Anthony Ralston in unseen moment of Celtic magic as Brendan Rodgers spots REAL source of St Mirren goal
The Hoops boss sang the praises of his back-up right-back for his part in the opening goal in Paisley.
Brendan Rodgers sung the praises of Anthony Ralston for his unseen moment of magic in Celtic's opener at St Mirren.
The Hoops got off to the perfect start in Paisley when Kyogo Furuhashi finished off a sweeping move after picking out the bottom corner following Luis Palma's cut-back to his team-mate. Callum McGregor has been picking up plenty of praise for his actions on the ball that included the perfect pass to find Palma and send him running down the line. But Celtic boss Rodgers has quickly moved to explain another key moment that has gone unnoticed from his back-up right-back to start the move.
Speaking to Celtic TV, he was asked about his skipper and his vision in the build-up to the first goal of the game in which he replied: "The first part even before Callum is Tony Ralston. He is in a great defensive position, defends forward and is aggressive. He then wins the ball that Callum picks up on and then it is about his ability and quality to find the pass. The initial bit was really good defensively then he has that quality and weight of pass to send Luis Palma away.
"Callum doesn't surprise me at all. He is a brilliant captain of this team, produces week in and week out and it is also that level every day. He has that mentality and shares that with the young players in the squad. If they are clever enough they will pick up from him."
Daizen Maeda added a second to make sure the holders advanced to the quarter-final stage of the Scottish Cup with their reward a home time against Scottish Premiership basement boys Livingston. The champions are in a real battle with Rangers to retain their league crown and Philippe Clement and his troops could even claim top spot tonight. They face Ross County under the lights at Ibrox in their one remaining game in hand trailing Celtic by three points and just two goals in the goal difference column.
It's set to be a finale of many twists, turns and changes - something that the Hoops support noticed with the starting team that defeated St Mirren. Rodgers opted to include both Adam Idah and Kyogo from the off and he has moved to give an insight into the differences, in terms of his set up, having two strikers on the park gives - and why Kyogo's goal may NOT have happened .
He explained: "I think what you will find without over-thinking and looking at it. When we press the ball we normally press in a 4-4-2. So having the two strikers up there is fine. Everything else is the same. With the ball we get into areas where really, if you take away what position the player is and type, you will find the team in structure is in a lot of the same positions.
"But sometimes having that extra striker in there in terms of mentality to get up there. Like we seen with Kyogo when we broke away (against St Mirren) you could argue whether a midfield player gets up there that quickly to join in. When it is a striker, he is up there to join in. A lot of the spaces that we will find is very much the same, but of course whenever you have someone like Adam - who can run in behind and be a reference for you - it gives Kyogo that bit more freedom to drop underneath if he wants too."
Yang is another player Rodgers is excited about. He can see plenty of potential as he explained the key areas he still has to work on and improve and why he feels a position that is not his usual right side role is BETTER suited to him.
He added: "He's a player that can do very well. It is a case of bringing him in. He's came in having predominantly played on the right side. But the more I see him in training, I think he is better suited off the left. When he comes into the game he has that running ability. He has areas to improve. Awareness of releasing the pass and when to cross but these are all items that will come with more work and development. But I love his attitude and energy he brings to the game. He's a good size and will continually improve I am sure"