Adam Matthews played down the impact of his first ever Celtic goal as Neil Lennon’s men eased past Arbroath in the Scottish Cup.
The Welshman has added an extra edge to his game playing as a right win-back with last night’s strike coming on the back of two assists in the weekend win away to Kilmarnock.
Matthews goal was all that separated Celtic from the Second Division part-timers as Neil Lennon’s side booked their place in the last 16 with a trip to Raith Rovers coming up in February.
“I had nothing else on,” he suggested modestly. “So I just thought why not and had a go – luckily for me it went into the top corner.
“I think overall we deserved the win but they put up a good fight and could have scored.
“We knew it was their cup final really, so you have to go with the right attitude. We weren’t at our best but we got the job done, which is the main thing.”
Last night’s match is unlikely to feature prominently in any review of the season with Lennon satisfied that his side adapted to the conditions.
“The pitch became a great leveller,” the Celtic boss explained. “It was almost like an ice rink, second half.
“The ball was just running away when the players were trying to pass it because it was skipping up off the frost. It almost became dangerous at times.
“As it got colder and as the pitch hardened up more, it became a level playing field. I knew it was going to be hard, that’s why I went with an experienced team.
“I thought about changing my goalkeeper tonight but I’m glad I didn’t. Winning games is hard but the players are doing it well at the moment.”
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A goal worthy of winning any game, get the feeling there are quite a few more to come from this player.
Improving all the time, also comfortable to switch over to left flank which is an added bonus.
Great work by our scouting team, just the kind of player we need to keep unearthing.