Celts Hitting The Bullseye

Kieran Tierney believes the partnership he’s formed with Scott Sinclair is helped, in part, by their off-field competition on the darts board.

- Martin Dalziel

THERE might be eight years and a whole lot of football experience between Kieran Tierney and Scott Sinclair but the pair have struck up an early partnership on the left-hand side for Celtic that has already proved too much for just about every team the Hoops have faced so far this season.

At just 19-years-old, a Scotland internationalist and a fanatical Celtic supporter, there is little at first glance to connect the teenage defender and his more experienced 27-year-old English team-mate, but there is more than a shared love of darts and pool that connects these two Celts.

In six short months they have built a tag-team with a connection verging on the telepathic while having also forged a strong bond off the field as friends.

This was evident in Tierney’s return to Paradise last week for the first time in almost three months following a spell on the sidelines through injury.

The duo dominated down the left flank, interchanging their runs seamlessly and effortlessly tearing apart the St Johnstone defence with their quick passing and movement. That this was only Tierney’s second game back in the side further underlined the fruitful partnership blossoming between the pair, and the young defender told the Celtic View in an exclusive interview that he is excited about what the future holds if they can keep up their good work.

“The relationship is good off the park as well and that always helps when you’re playing in the same side,” Tierney said. “I played with him for 20 games before I got injured, so he’s great both on and off the park.

“Movement is a big thing when you’re on the same side. We don’t even need to speak to each other. If he’s in, I’ll go up and if he’s out I’ll go in, it’s just a constant movement all the time and hopefully it makes it hard for defenders to read us.