CELTIC youngster Michael Duffy fears his loan spell at Alloa Athletic may be cursed after seeing his first competitive goal for the club, ultimately count for nothing as their SPFL Championship clash with Morton was abandoned last weekend.

The Northern Irishman had given the Wasps a crucial 1-0 lead with a well taken strike before the referee halted proceedings after 68 minutes due to heavy snow.

But now the young Celtic star, who is on-loan at the club until the end of the season, is determined to use it as motivation to break the hex in the remainder of the season.

Duffy told Advertiser sport: “I cannot actually believe the game got called off right after I finally scored my first competitive goal for the club. I think I am actually cursed. It was brilliant feeling for me to finally score because it has been such a long time coming for me. It was pure relief as well, but then to see it abandoned and my goal count for nothing, I just could not believe it.

“It is obviously still a huge plus for me because I know now that I can do it so it will give me the belief to kick on now. We had a couple of chances in there as well so we can take loads of positives from the game.

"In the first half, we were the better team by far and I don't Scott [Gallacher] had a save to make. It's probably the first time this season where we have dominated an entire game and were actually winning it so I guess that is the most frustrating thing about the call off.”

The 22-year-old attacker believes the club's turn around in fortunes is completely down to the impact of new gaffer Jack Ross and he says there is even more still to come from the Wee County outfit now that they have their confidence back.

The Wasps now head to Palmerston Park for a crunch clash with Queen of the South and the young Celt believes they can take heart from their decent showing there earlier in the season.

Duffy said: “The manager is keen for us to take the positives from the game. There is no reason why we can't just go and do that to them again in the rematch, but now we just have to focus our attention on QOS.

"We know that will be a difficult game for us, but we went there at the start of the season and did well. We were a bit unlucky to come away with a defeat that day so we can take confidence from that this time around.

“We are on a wee run now so we will be looking to go there and win the game. The manager deserves all the credit for the turn around here. Everything seems better from training to just in and around the changing room. We all feel more confident going into games, but we won't get carried away because we know there is still a long way to go and there is still more to come from us."

Duffy reserved special praise for fellow forward Isaac Layne, who has been a revelation since his return from a loan stint at Brechin City, and he reckons the two can forge a fruitful partnership for the rest of the SPFL Championship campaign.

He added: “The last two games have been brilliant for me with Isaac being up alongside me. It has allowed me to get back to playing the type of game I am good at. Isaac has really been stretching them and that allows me to get into pockets and run at them with the ball at my feet.

"It means I get a lot more time on the ball and get more joy. I think he has been really impressive since his return and I can hopefully reap the benefits of that in the coming weeks so it is looking good for us.”