Celtic supporters experienced every emotion possible during their Scottish Cup semi final victory over St Mirren.
That included Anthony Ralston, who delivered a standout performance at Hampden, even getting his name on the scoresheet before half time.
At that stage, Celtic had raced into a 2-0 lead, only to be pulled back and dragged into extra time, before exploding into life and sealing a 6-2 win.
The sheer chaos reflected Celtic’s season as a whole, and Ralston was honest enough to point out the team’s “negative” approach that allowed St Mirren back into the game.
“Then we kind of had that period, where I felt after the first goal slightly and after the second goal,” said Ralston.
“I felt we kind of just went into a negative way of playing, in terms of we weren’t going after them as much. Negative between our actual play.”
Anthony Ralston admits Celtic were ‘negative’ against St Mirren in Scottish Cup semi final:
Celtic fans, pundits and even rivals have all been vocal in saying that the Scottish champions have not quite hit their levels this season.
While recruitment has taken plenty of criticism, another major concern has been the team’s overall style of play.
It has not helped that there have been three different managers in the dugout, starting with Brendan Rodgers, with Martin O’Neill stepping in twice during the campaign.
But even with O’Neill in charge for a number of months, the team’s approach has still looked inconsistent, often grinding results rather than controlling matches.
Speaking to Celtic TV, Ralston addressed the issue directly and admitted that at 2-0, ‘we kind of just went into a negative way of playing, in terms of we weren’t going after them as much,’ which tells its own story.
“I thought we started the game strong,” said Ralston. “Everything that we set out to do was going well. Obviously, getting the early goal was massive for us.
“Then we kind of had that period, where I felt after the first goal slightly and after the second goal, I felt we kind of just went into a negative way of playing, in terms of we weren’t going after them as much. Negative between our actual play.
“That’s something we can access between ourselves, if I am being completely honest.
“In the end, the boys showed terrific character. We have shown it all through the years, and why we have been successful.
“When they get that first goal, pretty sure it was quite early on-ish in the second half, like you said, their tails are up. Then it becomes even more nervy, it’s about dealing with that aspect, which, in fairness to us, in the main, we did well, because they score in the 93rd minute, so it was a bit of a kick in the teeth.
“That goes back to what I was saying about the mentality that we have shown, in terms of we can concede a goal that late on, go into extra time and then come out by scoring four or five. It’s hats off to all of the players.”