Tony out to cap dream summer with semi-final
CELTIC kid Anthony Ralston reckons a first Toulon Tournament semi-final for Scotland for 22 years would cap off an amazing few weeks for the right-back after Brendan Rodgers handed him his first start.
The young Scots, fresh from beating Brazil for the first time at any level on Saturday, face the Asian minnows Indonesia today in Vitrolles.
Intriguingly in this of all weeks, a win for Scotland could see them clinch a best runners-up spot that would seal a semi-final place...almost certainly against England on Thursday.
And that would be the icing on an incredible few weeks for impressive 18-year-old Ralston. He made his first start for Rodgers’ all-conquering Hoops side against St Johnstone last month. He followed that up by helping Scot Gemmill’s side deservedly beat the Brazilians in France.
And he’s determined to help Scotland make history this week in the prestigious tournament.
Ralston said: “It’s been the stuff of dreams for me after my first Celtic start and then beating Brazil. I’ve been a Celtic fan all my life along with my family, so that was amazing.
“We were buzzing after the Brazil game. We’re the first Scottish team to achieve that and now we have to move on.
“I had friends and family all getting in contact to congratulate me and I’m sure it was the same for the rest of the boys. We could also see from social media how proud everyone was back home. We stuck to our game plan, pressed them and they didn’t know how to deal with it.
“Brazil are used to keeping the ball and passing it, but we went out to unsettle them and we got the result.
“All the experiences I’ve had throughout the year with Celtic and away in tournament football prepared me for coming up against the quality players Brazil had. It showed on Saturday and the same for the rest of the boys who have had similar first team experiences.
“We all went out with the attitude that it was 11 v 11 and to not think of them as Brazil and we went out and had a go.”
Ralston is highly-rated at Parkhead and was thrust into the spotlight by Rodgers, who threw him into the first team and then praised his maturity after the game. And the full-back has been enormously impressed by Rodgers.
He said: “The gaffer has been outstanding since he came in. He’s changed me as a player and he’s given me a great deal of confidence. We’ve just gone unbeaten for the full season, which is remarkable. He’s a great man-manager as well. He’s brilliant.
“When he talks to you, he does give you a lot of confidence. He’s worked with a lot of experienced players and he tries to pass that experience on and implement that into my game.”