Ange Postecoglou gave his reaction to this afternoon’s competitive encounter with Rapid Vienna which ended all square at 3-3, with Celtic frustratingly being ahead on three occasions only to be pulled back with the third goal from the Austrian side coming with the last action of the match.
Matt O’Riley, David Turnbull and Kyogo made it 1-0, 2-1 then 3-2 but the defensive side of things were worrying with a few players failing to cover themselves in glory. Chris Jullien for example looked well short of his best after such a long lay-off. Joe Hart lost one and he’ll be pretty embarrassed about it while Scott Bain lost the other two, but the third pick keeper wasn’t really at fault, indeed for their second goal he pulled off a decent save only to see them scoring from the follow-up.
Ange reckoned was a decent game of football with both teams going at it. He was relaxed enough about the outcome but will have noted the defensive weaknesses which can’t be allowed to continue.
Here’s Ange speaking to Celtic TV after the game in Vienna…
“Yeah, it was a good game. It didn’t feel like a friendly game – both teams were going at it. It’s exactly what you need because sometimes friendly games can be a bit passive.
“Both halves, both teams were going at it. It felt like a real game. Whenever you play away from home in Europe it’s a challenge. For us, it was a great exercise.
IMAGO / GEPA pictures – Rapid vs Celtic, 9 July . Photo Philipp Brem
“We did well in some parts, other parts we need to improve obviously. The key thing for me is it was a good contest.
“Today was a good challenge against an opposition who have had more preparation than us. We want to make sure in three weeks time we’re ready.
“There were some positive moments and some areas to improve. We got stuff we can take out of that game and work on and give feedback to the boys, both positive and stuff we need to reinforce.”
There were plenty to admire from #Celtic today. Not least the all-round displays of the 3 scorers- O’Riley & 2nd half subs Turnbull & Kyogo, who linked up impressively.
— Brian McNally (@McNallyMirror) July 9, 2022
