Ange Postecoglou confident that European rewards will come for Celtic
Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic had opportunities to win but had to settle for a share of the points with Shakhtar Donetsk.
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Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou says UEFA Champions League wins will come for the Hoops if they keep playing the brand of football they produced in their 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk.
Beaten 3-0 at home last week by Real Madrid, Celtic was keen to kickstart its Group F campaign with a win over the Ukrainian club on Thursday morning (AEST).
However, despite taking a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute via an own goal from Artem Bondarenko, the Hoops had to settle for a draw after Mykhaylo Mudryk equalised for Shakhtar in a game played in Poland due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“More significant than the point was the performance,” former Socceroos coach Postecoglou said.
“We’ll get our rewards if we keep playing that kind of football and showing that kind of commitment … I can’t ask anymore of them.”
Celtic had chances to win the game, with substitutes Georgios Giakoumakis and Daizen Maeda both wasting good second-half opportunities.
“Obviously, we need that second goal and we had good chances to get it,” Postecoglou said.
“You definitely have to earn everything at this level. Every point and every win will take maximum effort from us and for us to be at our best.
“The players really embraced the fact we will have to be at our best all the time for everything we get.”
Socceroos midfielder Aaron Mooy, who was on Wednesday named in Australia’s squad for this month’s two-game series against New Zealand, was a second-half substitute for Celtic.
Real Madrid, 2-0 winners over German club RB Leipzig on Thursday morning, top Group F with six points from two matches.
Celtic is in third spot, five points adrift of the Spanish giants and three behind Shakhtar.
The Hoops must secure a top-two group finish to advance to the knockout stages of the competition.
Originally published as Ange Postecoglou confident that European rewards will come for Celtic
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