Brendan Rodgers shared insights into the half-time shift that sparked Celtic’s comeback victory over Ross County. The Hoops went into the break trailing 1-0 after Ronan Hale scored a penalty, with a lackluster first-half performance that offered little threat to Ross County goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw.
Rodgers made a triple substitution at the hour mark, which energized Celtic. Alistair Johnston leveled the score in the 75th minute, and Nicolas Kuhn secured the win 12 minutes later with a solo effort, preserving Celtic’s perfect record and keeping them top of the SPFL Premiership.
Reflecting on the turnaround, Rodgers revealed what he told his players at half-time: “I said to them, ‘You’re either looking for an easy game or you’re feeling sorry for yourself, but whatever it is, it’s NOT enough.’ We had to impose our style, get the energy back, and the second half was much better.”
Rodgers acknowledged that Celtic’s first-half display was slow and passive, giving credit to Ross County for their organization. He emphasized that with Celtic dominating possession, they needed to do more with the ball but failed to do so until the second half.
This season, Celtic have shown a better balance in attack, no longer relying solely on Matt O’Riley for goals and assists. Nicolas Kuhn, with six goals and seven assists so far, looks to be reaching O’Riley’s level, while Daizen Maeda has been similarly productive from the left wing. Although Maeda struggled against Ross County, his replacement, James Forrest, stretched the defense, creating the opportunity for Kuhn’s late winner.
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