Smells Like Team Spirit

James Forrest hails his team-mates for rising to another challenge on Sunday.

- Tony Connelly

WITH character, ability can have no limits and Sunday’s victory against Motherwell was a perfect illustration of that. James Forrest was full of praise for the way his team-mates handled adversity and believes that character will be pivotal in the big games while lie ahead.

Celtic maintained their 100 per cent domestic win record at Paradise this season with an emphatic 4-1 win over Motherwell. The Scottish champions’ performance was reflected in the scoreline, but the game could have very easily unfolded in an entirely different direction if not for Celtic’s grit and determination in the final stages.

“It’s a good result for us,” said Forrest in an exclusive interview with the Celtic View. “They were on a good bit of form and you could see their confidence. A few teams have come to Celtic Park and played like that and we’ve managed to do well.”

Brendan Rodgers’ side saw their two-goal advantage dented in bizarre circumstances, which can be aptly summed up as poor sportsmanship. Early in the second half Ryan Christie’s injury led to a period of stoppage. Once the game restarted, everyone in the stadium, including the Celtic players, expected the visitors to return the ball in keeping with the etiquette of the game.

But Motherwell’s James Scott had other ideas. The 18-year-old broke away with the ball and shot, forcing a save out of Scott Bain. Gboly Ariyibi was on cue to tap in the rebound and Motherwell ran off in celebration as Celtic fans and players reacted with fury.

“Ryan was down for a few minutes and the play was stopped,” recalled Forrest. “The whole situation was just strange but the boys showed their character to respond in the way that we did. If that had happened to another team, Motherwell might have taken a draw. We did well, we stayed strong and got the three points.