TOMOKI IWATA was a peripheral figure at Celtic.
But he stole the limelight in a MASSIVE League One fixture in England this evening.
4
4
4
On his first start for his new club, no less.
The Japanese midfielder moved to Birmingham on deadline day after 18 months at Parkhead.
It was an unheralded exit worth significantly less than Matt O’Riley‘s headline grabbing, and record breaking, £30 MILLION move to Brighton days earlier.
But he proved his worth as he made his debut in a clash of the big-spending sides in England‘s third tier.
Brum – backed by a consortium including NFL legend Tom Brady – took on Wrexham, famously owned by Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and subject of the Disney+ series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.
It was a star-studded occasion with even David Beckham and his footballer son Romeo taking in the action at St Andrews.
Co-owners Brady and McElhenney were each in the stands too adding to the glamour.
And it didn’t disappoint with the Blues’ record signing Jay Stansfield scoring a double before ex-Celtic man Iwata put the icing on the cake.
All three were on their feet to applaud the low 20-yard drive from the former Hoops man who only notched once in Scotland – almost a year ago.
He scored at Tynecastle against Hearts in a 4-1 win last October.
But he broke his Birmingham duck in spectacular fashion after taking a pass from Paik Seung-ho and lashing past another ex-Celt Eoghan O’Connell in the Reds’ defence and keeper Arthur Okonkwo.
There was a real SPFL flavour to the match aside from the duo too.
Former Hearts defender Alex Cochrane was in the Birmingham backline and laid on the go-ahead goal for Stanfield’s header.
Scotland international Lyndon Dykes and youth cap Marc Leonard came off the bench for the home side, as did Rangers loanee Ben Davies.
Another ex-Ger Scott Wright was an unused sub – but he too scored on his Blues debut after leaving the Old Firm for the Midlands.
The result put Birmingham level on points with their Welsh rivals in a three-way tie at the top with Charlton Athletic.
4
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
