WINGING HIS WAY INTO SPOTLIGHT
11 *including qualifiers 59 21 4 THERE was a 26-year-old called James who was a standout on the biggest club stage of all at Celtic Park on Tuesday night.
But it wasn’t £63million man James Rodriguez hogging the spotlight as Hoops winger James Forrest put the Bayern Munich star in the shade.
Forrest might be just five days older but there is a huge difference in transfer value between the two although you wouldn’t have believed it on the evidence of Tuesday night.
Both players were given the chance to shine in the absence of key players – Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller for the Germans and Forrest replacing the injured Patrick Roberts.
The Celtic man had only had three 12-minute substitute appearances in each of Celtic’s Champions League games before he was handed a start against the Germans.
And he grasped his opportunity, setting up Callum McGregor for Celtic’s equaliser with a brilliant assist before Javi Martinez won it for Bayern.
Forrest has been plagued by injuries but was regarded as a £10m player by ex-boss Ronny Deila and described by the Norwegian’s predecessor Neil Lennon as the best youngster he’d worked with. The talent is clear – and team-mate Stuart Armstrong insists it came to the fore on Tuesday.
He said: “James was terrific. His link-up play, his balls into the box and his through ball to Callum for the goal was outstanding.
“It has been tough for him with a lot of competition for places. He has been out of the side at times but showed against top-quality opposition he’s one of the best.
“He’s a quality player and showed against Bayern how good he is when he takes it to the next level. Sometimes injuries give chances to other players and Jamesy has certainly taken his.”
Celtic winger Scott Sinclair admitted it has been tough for Forrest after Roberts returned on loan from Manchester City. But he showed he is up for the fight for a jersey with his man-of-the-match display against the Germans.
Sinclair said: “James was exceptional. He has had to wait for his chance and I’m sure he’s been frustrated because Pat has been playing.
“James is a great professional, he gives 100 per cent in training and it was great to see him perform as well he did when he stepped in.”
Forrest started with 1 38 real intent and created a chance for Armstrong inside five minutes that the ex-Dundee United man admitted he should have taken.
That could have made for a different game and Armstrong said: “It was a beautiful ball from Jamesy, I watched it for what felt like an age. I thought the defender was going to get a little nick on it, which put me off slightly. But I was disappointed not to score.
“I came close with another one in the second half as well. It’s an aim of mine to get on the scoresheet every game and I had a very good chance on Tuesday but it was just one of those things.”
Armstrong also insists Kieran Tierney’s journey from ballboy to Champions League star should be an inspiration to every young Celtic fan.
The Scotland full-back signed a new six-year deal on the eve of another solid display against the world’s best.
Tierney wasn’t fazed by the challenge of facing Dutch legend Arjen Robben and Armstrong reckons he is proof dreams come true.
Video footage emerged of the 20-year-old being presented with a pair of boots by ex-Hoops hero Shunsuke Nakamura when Tierney was a kid and Armstrong said: “It’s bizarre seeing the pictures of a young KT as a ballboy here, then in the youth team.
“It’s inspiring to see a boy like that make it into the Champions League.
“It’s rare you find a player at a club who has supported them since he was a boy. He grew up watching Celtic and is now a mainstay in the team. It is a dream come true for him and we’re lucky to have him.
“His goal and assist at Aberdeen a couple of weeks ago showed that. Against Bayern as well he just played his usual game and was terrific.”
Bayern left Glasgow with the points but Armstrong says Celtic can take heart from the performance, with the Hoops likely to be in the Europa League after Christmas. They hold a three-point lead over Anderlecht who come to Celtic Park in the final round of fixtures.
And the 25-year-old said: “We were all very disappointed at the end, which speaks volumes for the performance.
“Compared to the game in Munich it was night and day. We were more aggressive, taking more chances to go forward and creating more chances.
“We had more confidence to play our own game and not respect Bayern too much. There were a lot of positives for us against one of Europe’s top teams.
“Our aspiration is to be in the Europa League after Christmas and hopefully we can do that.”