Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has explained why James Forrest replaced Nicolas Kuhn at halftime in his side’s 3-0 win over Hibernian yesterday.
It felt like it would be a routine victory for the Hoops when Arne Engels opened the scoring from close range six minutes in, but the visitors came out and had their fair share of opportunities.
Hibs should’ve scored although Kasper Schmeichel stood up to the mark, making several key saves to keep his side in front at the break.
And as the teams emerged for the second 45, veteran wide-man Forrest came on instead of Kuhn, who, other than playing in Alistair Johnston in the lead-up to the Bhoys’ opener, didn’t conjure much in the first half.
Post-match, Rodgers explained his alteration, citing Forrest’s elite ball retention as a key reason why he was introduced: “We were losing too many balls on the right side so to push them back you have to retain the ball,” he said (RecordSport).
“James is probably the best I’ve ever worked with in my career at retaining the ball on the side.
“People will say it’s maturity but no, he was doing it when I was here the first time in 2016. He’s the best player at receiving the ball when it’s tight and keeping that. That allows you to sustain attacks. We gave it away too often in the first half.”
When he came on yesterday, Forrest performed professionally, helping to set up his side’s third of the afternoon.
The 33-year-old won the ball back high up the pitch and smartly played in Kyogo Furuhashi, who expertly found the back of the net after a sublime first touch.
The late goal put some gloss on the victory, which nicely sets Celtic up for what could potentially be a season-defining week.
