Anthony Ralston stats for Celtic win vs St Mirren after being fourth choice right-back

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Celtic can be a brutal club, even for a man of Anthony Ralston’s experience and standing.

Ralston has come through the ranks at Celtic Park, playing nearly 200 matches for his boyhood club, but before the March international break, he watched Martin O’Neill play Reo Hatate at right-back while he sat on the bench.

That happened during Celtic’s defeat at Dundee United, yet fast forward to the present, and Ralston is starting his side’s Premiership clash against St Mirren.

That’s because Julian Araujo is ruled out for the season, Alistair Johnston still isn’t ready, and Colby Donovan is also sidelined.

67 Hail Hail looked at Ralston’s numbers against St Mirren, as he returned to the pitch after being demoted to fourth choice under O’Neill.

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Anthony Ralston’s stats for Celtic against St Mirren

Many Celtic fans will agree that Ralston isn’t good enough to be number one, but when Donovan was injured, he should have been used at right-back, and it was pretty unfair that Hatate was used in that role instead.

In the end, it proved to be costly because Hatate was on his backside as Dundee United scored their second, and punished the Hoops.

Despite that setback, Celtic are still in the race for the title, and they proved that by clawing their way to three points against St Mirren.

Unsurprisingly, O’Neill’s side struggled to find their rhythm – particularly in the second half – but the backline stood firm to keep their Scottish Cup semi-final opponents at bay.

And Ralston played his part by winning the most ground duels (5), and also making the most carries (37) than any of his teammates.

• Minutes played: 90
• Clean sheet: 1
• Defensive contributions: 5
• Tackles won: 1
• Interceptions: 1
• Clearances: 1
• Recoveries: 4
• Ground duels won: 5 (most in the game)
• Dribbled past: 0
• Passes in the opposition half: 38/50 (76%)
• Touches: 116
• Unsuccessful touches: 1
• Successful dribbles: 1
• Carries: 37 (most in the game)
• Sofascore rating: 7.4