AUSTON TRUSTY has experienced the extreme highs and the excruciating lows on the Champions League rollercoaster in his brief career at Celtic.
The USA international centre-back made his debut in the elite competition when he replaced Cameron Carter-Vickers in the 84th minute of the 5-1 romp against Slovan Bratislava at Parkhead last month.
Trusty, a £6million recruit from Sheffield United on deadline day, endured the entire 90 minutes-plus as the team were routed 7-1 by Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion just over three weeks ago.
With Carter-Vickers still ruled out with a foot injury, the defender was pitched in once more against Europa League winners Atalanta and was one of the Hoops heroes who fought a resilient rearguard action to gain a point in the goalless deadlock in Bergamo last night.
THE GREAT AMERICAN DREAMER…USA interrnational defender Auston Trusty speaks to Celtic TV after the scoreless stalemate in Bergamo.
Trusty and central defensive partner Liam Scales were singled out for special praise from Brendan Rodgers, as CQN reported earlier today, as the team went a long way to banishing the memory of the uncharacteristic nosedive against the Bundesliga club.
The towering 6ft-plus American said: “It’s a big result. Playing away in the Champions league against a team like them, it’s not an easy task.
“But we were up for it, we were confident and we knew we could come here and get something.
“We showed during the game that we could have got the three points, but, in terms of confidence, this is big for us.
“This team has a lot of confidence with its history and, after the Dortmund game, this is what we needed.”
Reflecting on his double-act with Scales at the heart of the rearguard, Trusty, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “We have good chemistry.
AN ITALIAN JOB WELL DONE…Kyogo Furuhashi, Liam Scales and James Forrest, with Yang Hyun-jun following them, applaud the travelling support after the 0-0 draw with Atalanta.
“I’m new to the club, so I’m still learning everybody’s tendencies and characteristics, but so far we get each other really well.
“That’s really positive when you go to a new club, being able to connect with another centre-back and the other defenders.
“I think it’s testament to Liam that he’s adaptable to me and the rest of the team being adaptable to me, as well.”
With consecutive Champions League home games against RB Leipzig and Club Brugge due next month, Trusty added: “We have to keep our confidence and playing at Celtic Park is a change, it’s way different.
“To have 60,000 fans cheering for us and having our back and the atmosphere, it’s something that really helps the team and I’m looking forward to it.”
CELTIC PROVE POINT IN ITALIAN JOB
