‘My daughter missed the game but one day she’ll see my goal’ – Celtic ace Anthony Ralston’s pride at Scotland debut
LITTLE Mila Ralston’s got a lot of good TV viewing for when she grows up.
Celtic star dad Tony last night revealed he’s excited about the moment when she’ll be old enough to enjoy watching his career highlights.
Especially last night’s ‘dream’ first goal for Scotland – a header Hoops striker Giorgos Giakoumakis would’ve been proud of - in his full international debut at Hampden.
Right-back Ralston pounced in the 29th minute from a superb cross to the far post by former Celts team-mate Stuart Armstrong to put the Scots ahead against a poor Armenia side.
And he rightly savoured the ovation from a 38,672 crowd.
Ralston’s had an unbelievable campaign for club and country – from the depths of facing being a free agent this time a year ago to astonishing glory for Celtic and Scotland.
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It’s been like a Netflix script for the totally rejuvenated defender who has also claimed a Premiership title, Premier Sports Cup winners medal, six goals and bagged a new long term contract.
Plenty then for his two-year-old daughter to catch up on.
Ralston – who made his Scotland debut as a sub against Denmark last November - said: “My daughter wasn’t at the game, but it’s something that I’ll be able to show her in the years to come.
“She’ll be able to see her dad scoring for her country, which is quite special.
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“It’s for a sure a nice moment to look forward to.
“It’s a proud moment.
“It’s something that will live me forever and it’s not something I really expected, to be quite honest.
“But it’s something I’ve enjoyed every minute and I hope there will be more to come.
“There’s been a lot tonight and I’m trying to take it all in.
“I’m sure it will settle in eventually.
“But it’s a proud moment for myself, representing my country tonight.
“The gaffer let me know I was starting during one of the training sessions and I was able to get my head right and be ready to go into the game.”
It’s incredible that 12-months ago Ralston – then a bit part player at Parkhead – was set for the exit.
But then he was handed an initial one year deal, almost by default with few players left for incoming boss Ange Postecoglou, and within a few months had sensationally proved himself.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Ralston – competing with Nathan Patterson and Stephen O’Donnell for the right-back slot - admitted: “I’ve worked hard.
“I wasn’t involved at Celtic, it’s no secret it was a hard time for me.
“But I kept myself right, I kept training hard, I kept believing.
“I’m happy I’ve done that, I gave myself the best chance and that’s all I could do.
“I was in a situation where I didn’t know what was happening.
“My contract was coming to an end.
“But I just kept believing in myself. I kept on working hard and I managed to get myself back in and just take my opportunities when I got them.”
Asked how he would’ve reacted if anyone had said to him in June, 2020, all of this was to come, he said with a smile: “I’m sure my mates said it for a laugh at some stage.
“But you know, this is football and you just need to keep yourself positive at all times, keep working and that’s what I’ll continue to do for the rest of my career.”
Amazingly, half the Scotland team used to be Celtic colleagues; Craig Gordon, Jack Hendry, Ryan Christie and Armstrong. Callum McGregor is a current teammate, too.
And Ralston added: “It’s a team filled with a lot of talent. They are all very hard working boys as well and we are all in a good place and ready to go for the next game now.
“I have worked hard to get my opportunity, so when I got it I was going to make sure I took it.”
Meanwhile, stopper Scott McKenna also celebrated his first Scotland goal – a week and a half after promotion with Nottingham Forest to the Premier League.
He also had another disallowed as the Scots recovered fron the shattering World Cup play off semi-final loss to Ukraine.
And the ex-Aberdeen star said: “It was a fresh start for the team and it was important to get the result.
"It was nice to score. It's probably one of the easiest goals I will ever score.
"It was a great corner from John McGinn and I got my head on it.
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"With the one that got disallowed, I thought the ball had gone out after it hit the bar.
"That's just football.”
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