Matt O’Riley delighted to progress in the Scottish Cup
Buckie Thistle did everything in their power to keep Celtic out, but with the quality of the likes of Matt O’Riley in the Hoops line-up it was always inevitable that the Scottish Cup holders would break the Highlanders down.
With the Highland League side keeping Brendan Rodgers’ team out up until the 25th minute, O’Riley eventually unlocked their defence with a killer pass to set up the opening goal for Paulo Bernardo in a 5-0 win.
O’Riley then set up the second for Odin Holm shortly after as Celtic began to flex their muscles, eventually scoring five goals to progress to the next round of the Scottish Cup.
The Denmark internationalist spoke to Celtic TV post-match and said he was happy with the way the team went about their business as they move into the fifth round.
The Scottish Cup Player of the Match said: “It was about a good mentality going into the game and setting the tone right from the start.
‘We got three goals in the first-half and it probably should have been more but it was pretty good overall.’
“We knew it was going to be a low block and similar to other teams in the league in that sense – we come up against that a lot so we know how to find the solutions.
“It was tough to break them down when they play with 11 men on the edge of the box and there’s not much space.
“I tried to take the best decisions for the team and create chances, that’s my job.
“Match fitness isn’t the same as training and today was a good chance to do that (get fitness) in tough conditions and on a heavy pitch, so it will be good for the body.”
