Michel-Ange Balikwisha finally got the moment he has been chasing. The winger came on with the game in the balance and supplied the cross that Daizen Maeda headed home for a 92nd-minute winner against Motherwell.
Celtic Park erupted and with good reason. The team had been dragged into a scrap, then found a way to land the last punch.
For Balikwisha, this was substance to go with the promise. He attacked the left wing, and fizzed the ball into the exact area Maeda loves to attack.
That is the action supporters have been waiting to see from him. It was decisive, clean, and arrived when the pressure was at its peak.
The winger then took the conversation onto social media on Sunday night. “It’s just a matter of time..” he posted on Instagram, a line that reads like both a promise and a challenge to himself.
Read it as confidence that more is coming. Read it as a message that he believes rhythm and minutes will unlock his end product in a Celtic shirt.
From Brendan Rodgers’ point of view, it strengthens the case for using Balikwisha more often. That is where his best work has come in his career and where he produced tonight’s match-winning contribution.
It should buy him patience as he builds up understanding with his teammates. It should also give the manager another late-game option to lean on when the margins are thin.
Nobody is pretending one assist solves everything. What it does is change the conversation a little bit and shows there’s something there with Michael.
If the Instagram line is the mindset, the tape from tonight is the evidence. Stack a few more of these and the debate shifts from cameos to starts.
Celtic asked for new faces to make an impact when it counted. Balikwisha answered, and he has every right to believe this is the start of something real. Tounekti and Maeda will be infront of him on the left, however, with Daizen expected to leave in Janaury if the right bid comes in, having someone to step into that void that’s already in the building could be crucial.
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One Response
Yes his movement looked good finding space Motherwell played well but eventually the Celtic support got behind there team they could see the fight in the players but great to see Supporters concentrating there focus on the players last half hour best atmosphere this season and the players responded