Celtic claimed a point away to Dinamo Zagreb last night as a goalless draw elevated the Hoops to nine points in the Champions League league phase.
Admittedly, the game wasn’t a spectacle that will live long in the memory, with the home side content to sit in and frustrate while hitting on the break.
For the visitors, Nicolas Kuhn came close with a strike that was deflected over the bar before Adam Idah came inches away from connecting with an Arne Engels centre.
Nevertheless, a point had to do for Celtic in Zagreb. At times, the reigning Scottish champions had to dig in as well, notably when Kasper Schmeichel had to turn Marko Pjaca’s header over the bar with ten minutes of normal time remaining.
All in all, a draw keeps Celtic on track in the Champions League, and Auston Trusty has now summed up the mood music of the support following the result.
Auston Trusty’s mixed feelings after Celtic draw in Zagreb
Speaking live on TNT Sports, Trusty made it known that despite satisfaction with the defensive aspect of Celtic’s play, the overriding feeling is one that a singular point could’ve turned into three at Maksimir Stadium.
He explained: “We came here for three points. We’re going to be pretty upset in the locker room. We still get a point, but we came here for three.
“We were aiming to win, of course; it didn’t end up falling our way. I think we need to take advantage of set-pieces a little bit more, we had ten set-pieces so yeah, it was an opportunity for us to get three points, but we got one point and move on.”
On keeping a clean sheet: “It was a solid performance from the team, I think we set out to look to get points away from home, and we achieved that; we thought we could get more from the game but we didn’t and we move on.”
“Sometimes, they have momentum too, the game is tight in waves of the game and sometimes we have to take a breath and get our composure back.”
Finally, on Schmeichel: “Kasper is class, he’s world-class, he’s saved us a bunch of times and it’s great to have him behind me.”
Celtic swiftly move on from dull Dinamo Zagreb affair
Nobody will be in a hurry to watch last night’s action again, but all focus now turns to the Premier Sports Cup final on Sunday for Celtic.
Rangers stand in the way of a first piece of silverware this campaign, which would cap a positive week for the club providing the team come through unscathed.
The fast-moving nature of Celtic’s fixture schedule means there isn’t too much time to get caught up in moments of isolation. Take the point and move on, there is a clear roadmap to progression from the league phase.
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