Be warned Scottish football, despite a man of the match performance in his first game against Hibs and then following up with THAT goal to open the scoring in Celtic’s 2-1 win at Tynecastle last night, Ange Postecoglou has advised us all Reo Hatate is just getting started!
As reported by Daily Record, Postecoglou was keen to talk up Hatate and his other No8 ,debut Bhoy – and last night’s man of the match – Matt O’Riley, and claims Reo Hatate has the determination and ambition required to perform at the highest levels.
“He has got more you know, he is just beginning. It’s not easy because he set a pretty high bar after the first game. But he is a very determined young man to reach the top.
“It’s pleasing for me because we bought a few guys in their early 20s who really are ambitious and they will improve and get better and be a really good nucleus moving forward. You’ve got to keep it in context, Matt came in a few days ago and I thought he was outstanding. He’s had 70 minutes of football in the last month. It was brilliant.
“Everyone knows the players we have missing are significant absences and there were guys out there who had to step up. And they did.”
The goal and performance form Reo Hatate was outstanding last night and be honest, how many times have you watched it since the final whistle last night? Well, the same goes for Japan. With the game kicking off quite literally in the middle of the night over there, many won’t have seen their midfield exports wonder goal until the morning.
So how about a taster for how they received the news, and at the same time give yourself another excuse to watch the goal again, this time with a brilliant Japanese commentary. Love this! –
🇯🇵⬇️ Japanese commentary of Reo Hatate’s first Celtic goal.
Maybe @Nobubhoy or @aishiterutokyo could let us know if the words ‘pick that out’ were used! 👊
— Craig (@CraigCelt) January 27, 2022
And Japanese journalist and generally the go to guy for the Celtic support on social media, Dan Orlowitz has kindly translated what’s being said, looks like they were just as blown away as we were.
“Hatate… looks forward, the shot goes… HE SCORES! In his 2nd match (for Celtic), Reo Hatate has already scored the opener! Postecoglou all smiles! An absolutely lively Hatate! Last game he was man of the match, today he scores!
He gets the ball there and just takes the shot!” that was an absolute stabber! …(not quite sure what’s being said here) … in just his second game, what an impact he’s having, Reo Hatate!”
(‘stabber’ is maybe not the best noun for 突き刺した but meteor/rocket/missile/whatever all apply).
Reo Hatate alongside the brilliant Matt O’Riley put on a midfield masterclass at Tynecastle last night that will live long in the memory, and if Ange Postecoglou is right, and this is just the beginning for Reo Hatate, the second half of this season is going to be entertaining indeed, both for Scottish audiences and Japanese!
Niall J
