IT was a night to forget for Celtic winger James Forrest as Celtic’s miserable European winless run stretched to 13 games.
The Hoops winger put in a selfless 72 minutes before being sent off for a challenge on Andreas Ulmer that brought RB Salzburg a penalty-kick and their third goal in their 3-1 comeback triumph in last night’s Europa League Group B encounter.
Brendan Rodgers’ side had taken the lead inside two minutes through a neat finish from Odsonne Edouard, but fell part in the second-half under a relentless onslaught from the Austrian champions.
Reflecting on the turning point 18 minutes from time, Forrest said: “I thought at the start he was going to give me a free-kick, so you could say it was harsh, but I suppose I fell into him. It was close, but he gave it so quickly he obviously felt he knew the decision.
“But, overall, there is a sense of shock and awe as I felt we were competitive and then it’s three quick goals and we’ve lost 3-1.
“I think that’s harsh. They made the most of their half-chances and when they do that, they then show what happens at this level. It’s a lesson for us against teams of Salzburg’s level.
“We know they are a good side and they showed that by getting to the semi-final of the Europa League last season.”
Forrest added: “At half-time, all the boys were confident, it just got away from us in the second period. Maybe we went on the defensive too much as going on the front foot can sometimes be better. We let things slip a bit and we were punished.
“We are going to get difficult games at home, as well, but we need to start to nicking points away from home.
“Rosenborg away with be hard as will the trip to Germany to face RB Leipzig, but we know we can go there and be positive and get a result.
“Maybe if we’d scored with one or two of the half-chances we created it would make the difference. But we now have two more away games in the group and we need to give our all in them.
“If we were to get that away win it would be great for everyone and allow us to kick on.”
