Yahoo News Auston Trusty treasures personal Celtic 'hat-trick' in night he will never forget at Parkhead
Auston Trusty bagged his own personal 'hat-trick' on a night he will never forget at Parkhead.
Brendan Rodgers turned to the USA international in the final stages of the thumping five-star display against Slovan Bratislava as the Scottish champions got off the mark in the newly revamped Champions League in the perfect style. The Hoops went into the occasion as heavy favourites - a different kind of pressure than they are used to at Europe's top table - and they showed exactly why.
Liam Scales got the fans off their feet early on as he headed home from an Arne Engels corner. The scoreline remained at just one going into the break but a fast start had the Hoops double their advantage just two minutes into the second period. Brilliant winger play from Nicolas Kuhn ended with a ball across goal being turned home from close-range by Kyogo Furuhashi. Record signing Engels - who netted on his first start against Hearts at the weekend from the penalty spot - repeated the same trick to make it three with Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah both adding further goals after a brilliant effort from Kevin Wimmer for the visitors.
Heading into the final five minutes, Rodgers turned to his bench and called upon Trusty to make his debut. The defender arrived for a big fee but has had to be patient due to the form of Scales alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers. It was a moment the stopper will never forget as he took to social media to hail his own treble of achievements.
He posted on Instagram: "Celtic debut. Champions League debut. Dream come true. A night of many firsts that I will never forget. Just a boy from Media,PA #TrustyTheProcess."
Speaking after the match, boss Rodgers said: “To get that scoreline at this level is a massive testament to the players and their mentality. I thought it the first-half we created some good chances and obviously got in front, but we weren’t as quick with the ball and our positioning – the structure was out of sync a little bit.
'But we were still good value and had some other good chances, but in the second half – Wow!' Just the intensity and the hunger and the greed of the team, and then the quality for the goals was absolutely superb, so it was a great night for everyone.
“If you look at the statistics in the game, that backs up the scoreline as well, and I thought in every aspect of the game we were excellent. You have to respect that no matter how dominant we were, with about 60% possession, that it’s Champions League level, so you have to expect you’re going to have to work, you’re going to have to shift, to slide, and you’re going to have to be brave, and the players did that magnificently.”
