Anthony Ralston managed to end a big week with 2 brilliant assists at Dens Park for Celtic this afternoon.
Ralston continued his incredible renaissance at Parkhead with a big week. After a period of breaking his way into the first-team squad, Ralston was handed a new 4-year contract as a reward for his hard work.
The right-back will be ridiculously left out for next week’s Scotland international camp. Steve Clarke has snubbed Ralston for the 3rd time this season as he instead decided to go with Nathan Patterson and Stephen O’Donnell at right-back.
And today, Ralston showed Clarke exactly what he’ll be missing. The 4-2 win may have left Jota taking most of the headlines for a stunning individual performance from the Portuguese winger. But Ralston was an unsung hero of the show also.
He put in 2 brilliant deliveries into the penalty area that were buried well by Kyogo Furuhashi and Jota respectively. In addition to that, it was his powerful effort off the post that led to Celtic’s opener early on.
Anthony Ralston showing major Celtic improvements in a big season
It was brilliant to see Anthony at the heart of our attacking threat this evening with his cross-ball deliveries. After all, it’s been one of his main weaknesses over the years, even as recently as earlier this season.
Ralston has managed to bag some praise for grabbing 4 goals this season. However, there’s a reason that he only had 2 assists before today. He simply hasn’t been good enough when he gets into those attacking positions.
That all changed today as he showed some pinpoint quality with his cross-balls. Not to mention he was again solid in his one-v-one defending as he celebrated his new contract in style.
Moving forward, Ange Postecoglou will want to see more of that level considering he’s an important cog for Celtic going forward. Ralston will continuously be urged to go on both the underlap and the overlap. Improving his delivery was always going to be essential for him.
And fans certainly noticed the contribution he made as they bigged him up after today’s result. Here’s a look at some of the reaction to the result:
In other news, Ange Postecoglou reacts to his new song during Celtic TV interview
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