JAMES FORREST reckons he was harshly treated by the Ukranian referee Serhiy Boiko tonight in Salzburg. The Celtic star was red carded after tangling with Austrian wing back Andreas Ulmer.
Many thought that the initial foul had been committed by the Salzburg player who was then brought down by the falling Forrest, so the logical conclusion would have been a free-kick to Celtic.
Boiko saw it differently though and produced a red card for the Celtic player and pointed to the spot. It was to lead to the third soft goal of the night, although Celtic was pretty awful in the second half.
“I thought at the start he was going to give me a free kick,” Forrest admitted, “so you could say it was harsh but I suppose I fell into him. It was close but he gave it so quickly he obviously felt he knew the decision.”
Forrest was shocked by the dismissal but also by the quicker loss of three cheap goals. Speaking to the media after the game the Celtic star, as reported in today’s Herald, reckoned there is a degree of shock among the players after the second half events.
“Overall, there is a sense of shock and awe as I felt we were competitive and then it’s three quick goals and we’ve lost 3-1,” Forrest said.
“I think that’s harsh. They made the most of their half chances and when they do that they then show what happens at this level.
“It’s a lesson for us against teams of Salzburg’s level. We know that they are a good side and they showed that by getting to the semi-final of the Europa League last season,” Forrest continued.
“At half-time all the boys were confident, it just got away from us during the second-half.
“Maybe we went on the defensive too much as going on the front foot can sometimes be better. We let things slip a bit and we were punished.
“We are going to get difficult games at home as well but we need to start to nicking points away from home.
“Rosenborg away with be hard as will the trip to Germany but we know we can go there and be positive and get a result. Maybe if we’d scored with one or two of the half chances we created it would make the difference.
“But we now have two more away games in the group and we need to give our all in them. If we were to get that away win it would be great for everyone and allow us to kick on.”
More reaction on The Celtic Star to Salzburg 3 Celtic 1…
Brendan bemoans poor ball retention, rules Broony out, McKenna loses appeal & Ann Budge…..SEE HERE.
‘Are we ever going to learn?’ it’s an unhappy Celtic Noise tonight...SEE HERE.
Salzburg 3 Celtic 1 – Turbulent Times in the Austrian Alps…SEE HERE.
