Anthony Ralston has explained the key to Celtic’s success at Tynecastle on Saturday.
As noted by Chris Sutton, Celtic did not only have to overcome Hearts at Tynecastle, the Bhoys also had to overcome VAR. With numerous extremely dodgy decisions seeming to always go against Celtic, Ange Postecoglou’s side had to deal with building frustration and keep pushing to stay ahead of the Edinburgh side.
Possibly the most controversial moment of the match was when James Forrest nudged the ball into the box, where it came into contact with the out-stretched hand of a Hearts defender. However, Nic Walsh quickly dismissed the penalty claim. Furthermore, VAR deemed that it was not a penalty and failed to direct the referee to the monitor.
With officials making decisions like that, It proved to be a testing match for the Bhoys. However, Ralston believes Ange’s mantra of ‘we never stop’ came into play, and that the game was a perfect demonstration of the philosophy.
As Reported by The Glasgow Times, Ralston said…
“It was a tough day but we expected that coming here,” he said. “It just shows the character we have as a team to see it through and come away with the victory.
“It’s football. Sometimes not everything is going to go to plan and it’s not always going to be a smooth ride. As I said, it just shows the character we’ve got in the team.
“We don’t stop until the end of the game. The game never stops in our eyes and that’s always a clear message we’ve got as a team – to keep going to come away with nothing but the win.”
“That’s the clear message we’re given. We don’t stop to the end of the game.
“Credit to the boys, they showed a lot of character to take their chances in key moments, even against adversity, and we’ve sent the fans up the road happy.
“It’s not in our character to think it’s not our day. That’s drilled into us by the manager, that we don’t ever give up on the win. That’s what we are out there to do.”
Responding to his chopped-off goal which should have been reviewed by VAR, but couldn’t due to the unfortunate refereeing of Nick Walsh, Ralston said: “Ach, these things happen. Obviously now we have the introduction of VAR.”
“Look, I’m not the one to make the decisions, it’s up to the referees. I’ve heard that it should stand or whatever, but these things are going to happen. It’s part and parcel. Like I said, I’m not the referee. It’s out there in the heat in the moment. Obviously, I’d like to stand here and have my goal stood – if it was meant to stand – but again these things happen.”
