Matt O’Riley spoke to Celtic TV in the aftermath of the classic match Celtic edged 3-2 against Aberdeen on Wednesday night, and reckons it is the mark of a quality side to emerge in the face of adversity. Despite the early onslaught form Celtic, the Dons managed to eek there way back into the game with two goals in the second period of the game after poor defensive work from the Hoops.
All the early work became undone and Celtic looked to be in trouble. However, a quickfire goal from winger Jota put Ange’s men back in front straight away more or less. And Matt O’Riley reckons it has shown important aspects of this current Celtic side. When asked if desire and the ability to never give up has been proven by him and his teammates, he said: “Yeah, I think so. I think we’ve showed that before.
“I think we’ve proved that if we do concede a goal at a rough time, we’re able to come back into the game. We’re able to see out a game and grind out a result. So in that sense I think we’re in a really good place; mentally and physically. But at the same time it’s just one game and we need to keep our heads and stay focussed for the next one.”
On scoring his first goal in the green and white hoops, O’Riley said: “Yeah, I’m not gonna lie. Before the game, I was like, ‘yeah, I could do with scoring tonight’, because it’s five games in. I had one really good chance against Dundee United which I definitely should have put away. So that was still playing on the back of my mind a little bit. Definitely happy to get it. I’m sure I’ll have messages from family and friends which will be nice.”
Previewing the game against Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup at Celtic Park this weekend, the midfielder said: “Every game is just as important as the next, to be honest. We’re coming off the back of a few really good wins. At the same time, we approach every game the same way. We take it one by one. We’re going to keep doing that for the rest of the season.”
Watch Matt talk to Celtic TV after the game below…
Paul Gillespie
