Matt O’Riley caught up with Celtic TV after the match today at the Toni Macaroni Arena and admitted that Celtic did really well under the circumstances which were foisted upon us early on in the game. After taking the lead through a Reo Hatate penalty, the Hoops goalkeeper Joe Hart was sent off leaving us with our back-up ‘keeper and a man less than Livingston.
In light of this, manager Brendan Rodgers kept the three men in midfield and played two up top and the back four remaining as is. It allowed Matty and his fellow teammates to really get a hold of the midfield battle still and the Danish midfielder revealed that they were pretty comfortable because they remained calm throughout the 90 minutes.
Matt was sublime this afternoon and was desperately unfortunate not to come away with the Man of the Match award, which went to Scotland international, Greg Taylor. However, Matt’s willingness to help screen his defence was pivotal during this one and was a strong contribution to the cause in a very difficult match.
O’Riley agreed that he can see a definite improvement in his own personal development and insists it he didn’t then he would need to address this with both his ability on the park and his off-field life. Meanwhile, he also reckons that the players are all starting to understand more and more what Brendan Rodgers requires from them and that this will only get better and stronger in the weeks and months ahead.
Watch Matty talk to Celtic TV below…
Paul Gillespie
