WASHINGTON – Celtic kicked off its U.S. preseason tour in fine fashion by earning a 4-0 win over MLS hosts DC United.
Larry Henry Jr, Managing Editor – SBI Soccer reports for The Celtic Star….
Saturday’s captain Matt O’Riley registered a seven-minute brace in the first half before second-half substitutes Mikey Johnston and James Forrest added goals of their own to pad the victory.
Summer signing Viljami Sinisalo played 45 minutes off the bench while several young players featured including 17-year-old Colby Donovan, 20-year-old Matthew Anderson and 21-year-old Dane Murray.
“There’s a lot that I enjoyed about tonight’s performance,” Rodgers said to reporters postmatch. “I thought we were dynamic and technically very good. We knew the pitch was going to be a challenge, but the players saw it firsthand before the match and I was pleased with how they dealt with it.
“We scored four goals and I thought our young players made the most of their chances as well. It was another good exercise for us and now we want to take that into our final two matches of the preseason.”
After owning most of the early possession, Celtic broke through in the 25th minute through O’Riley slotted home from close range. Tomoki Iwata’s cross was not dealt with by the DC United defense, allowing O’Riley to slot home his second goal of the summer schedule.
The 23-year-old doubled Celtic’s lead seven minutes later for his second goal of the first half. Nicolas Kuhn’s over-the-top ball led to Kyogo’s original shot being saved by DC United goalkeeper Luis Zamudio, but O’Riley followed up the play and slotted into an empty net.
Johnston made it 3-0 to Celtic in the 65th minute, tapping home a cross from fellow substitute James Forrest. Forrest drilled a low cross from the right wing into the DC United box that Johnston easily slotted home.
Hyun-Jun Yang, who also entered the match at halftime, set up Celtic’s fourth and final goal of a productive evening. Yang started a two-on-one upfield before slotting a pass to Forrest for a simple tap-in.
Both Sinisalo and Scott Bain received 45 minutes apiece in the match, combining for a two-save clean sheet.
Johnston was denied his chance for a brace late in the second half, watching as DC United’s Nathan Crockford guessed correctly to punch away his penalty-kick opportunity.
Dane Murray, Yuki Kobayashi, Callum McGregor, Bosun Lawal, Greg Taylor, Francis Turley and Odin Holm also received crucial minutes in their build-up to full fitness.
The Hoops continue their preseason tour by facing reigning English Premier League champions Manchester City on 23 July in Chapel Hill, N.C. before closing out their international schedule on 27 July against Chelsea in South Bend, Ind.
“I’m looking forward to two fantastic preparation matches and they are two teams that I know very well,” Rodgers said about the final summer matches.
“We might be a step ahead of them in terms of our schedule, but that shouldn’t really matter.”
Larry Henry Jr
Managing Editor – SBI Soccer
Staff Writer – MLS NEXT Pro
The Celtic Star – Special Contributor
On site for Celtic’s first U.S. friendly of the summer, taking on DC United.
Stories can be found tomorrow for @Glasgow_Times and @CelticStarMag ! pic.twitter.com/5UHAl8usRp
— Larry Henry Jr (@lhenry019) July 20, 2024
