Celtic delivered some exceptional individual displays as they clinched a 1-0 victory over Rangers in the season’s opening derby.
The midfield duo of Callum McGregor and Matt O’Riley orchestrated the game brilliantly, while Alistair Johnston, Gustaf Lagerbielke, and Liam Scales fortified the defence with commendable efforts.
Even Anthony Ralston put in a great performance when he came on to replace the Canadian right-back.
However, it was goalkeeper Joe Hart who truly captured the Celtic fans’ admiration. Following a shaky pre-season and mounting calls for an additional goalkeeper signing, Hart silenced his critics with a commanding performance against Rangers. His leadership, adept sweeper role, and timely saves were pivotal for Celtic.
Former Celtic shot-stopper Dorus De Vries, a Brendan Rodgers’ recruit during his initial spell at the club, heaped praises on Hart.
As quoted by RecordSport, he used Craig Gordon’s improvement under Rodgers and goalkeeper coach Stevie Woods as an example and expects Joe Hart to follow in his path.
“I don’t think you ever stop learning and, looking at Joe, I always liked him.
“He has so much experience and, importantly, he also has so much passion for the game. You can see it on his face when he goes onto the pitch and when he’s out there. Joe has that burning desire to always be the best he can be and that is what he has shown at Celtic.
“You like to see a goalkeeper with personality and he has it a lot. Joe is one of those guys who, even though he is a fantastic goalkeeper at the moment, he looks to get better and better and keeps his eyes and ears open. He’s at that level and has done so well in the past even when he had a knockback in the past with all the Man City stuff and, at the time, Celtic was a great step for him.
“He would have been aware of what the club was capable of, but once you sign, you really feel it. It’s big and you sense it. Joe would have sensed and noticed it, the expectancies. I see him improve and he was already an exceptional goalkeeper.
“What a great addition to the club and performer now and I am sure he will still take every information from Brendan and Woodsy on board and keep improving, even though he is already magnificent.
“Woodsy is very good. He sets high standards of himself. He wants the goalkeepers to be better and improve them and is very focused on it. He’s also in direct contact with the gaffer. He speaks well and listens even better.
“You look back to my time at the club with Craig Gordon. You could see Craig develop even at a later stage of his career. Woodsy helped him. We worked together as a unit and we wanted to push ahead and improve to help the team and get better. Craig took that challenge brilliantly and he was working with his footwork constantly. All of a sudden, he was really good with it.”
