It seems that no-one told Matt O’Riley about the close season.
Wearing the armband against DC United the midfielder knocked in two trademark goals as Celtic kicked off their trip to the USA with a 4-0 victory.
There were no signs of rustiness or concerns about transfer speculation as O’Riley’s sixth sense of anticipating the flow of play to somehow be in the right place at the right time to pop the ball into the net. The Perfect 10.
He did exactly that in the 24th and 31st minute to put the hoops into a first half lead with the thousands of ex-pat fans delighted by their Saturday night entertainment.
Celtic looked slick and sharp throughout with a couple of familiar faces scoring midway through the second half.
Mikey Johnston showed predatory instincts to get into the goalmouth to find the net from close range following a great run down the right from James Forrest.
It was the veteran winger that completed the scoring a few minutes later, Yang Hyun-jun ran straight through the DC United defence, rather than go for personal glory he slipped the ball to his right where Forrest tapped the ball home showing that he too has retained last season’s form.
In pre-season a defeat it met with ‘it is all about fitness, results don’t matter’, after their visit to Washington the hoops can claim that winning is a good habit to get into.
Team News from Washington D.C ?
Here’s how the Bhoys line up ahead of tonight’s first fixture in our US tour against @dcunited!
@CelticTV Subscribers can watch live! https://t.co/hiI9BAztU9
#TheBhoysOfSummer | #StatesideCelts??? pic.twitter.com/vuvbe87tgo— Celtic Football Club (Stateside??) (@CelticFC) July 20, 2024
Excellent start for the hoops, now let’s get going with the new signings. A good centre half, midfielder, and a striker is needed for the new season. HH