Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Anthony Ralston [1] | ||
Date of birth | 16 November 1998 | ||
Place of birth | Bellshill, Scotland | ||
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [2] | ||
Position(s) | Right-back | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Celtic | ||
Number | 56 | ||
Youth career | |||
2007–2015 | Celtic | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015– | Celtic | 69 | (5) |
2015–2016 | → Queen's Park (loan) | 10 | (1) |
2018 | → Dundee United (loan) | 11 | (1) |
2019–2020 | → St Johnstone (loan) | 22 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2016 | Scotland U19 | 6 | (0) |
2017 | Scotland U20 | 5 | (0) |
2017–2018 | Scotland U21 | 5 | (0) |
2021– | Scotland | 8 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 01:05, 29 February 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:34, 22 March 2024 (UTC) |
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.
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]
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]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Celtic | 2015–16 | Scottish Premiership | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2016–17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
2017–18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
2018–19 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | ||
2019–20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
2020–21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
2021–22 | 28 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 5 | ||
2022–23 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
2023–24 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
Total | 69 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 101 | 7 | ||
Queen's Park (loan) | 2015–16 | Scottish League Two | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
Dundee United (loan) | 2017–18 | Scottish Championship | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 2 |
St Johnstone (loan) | 2019–20 | Scottish Premiership | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
Career total | 112 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 154 | 10 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Scotland | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
2022 | 5 | 1 | |
2023 | 1 | 0 | |
2024 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 8 | 1 |
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 June 2022 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | Armenia | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B |
Celtic
William Dodds is a Scottish football coach and former player who was most recently the manager of Scottish Championship club Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Angelos "Ange" Postecoglou is a soccer manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
Tomas Petar Rogic is an Australian former professional footballer.
Benjamin Kevin Siegrist is a Swiss professional footballer, who plays in the Scottish Premiership for Celtic as a goalkeeper. He was a member of the Switzerland squad at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and went on to represent the Swiss Under-21s. In 2009, Siegrist was part of his nation's FIFA U-17 World Cup winning side, during which he also received the competition's inaugural Golden Glove award for best goalkeeper. During seven years in the Aston Villa Academy Siegrist undertook a series of short-term loans to English Football League and Conference sides. After a spell in the Swiss Super League with Vaduz, Siegrist signed for Scottish club Dundee United in 2018.
Callum William McGregor is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Celtic, which he captains, and the Scotland national team. He has previously played for Notts County on loan and has represented Scotland at every youth international stage and at senior level.
Aidan Robert Nesbitt is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Falkirk.
Greg John Taylor is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Celtic and the Scotland national team. He was in the Rangers youth system but was released and then signed for Kilmarnock, where he made his senior debut. After three seasons in the Kilmarnock first team, Taylor was sold to Celtic in September 2019. After playing regularly for the Scotland under-21 team, Taylor made his full international debut for Scotland in June 2019.
Vasilis Cornelius Barkas is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Eredivisie club Utrecht and the Greece national team.
Tomoki Iwata is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Celtic and the Japan national team.
João Pedro Neves Filipe, known as Jota, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad.
Michael Andrew Johnston is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Celtic. Born in Scotland, he plays for the Republic of Ireland national team.
Matthew Sean O'Riley is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Celtic. Born in England, he plays for the Denmark national team.
Kyogo Furuhashi, often known mononymously as Kyogo, is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Japan national team.
David Turnbull is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Cardiff City and the Scotland national team. He began his career at Motherwell before moving to Celtic in 2020 where he won the three Scottish domestic competitions twice each; he also won both the major Young Player of the Year awards. He joined Cardiff in February 2024.
Oh Hyeon-gyu is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the South Korea national team.
Reo Hatate is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Japan national team.
Stephen Welsh is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Scottish Premiership club Celtic.
The 2021–22 Scottish Premiership was the ninth season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football, and the 125th edition overall of the top national league competition, not including one cancelled due to World War II. Celtic claimed the league trophy back after an outstanding run with a 1–1 draw with Dundee United on 11 May enough to confirm them as champions.
Liel Abada is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for MLS side Charlotte and the Israel national team.
The 2021–22 season was Celtic's 128th season of competitive football.