We put the case for playing James Forrest to Ange Postecoglou at his pre-match Media Conference on Monday afternoon and while the 31 year old Celtic legend started on the bench, an injury just before the interval to Liel Abada meant that Jamesy got his chance and certainly didn’t let anyone down in the fifty miuntes of action he saw last night.
Forrest caused the Leigzip left back all sorts of problems in that second half and when Celtic got the ball to him he looked like our best option for creating oppirtunities in front of goal.
Afterwards, James Forrest outlined his own thoughts on what turned out to be another frustrating night in the Champions League for the players and the Celtic support.
“I think the boys did really well throughout the game,” Jamesy told Celtic TV. “Even when we went 1-0 behind, I thought we showed character and we were just unlucky.
“We created a lot of chances and I thought the boys gave everything. The quality was there but obviously they were just more clinical with the chances they got and took a couple of them.”
“I said after the first couple of games that you could see with the amount of chances that we’ve created, and the possession we’ve had that we’ve played really well in all the games, but we’ve just not got the results.
“Sometimes I’ve played in games in the past where we’ve only had one or two chances and we’ve not had much of the ball, but the way the gaffer wants us to play, I think it’s exciting and all the lads want to play that way.
“So I think if everyone just keeps buying into what he does, nights like tonight can change with the result going the other way.”
With Liel Abada suffering what looks like a dead-leg he could be in contention for a place against Hibs at the weekend. Ange though might decide to keep the young Israeli winger in reserve and give James Forrest a well deserved start.
“The gaffer makes it clear that the next game is always the most important one. You get nights like tonight because everyone puts all the hard work in for the league games, and that’s what gets you here, so Saturday is no different. It’s best that we bounce back well and we’re looking forward to the next game,” Jamesy said.
🍀 James Forrest comes off the bench to make his 450th #CelticFC appearance!
Congrats, Jamesey! 👏#UCL | #CelticRBLeipzig | #COYBIG🍀 pic.twitter.com/2J1Yj2FqFq
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) October 11, 2022
Here’s James Forrest speaking to Celtic TV last night, with some Celtic supporter feedback following that…
“He’s actually done fine in his last couple of cameos, a nice silver lining if he’s in decent form again,” Scott Robertson.
“Well done bhoys. Thought it was a good effort tonight and we deserved more from that game. Story of our CL campaign really…” Andrew Millsom.
“Great to see James Forrest back, made a great impact when he came on, I’d have him in my starting 11 everytime, pity we couldn’t score and finish our opportunities, I still take a positive view on our European games,” Philip O’Callaghan.
“James should be starting. He created loads of chances for us when he came on, he’s been far superior than Maeda or Abada in playing that role,” Connor T.
“Good to see Forrest back in contention. Maeda isn’t even close to his ability,” Drew Sturgeon.
“He needs to play more, deserves a chance, far better than some lads starting,” DJ Alba.
Don’t miss David Potter and Sandman’s take on last night, both links below…
READ THIS FROM DAVID POTTER…Celtic 0-2 RB Leipzig: This was a painful one, it boiled down to not taking chances
READ THIS…Sandman’s Definitive Ratings: Celtic v Leipziggy Stardust
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😂😂😂 idiots trying to compare Forrest to Maeda. Let Forrest run a marathon before he comes on then see how he does.