Thinking Back, Looking Forward

Two years on since dazzling at Murrayfield, Ryan Christie reflects on the game which made him at Celtic and looks forward to what lies ahead

- Joe Donnelly

AT quarter-past two on Sunday, October 2018, Celtic returned to the Murrayfield dressing room tied 0-0 with Hearts in a League Cup semi-final. Having started the match with a midfield five of Callum McGregor, James Forrest, Tom Rogic, Olivier Ntcham and Eboue Kouassi, the Ivorian made way for Scott Sinclair on 26 minutes after picking up an injury.

At the break, Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers also had to swap Ntcham for Ryan Christie, who had featured sporadically for the Irishman between back-to-back loan spells at Aberdeen.

By Christie’s own admission, he had struggled to hit the ground running in green and white in the opening stretch of the 2018/19 campaign, and saw this nod in the capital as an opportunity to impress.

Forty-five minutes later and Celtic had defeated Hearts 3-0 to book their place in the final against Aberdeen at Hampden.

Christie won the penalty which put the Hoops one-up. He forced the mistake which saw Forrest bag the second. And he sent a 20-yard screamer into the top corner to make it three, producing a performance that saw him rightly crowned Man of the Match.

The display cemented his place in the manager’s plans and paved the way for his winning goal in the League Cup final a few weeks on. Christie has since helped the Hoops win five trophies, hitting 34 goals and assisting 33 times for his team-mates, ahead of tomorrow night’s UEFA Europa League group-stage encounter with Lille.

Two years on since that remarkable game, Christie reflects fondly on the match which made him at the Scottish champions.

“Looking back now, it does seem a while ago in some respects, but it’s been pretty relentless ever since then, to be honest!” said Christie in an exclusive interview with the Celtic View.