LIAM SCALES showed the Celtic forwards how it was done – for the second successive season.
The Republic of Ireland international defender celebrated an unheralded double when he whipped in a low angled drive into the Sturm Graz net on the hour mark to level and throw the Hoops a lifeline.
It was Brendan Rodgers’ side’s first European goal at Parkhead in this campaign after firing blanks in the dire 2-0 loss to Sporting Braga earlier in the month.
Coincidentally, it was Scales who led by example in the previous season when he headed in the breakthrough goal against Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League encounter in September last year. That effort inspired the side to a rousing 5-1 triumph.
HOOP HOOP HOORAY…Liam Scales is Celtic’s big noise – again.
And it had a similar effect on the team on this latest occasion with Benjamin Nygren gliding in a close-range header four minutes later following an exquisite left-wing corner-kick delivery from the impressive Arne Engels.
Scales deservedly picked up the Man of the Match honour and said afterwards: “I was coming up for the corner and they took it quick so I just decided to continue my run and it fell to me.
“I was delighted to get the goal and it’s what we needed at that stage of the game.
“The manager said he was delighted with the level of performance. It was a great result, but the level of performance was there that was missing in the last couple of weeks.”
Scales, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “We created a lot of chances, we played at a good tempo, we won our duels and, overall, it was a lot better than it has been.
“I’m just happy with the result. “
After picking up his top player award, the no-nonsense centre-back added: “These little things are nice, but the result was what we needed.”
