‘WELL ASIDE RATINGS
Defender ready to be a record breaker
room to exploit. A poor Stephen O’Donnell cross was picked off, and suddenly the visitors looked stretched. Callum McGregor showed a stunning turn of pace to slice his way through the heart of the field, playing the ball to Forrest on the right. The winger faced up Ricki Lamie, who backed off far too readily, allowing Forrest to lift his head and pick out the opposite corner with a fine finish.
Celtic should have had the game buried on the hour, as a mistake from O’Donnell allowed Greg Taylor to fire across the face of goal, but Klimala – ironically enough – showed a distinct lack of a poacher’s instinct as he failed to tap home from three yards or so.
Ajeti then arrived for Ntcham as Lennon went with two up top, and the forward certainly made his mark after being given the freedom of Glasgow to turn in the box after a great pass from Kris Ajer, slamming home high into the net to put the result beyond doubt.
Klimala should have added a third after a slip by Mugabi, but Carson denied him in a one-on-one.
He may well, as Lennon said, not have been ready for Ferencvaros, but whether Ajeti would have made the difference, Celtic will never know.
SCOTT MARTIN feels Hamilton’s spirited secondhalf fightback against Rangers shows they can haul themselves away from the foot of the Premiership table and avoid relegation once again this season.
Brian Rice’s men were battered by the visitors in the opening 45 minutes of their league game at the Fountain of Youth Stadium on Saturday evening and conceded goals to Ianis Hagi and James Tavernier.
However, Martin and his team-mates performed far better after half-time and Ibrox goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin was forced to make good saves from a Marios Ogkmpoe shot and a Shaun Want header.
The midfielder, whose side is just one point ahead of bottom-placed Motherwell after the opening six games, is encouraged by the spirit they showed against the league leaders.
“In the first half, we maybe gave Rangers a bit too much respect,” he said. “Their full-backs were quite high and it almost forced us into a back six. But if we play the way we did in the second half, I think we’ll be fine.
“At half-time, the manager reminded us that everyone had a job and everyone had a man. We should have done that from the start, in terms of us out on the pitch. The change of shape helped us as well and credit to the manager. But we still didn’t get any points.
“We could have folded and given up, but I think it shows the character that we didn’t. We tried to press and work to the last minute. If Shaun Want’s header goes in, who knows was might have happened. We have to take the positives and build on that after the international break.”
BORNA BARISIC has vowed to help Rangers break the Scottish top flight clean sheet record when they take on Dundee United at Ibrox in the Premiership on Saturday week.
Barisic, right, and his team-mates matched the six game run that Celtic went on in the league without conceding a goal at the start of the 1906/07 season some 114 years ago.
However, the Croatian left-back is now determined to surpass the run that Willie Maley’s side went on when he returns from the international break.
“It’s a very nice feeling,” he said. “We knew if we kept another clean sheet we would equal the record so that was a motivation for us.
“Of course, our first priority was to win and the second one was to keep another clean sheet. Now we have written our own piece of history so I am very happy about that.
“It’s not just that we have been keeping clean sheets, but I think our opponents haven’t really created too many chances. There have been a couple, but not too many. I think it’s the best defensively since I’ve been here for sure.”