Ange Postecoglou was a happy man last night as Celtic beat AZ Alkmaar 2-0 in the first leg of the Europa League play-offs. The Dutch side looked an impressive outfit but Celtic will carry a two-goal lead into the second leg thanks to strikes from Kyogo and James Forrest.
However, at times, Celtic had to rely on their backline to stand firm against the attack from the visitors and both Stephen Welsh and Anthony Ralston really stood up and made the difference last night.
The manager praised Ralston, who appeared to be written off by many just a matter of weeks ago.
“I hate singling people out, but I actually said it to the team and I don’t mind saying it publicly, Anthony Ralston was just unbelievable. And at the end there he was still sprinting forward trying to create stuff for us. And I know he will have been running on empty, he has played every minute of every game.
“There’s a core group I am continually going to and we need to support them and the club is well aware of that. It’s our responsibility to provide support, and by that I mean extra players, and relieve the burden.
“I have said right-back is a priority position because Anthony is the only one we have got. He is doing unbelievably well but he needs support.”
Josip Juranovic played for Legia Warsaw tonight and even scored a screamer as it appears that he will arrive in Glasgow tomorrow ahead of a medical with Celtic.
“I thought it was a cracking game of football, they are a good side and they took it to us at times and we went right back at them.
“The players showed tremendous spirit and will to keep trying to play our football, and, as I said, it was a cracking game and it was great to come out on top.”
“Absolutely, it’s one thing wanting to play beautiful football, but you’ve got to roll your sleeves up and show resilience, and we did that, we had to at times,
“We knew we would have to as they’re a good team, and the key to that is tonight we didn’t yield our football, and we didn’t try to change anything we were doing. So we had to be brave on the ball, and I thought we were.
“They are outstanding and the spirit they showed tonight, when physically I think a few of them were running on empty, they never stopped, which is a great sign for the future.”
The Australian is also looking forward to Ryan Christie returning to action in the coming days as he could prove to be signifiant for the team in coming weeks.
“It’ll be good to get Ryan back in and have some fresh legs, he provides that spark for us and energy, because we’re going to need it for sure It’s another tough game and it’s a short turnaround with the players giving everything in every game. There’s no doubt about that and we’ve just got to push through it.”
The game in the Netherlands will be a tough test for the team but the immediate focus is the weekend’s game against St Mirren at Celtic Park. With five wins in a row, the manager has certainly rejuvenated the feeling around the club and he will be hoping to continue this positivity in the next three games before the International break.
