Malky Mackay has stated that James Brown told him that he ‘didn’t see’ Hyunjun Yang following his horror tackle on the Celtic star on Saturday.
Celtic made several changes for their trip to Ross County, with Brendan Rodgers hoping to avoid a potential banana skin against Malky Mackay’s side.
But the Bhoys were helped out when, after ten minutes, James Brown, after a VAR check, was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Hyunjun Yang.
There can be no complaints because he caught the Celtic star right at the top of the ankle and it could have been a lot worse than it was.
But after the game, Ross County boss Malky Mackay agreed with the call to show a red card and insisted that his player meant no malice in what he did, as he told Sky Sports.
In the end, the Bhoys strolled to a 3-0 win, including a stunning effort from Luis Palma, who was praised by John Hartson.
James Brown’s red card v Celtic
“It’s a red card,” said Mackay. “I have spoken to him and looked at it three or four times.
“He actually comes off his blindside. He doesn’t see him. He was going for a ball that moved. Definite red card. There is no malice in it. He has apologised to the team.
“But he has also said ‘I didn’t even see him’. And you look at it again, he comes from his blindside. It’s a red card. It’s disappointing for us because it gives us a mountain to climb.”
Perfect afternoon for Celtic
It couldn’t have gone better because Rodgers was able to make changes to his XI, and rest key players, such as Kyogo and Matt O’Riley, whilst handing minutes to backup players.
For some players, such as David Turnbull, he is proving, after scoring in back-to-back matches, that he can fill the void left by the injured Reo Hatate – Chris Sutton is backing him to start in the Champions League.
Whilst James Forrest reminded everybody that he is still here with a goal from the bench – he is being tipped to have a statue made of him.
It’s perfect preparation for the heavyweight clash and the main event against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League next week.
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