It was a miserable weekend for two Liverpool defenders out on loan, with Nat Phillips‘ own goal seeing Celtic lose for the first time in the Scottish Premiership.
Since joining Celtic on a half-season loan at the end of the transfer window, Phillips has seen opportunities to start come few and far between.
But injury to Cameron Carter-Vickers handed the 26-year-old his first start in the league in over a month and only his third overall, as Brendan Rodgers’ side headed to Kilmarnock.
Unfortunately, it resulted in an own goal from Phillips to level the scores at 1-1, as Celtic went on to suffer a 2-1 defeat.
With Kilmarnock midfielder Brad Lyons sending a low cross into the six-yard box, Phillips attempted a sliding clearance only to divert the ball beyond Joe Hart and in.
It was a moment of ill fortune for a player who looked rusty throughout, having only played 404 minutes across eight appearances over the past three months.
A late goal from Matty Kennedy handed Kilmarnock the win, with Celtic losing for the first time in the league this season.
“I think Nat played like the team,” Rodgers told the Scotsman after the game.
“In the first half he was dominant in the air and he was physically strong. The two centre-halves were good together and dealt with the aerial threat. It was fine.
“We just went a little bit negative in the second half and ended up conceding the two goals and he was unfortunate with the own goal.”
There was more frustration for Calvin Ramsay, too, as the right-back was ruled out of Preston’s trip to Norwich due to a bout of COVID-19.
“He wasn’t feeling well and we had to make sure we just kept him away,” manager Ryan Lowe explained after the 0-0 draw.
“There was no point him travelling with us. So yeah, he’s not well.”
Ramsay had started his first game in 13 months the previous weekend, having suffered a series of injuries at both Liverpool and Preston, but will now wait for his next chance.
Over in Switzerland, Dominic Corness made a second consecutive start for Yverdon Sport as they earned a 2-1 victory over relegation rivals FC Stade Lausanne-Ouchy.
Corness, a 20-year-old midfielder, had not started in the Swiss Super League until a 4-0 loss to St Gallen on Thursday night, but was called upon again three days later.
A composed 65-minute display helped Yverdon Sport to their first league win in eight games, with five more to play before the relegation round begins.
Tyler Morton clocked the full 90 minutes in Hull’s 2-0 loss at QPR, with the Tigers losing pace amongst their promotion playoff rivals.
Sepp van den Berg also played 90 as Mainz maintained a promising run under new manager Jan Siewert, drawing 0-0 with FC Koln to make it just one defeat in the last six.
There were 2-1 defeats for goalkeepers Harvey Davies at Crewe and Luke Hewitson at Stalybridge Celtic respectively.
And the weekend saw eight other players sit out along with Ramsay, with Fabio Carvalho and Rhys Williams among those unused by their clubs and Owen Beck, Adam Lewis and James Balagizi all injured.
Liverpool Loan Watch Roundup
- Nat Phillips (Celtic) – 90 mins vs. Kilmarnock, own goal
- Tyler Morton (Hull) – 90 mins vs. QPR
- Sepp van den Berg (Mainz) – 90 mins vs. FC Koln
- Dominic Corness (Yverdon Sport) – 65 mins vs. FC Stade Lausanne-Ouchy
- Harvey Davies (Crewe) – 90 mins vs. Grimsby
- Luke Hewitson (Stalybridge Celtic) – 90 mins vs. Vauxhall Motors
Injured/ill: Calvin Ramsay, Owen Beck, Adam Lewis, James Balagizi
Unused: Fabio Carvalho, Rhys Williams, Billy Koumetio, James Norris, Anderson Arroyo
