Moritz living the dream
a 3-1 win in injury time. Joyful Jenz celebrated among the travelling fans in Dingwall then revealed that he’s always dreamt of scoring at a British ground and jumping into the crowd.
The stopper said: “It was amazing to play my first game in front of a fantastic away crowd and then to score, it was like a dream come true.
“Of course, you must have a good relationship with the fans because they back you up even in difficult moments.
“Today was difficult, we were pushed to the end, and they helped us.
“It was incredible to celebrate with them at the goal.
“I’ve always wanted to score in a British game and run into the crowd.
“It was amazing. It took some time to get out but I did.”
Even at 1-1, Jenz insists Celtic were never in any doubt they could win the game late on.
He said: “We knew we had to win so I wanted to get in there and score the goal.
“You hope to get on the end of the ball and I timed it well. I showed real desire to score.
“We always believed we would win even with six minutes to go.
“At Celtic, you have to win games so we believed until the end.”
Jenz was also booked on his first Premiership start and says he’s rarely come up against a team like County.
He enjoyed the experience but now knows he has a battle on his hands to keep the jersey with defender Carl Starfelt back from injury.
Jenz said: “It was my first experience of Scottish football and I expected them to be very physical.
“We knew they’d play first time balls in behind us and try to win second balls. That was a very interesting combat but you have to play your own game and be brave.
“It was quicker than I expected, it was quick and direct. It’s a different style for me but some teams play like this.
“We play in a different way, attacking, brave football.
“I now need to continue to train hard and if I get the chance to play, give my best.
“It’s a team game. I’ll keep pushing and the coach will decide who plays.
“I’m looking forward to continuing playing like that. I want to be confident and consistent
this season.” County chief Malky Mackay, meanwhile, praised his players for pushing a Champions League side right to the wire.
Kyogo had put Ange Postecoglou’s men in front but the Staggies fought back before Alex Iacovitti had equalised in Dingwall.
They were still level with just six minutes left to play.
And while late goals from Jenz and Abada killed off County’s hopes of taking anything from the game, boss Mackay couldn’t fault his team who had carried out his game plan for the majority of the match.
But he was under no illusions about the quality County were facing in their second Premiership outing of the season.
Despite having no points following games against Hearts and Celtic, Mackay was refusing to be downbeat.
He said: “It’s been a tough week in terms of the tactical messages I gave the players and the footage we had to watch.
“We had to play in a manner that meant we didn’t get carved open by Celtic – because we’re playing against a Champions League team.
“We had to try and negate what they did and I felt we did that.
“I’m disappointed to get to a certain point and then concede a winning goal – it’s a bit sickening.
“But I can’t be too harsh on them.
“We’ve played two of the top three in the league now and if we keep playing like that on a consistent basis, Ross County will still be in this league next season.
“Celtic are a very strong side, I know what they’re capable of.
“But when you’re playing a Champions League side, you have to play for 95 minutes, not just 86.
“I’m heartbroken for the players because they were four or five minutes from making people in Scottish football look up and say, ‘What’s going on there?’.”