SUBLIME TO RIDICULOUS
Turnbull happy with role in ‘ugly’ Celtic clincher
IT was, by turns, fortuitous and ugly. And by the time David Turnbull had retreated to the sanctuary of the dressing room, it wasn’t even his.
Let no one underplay the importance of the midfielder’s — shall we say — interesting contribution to Celtic’s second goal which UEFA belatedly credited to Ferencvaros defender Balint Vecsei.
Having passed up a chance to routinely side-foot home Jota’s square pass, Turnbull might well have buried his head in his hands. Many in his shoes would have.
With the ball still loose in the six-yard box, though, he refused to concede defeat. Having gone in where it hurts, an all-important ricochet off the leg of the hapless Vecsei was the reward for his guts and endeavour.
It was about as far removed from his sumptuous strike at Fir Park on Saturday as you could possibly imagine but the outcome was precisely the same.
A two-goal advantage that Celtic would not relinquish.
‘I was hoping it would be my goal, as it would have been good to get another one,’ said Turnbull. ‘But at the end of the day, no matter how ugly it is, they all count.
‘At the weekend, I scored one of my better goals, then in this game I have a mishit shot but it goes in.
‘I was thinking of tapping it in with my left foot but I kicked over the ball and topped it a bit. I saw the goalie diving and I knew I had another chance at it, so I threw myself at it and hoped it would go in, which it did.’
He may have been denied on this occasion but seven goals for the campaign is already an impressive return. One of the few who impressed at the club last season, the 22-year-old still managed to get into double figures. That already seems like a modest ambition for this term.
‘I always look to add goals to my game and that’s something I have always tried to do throughout my career,’ said the Scotland international. ‘I see myself as a goal-scoring midfielder and every day I try to work on my finishing.
‘I give my all in training and I am hoping to add a few more for the rest of the season.’
With Turnbull and Tom Rogic playing ahead of Callum McGregor in the line-up, Celtic’s central midfield ran this matinee show.
After the harum-scarum displays against Real Betis and Bayer Leverkusen, there was much more control in evidence here. For all Joe Hart had to come to the rescue on several occasions, Celtic were not regularly cut open at will.
On the back of wins over Aberdeen and Motherwell, it felt like an awfully big result — not only in the context of the group but the season as a whole. The wind seems to be back in the sails of Angeball.
‘Every game that goes by I feel we are getting stronger and stronger as a team,’ added Turnbull. ‘We are all together and I think you could see that tonight.
‘We could probably have gone on to score even more goals. We certainly created a lot of chances and we looked more solid at the back. So now it is about trying to continue the form we are on at the moment.’
Finally off the mark, they have a lifeline in the Europa League group. In terms of at least securing European football after Christmas by finishing third, there is no reason why that shouldn’t be all but wrapped up in Budapest on November 4.
‘The manager said to us before the game that these are the matches we all play football for,’ continued Turnbull. ‘We knew we had to win and it was a huge game for us against a good side.
‘We knew we had to take the three points from this game and it’s great we have managed to do that. Now we have to look to continue this form in Europe as well.’
Predictably, Celtic had to overcome no little adversity in the late afternoon drizzle. McGregor’s missed penalty was a psychological test but Ange Postecoglou’s side passed it with flying colours.
In every sense, this felt like a significant step forward for the Australian’s evolving side.
‘It’s one of those things, everyone misses penalties at some point in their career,’ the skipper reflected.
‘I just need to try and put it behind me and try to score the next one. It’s just good to get that first win in the group.
‘It was an excellent performance and I thought we dominated throughout the game. We had loads of chances, so it is a great night for us.
‘It’s brilliant for the supporters as well. They turned out in their numbers for a difficult time. We have to thank them for their effort.
‘It’s great to get another clean sheet. We have spoken about it and we want to have more control of games.
‘In the moments when we had to defend, I think we did it excellently.
‘Young Tony Ralston made a brilliant block at a vital time of the game.
‘It is a step in the right direction but we have to keep working hard. The manager keeps saying we are a new bunch of players but we have a real bond in the dressing room.
‘I have spoken about it before. If you get success, then it brings everyone closer together.’