Celtic star Ryan Christie was left buzzing after scoring the winner for Scotland against the Czech Republic last night.
The Hoops man managed to make it two goals in two games as he slammed home a second-half penalty to send Scotland to the top of their Nations League group. It followed another fine spot-kick against Israel on Friday night.
Christie did come in for some criticism on social media for what some at times felt was greedy play. However, he produced when it mattered on the night.
And speaking to the official Scotland National Team Twitter page post-match, the attacker was left buzzing:
“The boys are all delighted in there. Going into the game, none of us thought we would stroll it. We’re delighted. Top of the group and it gives us plenty to build on going into next month.
“It’s an absolute honour to score for my country again so hopefully I can add a few more. I made my mind up (on where to hit the penalty) as soon as I grabbed the ball. The goalkeeper went the right way and for a split-second I panicked a wee bit!
“What a game to look forward to next month (Euro playoff vs Israel). So obviously we’ll disperse back to our clubs, but everybody will have an eye on what’s coming up in the next camp.”
A morale-booster for the Scottish Celts
After Friday’s draw with Israel, you’d have done well to find a Scottish player who was pleased with themselves. It was a draining night in terms of confidence, and that didn’t bode well for the four Celtic players who were part of the camp.
However, last night’s win in Olomouc will have lifted the spirits substantially. Christie, from this interview at least, clearly looks delighted to have gotten the three points, and looks like he’s coming back to Glasgow this week in positive spirits.
Celtic had four players in total away with Scotland over the last week. Christie was joined by James Forrest, Greg Taylor, and Callum McGregor respectively. All four are regulars in the Celtic starting XI too, so it was great to see the Scots grab the win and raise confidence levels.
There are question marks over both the team and Christie’s performance individually. Scotland were facing a makeshift Czech Republic side with many of them earning their first cap on the night. Yet Steve Clarke’s side managed to make hard work of it and even went a goal down.
Christie was also guilty of dallying too often in possession – failing to release at the right time and create more goalscoring opportunities. One moment in particular late on saw him miss an obvious through ball to McGregor, as he instead tried to go it alone before losing the ball.
But it doesn’t matter now. Scotland as well as the four Celts involved bagged the win, and we have a buzzing Christie coming back ahead of a packed schedule this month.
In other news, one of Celtic’s academy graduates is keen on a return to Parkhead.
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