JAMES FORREST is on stand-by for his SIXTY-SEVENTH Champions League appearance for Celtic against Lazio tonight.
The 32-year-old evergreen winger made his debut in Europe’s most prestigious competition in 2012/13 and he has been involved in the tourney ever since.
Forrest got the nod from Neil Lennon to play in the goalless draw against Benfica at Parkhead on September 19 2012 to make his bow in the group stages of the glitzy tourney.
ROARING SUCCESS…James Forrest runs away in delight after scoring the winner against Rosenborg in the second leg Champions League qualifier in Norway in August 2017.
He netted a memorable last-gasp winner against Karagandy in a 3-2 aggregate success in Glasgow in a thrilling play-off victory on August 28 2013 and also netted against Ajax in a 2-1 triumph in the section that season.
Forrest had three outings under Ange Postecoglou last season and is hoping to figure at some stage against the Serie A outfit to maintain the remarkable sequence.
The Scotland international has notched eight goals in the top-lever arena with one of the most unforgettable coming against Rosenborg in Norway on August 2 2017 with Brendan Rodgers in charge. His timing was perfect when he struck in the 69th minute with an angled whizzbang drive to give the Hoops a 1-0 victory after a scoreless stalemate in Glasgow in the first leg.
Forrest’s last strike didn’t bring as much joy when he netted in the 4-3 home loss to Cluj on August 13 2019 after a 1-1 draw away from home in Romania. The defeat dumped Lennon’s side out of the elite competition.
THAT’S MY BHOY…James Forrest congratulates Luis Palma on his first goal for Celtic in the 2-1 victory at Motherwell. Matt O’Riley, who claimed the stoppage-time winner, waits his turn.
Rodgers must now ponder the experience of Forrest over the exhuberance of Luis Palma, who scored his first goal for the club in the 2-1 win over Motherwell on Saturday, or fellow-New Bhoy Yang Hyun-jun.
The veteran Celt replaced the South Korean at Fir Park at the interval with the summer recruit failing to convince in his 45 minutes on the pitch.
If Forrest gets the vote from the Irishman, the team could line up like this: Hart; Johnston, Phillips, Scales, Taylor; O’Riley, McGregor, Hatate; Forrest, Kyogo and Maeda.
Watch this space!
* DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Celtic v Lazio this evening – only in your champion CQN.
