impressive close control gives him an obvious advantage.

Today's Celtic line up seemed to be tailored specifically to get the most out of McGowan who responded in style and although he failed to get a goal he'll feel that today's performance took him over a major obstacle.

With Keane as the sole striker backed up by Aiden McGeady, McGowan and Marco Fortune there was a new dynamic to the way that the team played.

St Johnstone never looked capable of putting Celtic under pressure but that shouldn't detract from the display of McGowan and the attacking options that Celtic carried.

Beating Falkirk, Kilmarnock and St Johnstone isn't particularly praiseworthy but if Celtic had slipped up in any of those games the criticism would have been fierce.

It'll be interesting to see how the side fares over the next couple of games with McGowan's role of extra importance.

Official Sunderland website report on reserve match with Celtic, McGowan very prominent

The first time McGowan was named as a substitute v Aberdeen May 2006

Nice one Gowser- the forgotten Celt

It may be the night that someone scored two goals at once- his first and last for Celtic- but it was great to see Paul Gowser McGowan become a goalscorer.

Adored by Morton fans after a season long loan spell the little striker has found it impossible to break through the lengthy list of strikers that have barred his route to the first team.

Scott McDonald, Georgios Samaras, Marco Fortune, Chris Killen, Cillian Sheridan, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Maciej Zurawski, Kenny Miller and even Ben Hutchison have been in front of McGowan for a place in the affections of Gordon Strachan and Tony Mowbray.

Tonight however he joined that fairly exclusive band to have found the net for Celtic in Europe and the first to score an equaliser after being three goals down within 20 minutes!

McGowan has got lots about him but it's difficult to get away from the impression that he's just too small to make it at the top level.

He has an eye for goal, a poachers instinct and can drop deep, link up and play passes but without a real career path into the Celtic first team it's just not happened for him.

After his Morton loan season he needed to step up a grade but found season 2007/2008 ruined by injury.

The virtual demise of reserve football saw him spend the second half of last season at Hamilton but played out wide on the right rather than through the middle.

Resurrecting his Celtic career at the age of 22 seems unlikely but wherever he moves on to he'll do so as a Celtic goalscorer having played in the Champions League (at home to Vilareal) and after scoring in the Europa League.

The so-called meaningless Europa League tie with Rapid turned out to be quite explosive with a happy-ish ending as the gloating cheats of Rapid took a sore one as a spirited comeback from the inexperienced hoops silenced 40,000 in the Ernest Happel Stadium.

All across the defence Celtic were ropey throughout the first half as they made an average Austrian side- the nation that launched the career of Filip Sebo- look like Brazil 1970.

I'll not go over the goals lost, needless to say it was like a compilation of this season's howlers featuring the worst of Ibrox, Falkirk Stadium, Tannadice and Fir Park.

It could have got worse, Artmedia and Neuchatel were coming to mind but Niall McGinn was on form on the left then Marco Fortune turned a defender and buried the chance like the predator we're told that he isn't!

Big Mick frightened their defence with a powering towering header that served notice of our intent even if the referee decided to award a free kick.

McGinn could have helped himself to a hat-trick with a bit of luck on his finishing but suddenly the anticipated mauling had been halted and a text arrived asking if a Liverpool-AC Milan turn around was possible.

The second half was all Celtic with the main threat coming from McGinn now on the right with some pretty sinister and agricultural challenges coming in on the former Derry City winger.

Midway through the second half McGinn's low pass across goal was driven in by Fortune from within the six yard box and suddenly the world wasn't such a bad place as Celtic woke up and shrugged off their early nightmare.

McGinn was replaced by debutant Graham Carey 10 minutes later before in added time Marc Crosas picked out McGowan in the box with the striker tucking his first time shot past the Rapid keeper to the delight of the 800 hoops at the match and to the astonishment of television viewers.

In the era of betting in motion it would have been possible to back a Celtic win or draw, at 0-3 you'd have needed treatment, at 1-3 it was worth a punt.

Tonight's match showed that there's fight and character around the squad as well as ability.

The fightback tonight or at Motherwell on Saturday probably wouldn't have happened last season although it was a strong feature of Strachan's first seasons at the club.

Earlier in the season after the 5-2 home win over St Johnstone Shaun Maloney was asked if supporters could expect results like that throughout the season due to the managers commitment to attack.

Even then Maloney highlighted Mowbray's determination to cut out sloppy defending, the January transfer window offers a real chance to get something sorted after trying out various options so far this season.

Sorting out the defence must be a priority- doing so would reduce the need for dramatic comebacks which is something that we could happily do without.

PS Apparently Gowsers goal will do wonders for the co-efficient of Scottish football and earn him the eternal gratitude of the nation...