It was a night for Celtic and the supporters to pay tribute to James Forrest for the Celtic winger’s incredible career at Paradise.
The last friendly before the real action starts on Saturday saw Celtic take on La Liga side, Athletic Club and it really was a game of two halves.
The first half was fraught with slack passing and defensive errors that saw Athletic take the lead within the first 90 seconds. A slack pass from Reo Hatate allowed the Spanish side to break through on goal and Unai Gomez coolly slotted the ball home.
Celtic equalised after Hatate dispossessed the Bilbao defence and despatched a perfectly placed left-foot shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the Basque goal.
Athletic were back in front within the minute. The Celtic fans had hardly had the chance to celebrate the equaliser when a mistake from Tomoki Iwata let in Iker Muniain who rifled in a right-foot shot over Ben Siegrist and just under the Celtic crossbar.
2-1 at halftime to the visitors but Celtic came out quickly in the second half as Brendan Rodgers ringed in the changes. A whole new second-half eleven, barring James Forrest, appeared for the second half.
They started off brightly and created a couple of chances before the man of the moment, James Forrest was subbed for Liel Abada in the 49th minute.
Bernabei equalised in the 66th minute after a fantastic through ball by Matt O’Riley slipped the Argentinian through on goal and the left-back slipped the ball past the Athletic keeper.
The winner came through a terrific cross from the returning Anthony Ralston. The Celtic full-back fired in a low cross to Oh who found David Turnbull who then fired the ball into the top left-hand corner for Celtic’s third and eventual winner.
Brendan Rodgers pleased with Celtic performance and Parkhead reception
The Celtic manager was pleased that the team managed to get the win on the night and he was also delighted at the reception he got prior to kick-off.
Rodgers said [The Herald], “Overall I was really pleased for James. To win the game is nice for him on his testimonial game. The second-half team was excellent.
“Amazing, it feels like home. I’ve been fortunate enough in my career to manage some fantastic, big clubs. There’s nothing given me the feeling of being back here with people I regard as family, and just being in the arena here.
“It made me realise what I had, I was never sure if I would have that again. So, to be able to have it again I want to enjoy it on the pitch with the players, the staff and obviously the supporters. But for that I need to prove myself and win again.”
“Clearly it always means a lot [to get a good reception]. My priority is to make a team here to continue with the standards that have been set over the last decade or so. It’s important that we are all together in order to achieve that. The Celtic supporters are amazing.
“They support their team and I think what makes this team is that they get behind their manager and we all go together from the weekend to push on. It is very important for us to be together.”
Brendan Rodgers is obviously delighted to be back at Celtic. It would have been in the back of his mind what kind of reception the Celtic support would have had for him.
The fact the fans gave him a rousing reception will undoubtedly put his mind at ease and it has clearly made the Celtic boss look forward to the season ahead.
In other news, James Forrest delighted with special Celtic Park night; targets new season ahead
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