Anthony_Ralston

Anthony Ralston

Anthony Ralston

Scottish footballer

Anthony Ralston (born 16 November 1998) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Scotland national team.

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Club career

Part of the youth system at Celtic since the age of eight,[3] Ralston made his debut for the first team on 11 May 2016, in a 2–1 defeat against St Johnstone.[4] He scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 Scottish League Cup win over Kilmarnock on 8 August 2017.[5] He made further appearances early in the 2017–18 season, including a UEFA Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain,[6] but then suffered a knee injury in late September.[7] Ralston signed a long-term contract with Celtic in December 2017, with the deal due to run until the end of the 2021–22 season.[7]

On 16 March 2018, Ralston joined Dundee United on an emergency loan until the end of the 2017–18 season, a side challenging for promotion from the Championship up to the Premiership.[8] He made his debut on 20 March, in a 3–2 loss in the league to Queen of the South.[9] In 15 appearances, he helped United reach the semi-final play-off for promotion, scoring two goals, albeit the side lost to Livingston in the semi-final play-off.[9]

On 2 September 2019, Ralston moved to St Johnstone on a season-long loan.[10] Upon his return from the St Johnstone loan, Ralston played in only one game for Celtic during the following season, coming in a 0–0 draw against Livingston when several squad regulars were missing due to a Covid-19 isolation issue,[11] and when centre-half Kristoffer Ajer then loanee Jonjoe Kenny were selected at right-back ahead of him following the sale of Jeremie Frimpong, it appeared his time with the club would be coming to an end.[12]

At the start of the 2021–22 season under new manager Ange Postecoglou, Ralston signed a contract extension until May 2022 and started in both legs against FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round.[13][14] Media outlets praised his performances in the early part of the season, following goals against Hearts and Dundee.[15] On 2 November 2021, he signed a new long-term contract with Celtic, keeping him at the club until 2025.[3][12]

On 15 December 2021, Ralston headed in a 97th-minute winner against Ross County in a 2–1 away victory for a Celtic side that had been reduced to ten men.[16] It has been assessed as one of the most important moments of the season for Celtic as they went on to win the 2021-22 Scottish Premiership title, as the result kept them within touching distance of Rangers who were four points ahead in the table at that time.[17] At the end of 2022, Celtic signed Canadian Alistair Johnston who quickly became the first-choice right-back, with Ralston's role becoming that of a dependable back-up.

On 26 September 2023, Ralston signed a new four-year contract with Celtic, keeping him at the club until 2027.[18]

International career

Ralston was involved with several Scotland youth squads up to the under-21s.[19]

Selected for the Scotland under-20 squad in the 2017 Toulon Tournament,[20] Ralston played as Scotland beat Brazil under-20s 1–0, which was the nations first ever win against Brazil at any level.[21] The team went on to claim the bronze medal.[22] It was the nations first ever medal at the competition.[23] Selected for the under-21 squad in the 2018 Toulon Tournament.[24] They lost to Turkey under-21s in a penalty-out and finished fourth.[25]

In November 2021 he was called up to the senior squad for the first time ahead of a 2022 World Cup qualifier against Denmark, as a replacement for the suspended Nathan Patterson.[26] He made his international debut in the match[27] as a late substitute for Kieran Tierney.[28] On his second Scotland appearance he scored his first international goal during a Nations League group match against Armenia, assisted by Stuart Armstrong.[29]

Career statistics

Club

As of 28 February 2024 (UTC)[30]
More information Club, Season ...

International

As of match played 22 March 2024[31]
More information National team, Year ...
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ralston goal.
More information No., Date ...

Honours

Celtic

References

  1. [1]
    A Record of Post-war Scottish League Players 1946/47 to 2017/18. 7. John Litster and Scottish Football Historian magazine. 2018.
  2. [2]
    "Anthony Ralston". Celtic F.C. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  3. [3]
    "Delight as Anthony Ralston signs new Celtic contract". Celtic FC. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  4. [4]
    Davie, Scott (11 May 2016). "St Johnstone 2–1 Celtic". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  5. [5]
    "Celtic 5-0 Kilmarnock". BBC. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  6. [6]
    "PSG ace Neymar blanks Celtic teen Anthony Ralston as he tries to shake his hand". Daily Record. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  7. [7]
    "Celtic full-back Anthony Ralston signs deal until 2022". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  8. [8]
    "Anthony Ralston joins Dundee United on emergency loan". Celtic. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  9. [9]
    "Tony Ralston - Player Profile". Arab Archive. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  10. [10]
    "Ralston joins on-loan". St Johnstone F.C. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  11. [11]
    Watt, Martin (17 January 2021). "Celtic 0–0 Livingston". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  12. [12]
    "Anthony Ralston signs Celtic contract extension as reward for early season heroics". Daily Record. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  13. [13]
    Watt, Martin (20 July 2021). "Celtic 1–1 FC Midtjylland". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  14. [14]
    Duncan, Thomas (28 July 2021). "FC Midtjylland 2–1 Celtic". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  15. [15]
    "How Rogic & Ralston have revived careers". BBC Sport. 18 August 2021.
  16. [16]
    "Celtic beat County with last-gasp goal". BBC Sport. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  17. [17]
    "How did Celtic win the Scottish Premiership? Five key reasons for Ange Postecoglou's title success". www.sportingnews.com. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  18. [18]
    "Anthony Ralston signs new four-year deal with the Hoops". www.celticfc.com. Celtic FC. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  19. [19]
    Anthony Ralston at the Scottish Football Association
  20. [20]
    "Scotland squad for Toulon announced". Scottish Football Association. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  21. [21]
    "Toulon semi-final spot would be a dream for Celtic youngster Anthony Ralston". Glasgow Times. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  22. [22]
    "Scotland finish third at Toulon Tournament with 3-0 win". Scottish Football Association. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  23. [23]
    "JULES AND HOLSGROVE TAKE BRONZE WITH SCOTLAND IN TOULON". Reading FC. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  24. [24]
    "Scotland Under-21 squad announced for Toulon tournament". Scottish Football Association. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  25. [25]
    "Scotland finish fourth at the Toulon tournament after shoot-out defeat to Turkey". Scottish Football Association. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  26. [26]
    "Celtic's Anthony Ralston called for Scotland duty against Denmark". The Scotsman. 13 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  27. [27]
    "Scotland 2-0 Denmark: John Souttar and Che Adams fire Tartan Army to home World Cup play-off". Sky Sports. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  28. [28]
    Lindsay, Clive (15 November 2021). "Scotland beat Danes to earn home play-off". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  29. [29]
    Moffat, Colin (8 June 2022). "Scotland 2-0 Armenia: Anthony Ralston revels in special first start at Hampden". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  30. [30]
    "A. Ralston". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  31. [31]
    Anthony Ralston at the Scottish Football Association
  32. [32]
    "Dundee United 1–1 Celtic: Ange Postecoglou's side reclaim league title". BBC Sport. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  33. [33]
    Watt, Martin (7 May 2023). "Heart of Midlothian 0–2 Celtic: Ange Postecoglou's side seal back-to-back titles". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  34. [34]
    Duncan, Thomas (3 June 2023). "Celtic 3–1 Inverness CT: Ange Postecoglou's side win Scottish Cup to claim treble". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  35. [35]
    "Hibernian 1–2 Celtic". BBC Sport.
  36. [36]
    Moffat, Colin (26 February 2023). "Kyogo strikes twice as Celtic beat Rangers in final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
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