Anthony Ralston has admitted Celtic’s lack of cutting edge turned a routine win into a tense afternoon at Celtic Park.
The Hoops kept pace with leaders Heart of Midlothian thanks to a 1-0 victory over St Mirren, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s first-half strike proving decisive.
But it was far from comfortable.
Celtic had chances to put the game to bed and didn’t take them.
And Ralston knows that made things unnecessarily nervy in the stadium. Fans were becoming frustrated at what was becoming a backs-against-the-wall performance, with Celtic struggling to get out at some points.
The back passing was also starting to get groans from the crowd, but that’s nothing new at Celtic Park.
Speaking to Monday’s papers, the Celtic right-back said:
“It would have been nice if we could have killed the game off against St Mirren as we had a few front-post chances.
“Then we had Kelechi Iheanacho’s chance in the second half which could have finished the game off but it’s something we need to look at in that respect. We need to look at how we can finish off games more.
“It also showed at the other end that we have the mentality to see games out. Winning 1-0 at this stage of the season is not a huge disappointment and we will take that into next week with a huge deal of confidence.
“We understand that not getting that second goal causes a stress factor within the game. If you get that second goal then it takes a lot of that pressure away from you.
“It’s also about looking at what is the next thing after winning, it’s about getting that second goal, it’s about getting the ball up the pitch quicker so there are things we can look at. As a whole, we are happy with the win, and we will take that forward.” [RecordSport]
It wasn’t pretty, but at this stage, it doesn’t need to be.
Celtic are still in the fight.
Anthony Ralston is probably Celtic’s fourth-choice right-back. Alistair Johnston is heading closer to an injury return, but it’s doubtful that fans will see Araujo in a Celtic shirt again after his injury setback. Colby Donovan has been preferred to Ralston by Martin O’Neill this season, but he’s also nursing an injury just now.
It’ll likely be Ralston starting at Hampden Park this weekend.
