The international break can be a boring time for Celtic fans, who are just waiting to see the club back in action. And with a significant number of top players pulling out of national team duty in recent times, a lot of these games have started to feel meaningless. That does not mean that something significant cannot happen from time to time.
A lot of Celtic fans must have had their eye on the recent game between England and Ireland. Liam Scales was in the starting XI.
In the first half, Scales and Ireland looked pretty good, as they kept England at bay. But after the break, the Celtic defender would end up getting sent off. That changed the course of the game.
England would end up scoring five goals after that, handing Ireland a 5-0 defeat. Unsurprisingly, Scales was bound to come under the microscope for his sending off. And Roy Keane has had his say on the matter. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, the Manchester United legend said on ITV:
"It’s the worst yellow card you can get as a centre-back. I used to do stuff like that and now I look at it and think, that’s stupidity.
“The sending-off has a huge effect. It’s obviously the right decision and with the penalty.
“They lost belief very quickly. They lost a bit of confidence – they lost three goals in six or seven minutes. It was a long way back for them.
“They conceded two or three from set pieces. It is hugely disappointing when you think about where they were at half-time.
“We said at half-time that England have the quality, but after the sending off it’s the real lack of belief after going a goal down."
Manchester United legend Roy Keane criticises Celtic player for mistake
Scales would have been hoping to make an impression during this international break. That is because he seems to have fallen behind Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty in the centre-back pecking order at Celtic lately.
He did well against Finland, keeping a clean sheet as Ireland won 1-0. But the red card against England was a forgettable moment and one that will not help his cause.
Mistakes do happen though, especially when up against players of that quality. The only positive for Celtic is the fact that he made that mistake on international duty and not while representing the Hoops. Hopefully, he will learn from it and emerge as a better centre-back as a result of it.