James Forrest has stated that he barely celebrated his Celtic goal against Livingston yesterday because he was going through some overwhelming relief.
Forrest got on the scoresheet as Celtic managed to comfortably dispatch Livi on their own turf. Indeed, goals from Daizen Maeda and Forrest sandwiched Nicky Devlin’s own goal to give the Hoops an advantage they were never going to let slip.
Forrest was a surprise starter in the game after taking Liel Abada’s spot, and used the opportunity to smash home his first league goal of the season and his first goal outright since November.
And as he looked near back to his best at the Tony Macaroni yesterday, Forrest has explained exactly why he was muted in his goal celebration.
As quoted by the Scotsman, the winger said: “There was maybe a bit of relief. It was to make it 3-0 as well so all round…I have not scored in a few games and it helped the team get to 3-0, so it was maybe a bit of relief.
“I can’t even remember now, I was just relieved and buzzing that I scored.”
James Forrest back amongst the Celtic goals once more
That felt big for Forrest yesterday. It felt, in a manner of speaking, like he was laying down a statement of intent. That he was letting everyone know that he was back and ready to fire once again.
It could prove to be a big moment for us in the title race too. For all of the success Liel Abada has had since the summer, we still need as many experienced heads helping to push the youngsters on as we can. Forrest, in that respect, could be huge for the run-in.
He was somewhat back to his best yesterday and managed to pick up the Sky Sports man-of-the-match award too. That shows what level of impact he made. He gave the Livi defence all sorts of problems as he was a lot tidier than some of his previous cameo displays.
Getting him back amongst the goals once more is also vital. That’s what Forrest is all about. He wants to be making an impact in the final third and getting on the end of things.
It looks as though the occasion surrounding his goal may have gotten to him a touch with his celebration. It’s unlike James to be so muted, but the truth is that it’s been an extremely tough season for him.
That moment yesterday will have felt golden for him. He’s entitled to soak it all in.
In other news, Report: Dundee United captain suffers broken nose just one week from Celtic clash
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