Ange Postecoglou spoke after the match this evening of his delight at the performance and ultimately result, as his Celtic side overcame Czech’s Banik Ostrava 4-2 to finish off our schedule of the pre-season training camp. The boss was more than pleased after the match and it showed as he was entertained not just by the football, but by the home crowd who were quite racaus throughout the fixture.
Speaking to Celtic TV about the game, he said: “It was a big occasion for the club and great for us to be a part of it. They gave us a real contest and it was great for us. We started a wee bit slow and in in general were sloppy with some of our play and our passing.
“When we had our good moments, we were really good and it was another good game for us. We don’t have any competitive games in the pre-season this year. I didn’t want to play friendly games that aren’t in main stadiums, I wanted to play in big stadiums and good crowds and the last 3 games have been perfect for us.”
After the home side took the lead, Kyogo Furuhashi struck back to equalise and then, Matt O’Riley tucked away a delicious passed strike into the bottom corner of the Ostrava goalkeeper’s net to send the Bhoys into the lead. The second 45 saw a raft of changes in which one of the substitutes, Giorgos Giakoumakis scored a peach of a volley following a tempting cross into the opposing penalty area to put Ange’s men 3-1 ahead.
Following this, Celtic took their foot off the gas ever so slightly and it allowed a refreshed Ostrava grab a goal back thanks to one of their own substitutions made deep into the second-half. With that, the Hoops shot back into gear again and managed to grab a fourth, courtesy of a Liel Abada finish as he got on the end of a rebound from a Giakoumakis shot. Another tidy display and result which means we fly back to Celtic Park with no defeats from our training camp
Ange also revealed he is dying to hear that home crowd again as the Banik Ostrava fans whet the appetite for that special place known as Paradise tonight. He added: “It’s been good (the pre-season trip). We’ve got some good training into the guys and we’ve played some good minutes off football. We’ve also got no significant injuries which is important. It’s been a really good camp. The players have come back in and had a good attitude.
“I’m buzzing to see everyone at Celtic Park on Saturday. These guys were good but our guys will bring it to a different level. I’m looking forward to that.”
Watch Ange talk about the match and the long-awaited return home to Celtic Park below:
Paul Gillespie
