“As soon as I heard the first whistle, it was time to go, time to work,” Colby Donovan | OneFootball

Colby Donovan revealed it felt unreal to step onto the pitch for his first European game with Celtic and he handled the occasion impeccably well against Red Star Belgrade…

Brendan Rodgers of Celtic Crvena zvezda v Celtic, UEFA Europa League, Football, Rajko Mitic Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia – 24 September 2025 Belgrade Rajko Mitic Stadium Serbia Photo Nikola Krstic Shutterstock

The 19-year-old right-back made it three starts in a row for his boyhood club, having already played the full 90 minutes against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership and Partick Thistle in the Premier Sports League Cup.

With Alistair Johnston and Anthony Ralston sidelined, Donovan was given his opportunity, and although Ralston was expected to be available again for last night’s Europa League opener, Brendan Rodgers kept faith in Celtic’s academy graduate – a decision that paid off with an impressive display.

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Colby Donovan of Celtic Crvena zvezda v Celtic, UEFA Europa League, Football, Rajko Mitic Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia – 24 Sep 2025Belgrade Rajko Mitic Stadium Serbia Photo Nikola Krstic Shutterstock

The teenager confessed he felt a surge of nerves upon learning he would be making his European debut, but once the game began in Belgrade’s hostile Marakana setting, he quickly settled and emerged as one of the Hoops’ standout performers.

Speaking to TNT Sports post-match, Donovan said: “Yeah, it was at first. When I found out yesterday I was starting, it was a bit of nerves, but you’ve always got to have nerves as a young player going in.”

“And then as soon as I got over here, it just left me. As soon as I heard the first whistle, it was time to go, time to work.”

Reflecting on the match, Donovan believed Celtic fully deserved their draw, with Kelechi Iheanacho’s strike cancelled out by Marko Arnautovic’s equaliser 10 minutes later.

READ THIS…Draw a step in right direction for Celtic but game was there for the taking

Colby Donovan of Celtic Crvena zvezda v Celtic, UEFA Europa League, Football, Rajko Mitic Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia – 24 Sep 2025Belgrade Rajko Mitic Stadium Serbia Photo Nikola Krstic Shutterstock

“Well, obviously it’s a hard place to come,” Donovan added. “The atmosphere, you hear the crowd behind you as you come out for the warm-up and they’re just on you non-stop, but as a team, it makes us want to play better. It makes us want to go forward more, and so we hear that, it was just forward, forward and we get what we deserved.”

Donovan continued: “I think as a as a young player, I always take take pride in my personality and how I how I come about my day-to-day life and playing under the gaffer, it’s been absolutely brilliant. He’s been brilliant with me, giving me wee tips and points on my on my game and just how I go about the training ground with the boys.”

Kelechi Iheanacho of Celtic celebrates his goal Crvena zvezda v Celtic, UEFA Europa League, Football, Rajko Mitic Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia – 24 September 2025 Belgrade Rajko Mitic Stadium Serbia Photo Nikola Krstic/Shutterstock

“The boys have been great with me as well, so for them to take me under my wing, it’s just it’s a dream come true to play for this club. I’m just taking it game by game right now. Just trying to put in as many good performances as I can and then see where it takes me.”

Conor Spence

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