One Small Step…

Ewan Henderson was delighted with his first-team appearance last week, and the Celtic Academy Bhoy knows that it will take hard work, ability and humility to get further opportunities.

- Joe Donnelly

ON Sunday, April 29, 2018, Celtic clinched their seventh consecutive league title with a thrilling 5-0 demolition of city-rivals Rangers at Paradise. Just 10 days later, a goal-less midweek home draw against Kilmarnock was decidedly less eventful, but for one Hoops youngster, it was cause for great celebration.

Only six weeks after turning 18-years-old, that game marked Ewan Henderson’s first appearance in the Celtic senior side, coming off the bench for on-loan winger Patrick Roberts with nine minutes of normal time left on the clock.

Henderson – the younger brother of former Celt, Liam Henderson – has since kept his head down, trained hard, and played to the best of his ability for Tommy McIntyre’s Reserve side.

That determination and commitment was recently rewarded with inclusion in first-team training at Lennoxtown, a place in the club’s mid-season training camp in Dubai, and another senior team substitute appearance in the Hoops’ 4-0 win over St Mirren in the SPFL last Wednesday.

Better still, it was Henderson’s perfectly-weighted pass that allowed Timothy Weah to fire home Celtic’s fourth goal – Weah’s second in two games – and claim all three points in the Scottish champions’ first league game of 2019.

“It was Timo who did all the work, and he made it very easy for me,” Henderson told the Celtic View in an exclusive interview.

“He made the space, pulled the defender out of position – it’s all him, I spotted him making the run and I just played it through. He made the movement, honestly, it’s all him! Before I went on, the manager told me to just be my usual self, play my usual game, and try and make an impact on the match. He told me to try my best and work hard.