Ange Postecoglou reiterated his unswerving belief in Kyogo Furuhashi after the striker sealed Celtic’s sweep into the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup.
The Japanese striker bagged just a second goal in his last nine Hoops outings in the hammering of Motherwell. Two goals from Liel Abada set the holders on their way to the last four before a sublime finish from Reo Hatate clinched the tie. It was left for Kyogo to complete the job having hit the bar beforehand and, although Postecoglou was delighted to see him back on the mark, he didn’t need to see his Asian ace hit the net again to underline his value to the group.
He said: “He’s like all strikers. They go a couple of games without scoring and the world collapses in on them. You are trying to tell them they haven’t lost any of the ability they have and I’ve still been pleased with his general play. He’s been getting in those areas and it’s just a matter of him, like any striker, believing in what we are doing, keep hitting those areas and the goal will come.
“He had a great shot in the first-half and he hit the post last weekend. Those are the fine margins for strikers.
“Probably earlier in the year, they both would have gone in, but the key for me is that I’m still pleased with the way he is playing. He‘s causing problems for the opposition. I’m pleased for him to get the goal, but it doesn’t change my assessment on how he’s been playing. He’s still been a contributor.”
Postecoglou ’s players left the stage clear for Kyogo to end the celebrations with the fans after full-time. Asked if that was in appreciation of their colleague, Postecoglou joked: “I don’t know mate, Kyogo just went in on his own!
“Look, I think there is a general sort of respect among the boys. I left out a couple of guys, one scored a hat-trick [James Forrest], the other a couple of goals [Giorgos Giakoumakis], but we brought in a couple. We all know what we are trying to achieve and that means that no-one is more important than anyone else.”
Kyogo’s goal came after Abada was denied a hat-trick when his shot rebounded off a post and Postecoglou was also glowing about his Israeli ace as he said: “Liel’s a great kid and probably should’ve had a hat-trick.” Hatate’s goal was special and Postecoglou added: “He got a cracker against Motherwell last time so a different kind of one this time.”
Postecoglou again shuffled his Celtic pack, but smiled when asked if it was tough to leave stars out and said: “I don’t tell them, I just avoid them mate. I just put the team up and walk away.
“They all appreciate and understand that if we are going to be successful, playing this kind of football, everyone’s got their role . We still have seven games to go in this stretch before the break and it’s not a matter of me just giving guys a game because I feel sorry for them. I’m putting guys in there because I think we can maintain those levels.”
Motherwell boss Stevie Hammell had few complaints and said: “We have come up against a very good team that’s on a certain level that we can’t compete with, but we wanted to make this game as competitive as we could. The second goal takes the life out of us, takes the life out of the stadium. It deflates us a little bit.”
Postecoglou is now heading back to Hampden for a third straight semi-final and said: “It’s a little bit in the distance, but it’s great that we’ve got it on the horizon.”
READ NEXT:
