CELTIC full-back Jeremie Frimpong is on his way to becoming one of the cult favourites among the Parkhead support. The enthusiastic winger/fullback – no-one quite knows what bracket to place him in, including himself – further endeared himself to the club yesterday with the opening goal that sent Celtic on their way to a fairly comfortable win over Hibs.
“I was just delighted to score my first home goal,” said Frimpong. “It was really good, the team played amazing and we deserved it. I’ve been practising in training - practise makes perfect.”
The 19-year-old was sent off in last weekend’s Betfred League Cup final and conceded a penalty with his barge into the back of Alfredo Morelos but he has insisted that he has already put it to the back of his mind.
READ MORE: How the Celtic players rated in their 2-0 win over Hibernian
“It was amazing,” he said. “I got a red but I got over it and played today. We won it and I’m pleased. The manager said to not worry about it and said I played well. It’s always good when you get the manager on side. I was just happy overall. I won the first final so that was amazing.”
With Celtic able to resubmit a new squad list to Uefa for the knockout stages of the tournament, it will say much about Frimpong’s change in status at the club that he can fully expect to be on it. Celtic will discover who they play in the first knockout tie at noon today when the draw is made and Frimpong is excited about the opportunity to make his debut for the club in that environment.
“I’m really excited to play in Europe – it’s going to be a good experience for me,” he said. “It’s been alright (watching in Europe). I trust my team to go out there and do the job.
“I was focused on this game so I’m just happy to win. We’re a great team so it’s not easy for teams to beat us.
“The fans are amazing so to score in front of them was the best feeling. When I step on the pitch I’ll keep doing what I’m doing."
Meanwhile, Martin Boyle has admitted that the Easter Road side didn’t do enough to take anything from the game. “The way they move the ball, coupled with their movement off the ball, made it really tough for us,” he said. We got punished for giving the ball away in two crucial areas. That is what cost us at the end of the day.
READ MORE: Celtic 2-0 Hibernian: Five things we learned
“I felt like we were coming into the game but then we gave the ball away in a counter attack and we were made to pay. We wanted to be on the front foot and try and hurt Celtic the best we could. But at the same time we were a bit too open today and we got punished for it.”
Boyle thought he had opened the scoring for Hibs – which would have led to an entirely different game – in the opening period. “I was about to celebrate when I saw the ball go wide. The game could have gone either way if that had gone in but it didn’t and there’s no point looking back on it. I don’t think we created enough clear cut chances today to win the game.
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