Celtic defender Liam Scales has had a thrilling rise in football over the last 18 months, and it continued on Thursday night.
Scales netted a crucial equalising goal in the Republic of Ireland’s eventual 2-1 win away to Finland in the Nations League.
It is his first-ever goal for his country and another proud moment on a journey that has taken him from the brink of a Celtic exit to the heights of elite football.
After his goalscoring and man-of-the-match exploits in the Champions League with Celtic last month, the defender is now transferring his form onto the international scene.
Scales has endured criticism for performances for club and country at times, but he continues to surprise and delight in big moments.
It should be obvious by now that writing him off is folly. Ireland fans certainly appreciate him more after his star turn in Helsinki.
What Ireland fans are saying about Celtic’s Liam Scales
Scales’ headed finish itself has been garnering a lot of praise. Finding himself on the end of Robbie Brady’s fine cross, the Irish defender battled through pressure to guide a diamond into the back of the net.
As one fan stated on social media, “What a headed finish that by Liam Scales for Ireland. He is actually unbelievable in the air. The way he attacks the balls. So aggressive. He has played really well out with that as well.”
Others felt his performance demonstrated that he should have been playing more of late, having sat out matches against England and Greece.
This fan stated, “Well done Liam Scales. Warming the bench for last two games when he should have been playing.”
With another adding, “Dara O’Shea and Liam Scales have to be the top two options in central defence.”
Another simply concluded, “And that’s why Liam Scales should never be left out of an Ireland lineup.”
It’s clear fans want to see more of him. And plenty feel he deserves more appreciation too.
One supporter said, “Look at big Liam Scales’ face man, pure warrior. Might not be the most gifted but a warrior. Doesn’t deserve anywhere near the amount of stick he gets. Easy target.”
Others simply wanted to reflect on his journey so far as this fan stated, “The smile I saw on Liam Scales’ face tonight is a reminder to all coaches in Ireland about why we allow kids an avenue to be heroes for our country.”
And another summing up his career with, “To think 5 years ago he was still at UCD and back up to Masterson who was at Liverpool at the time for our U21s. Mad how Scales has continually upped his game every time he moved up a level while Masterson drops down divisions. Academy football is overrated. Credit to Scales.”
Liam Scales could be hard to shift out of the Celtic team
The arrival of Auston Trusty during the summer transfer window threatened to push Scales out of the Celtic starting eleven. And that may still transpire.
However, the United States international must work hard to convince Brendan Rodgers of that. The Celtic boss is a big fan of Scales and has supported him in the team for well over a year now.
Having earned his spot and formed a functional partnership with Cameron Carter-Vickers, Scales will be hard to drop if he continues in the manner he’s started this season.
It’s his shirt to lose as it stands and it appears he’s intent on holding on to his position in both the Celtic and Ireland teams.
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