Meļņiks hails Falkirk’s landmark win over Celtic

Deniss Meļņiks says Falkirk’s 2-0 victory over Celtic was the most emotional moment of his career, after completing the full 90 minutes in the Scottish Premiership win on Sunday.

“Right now, this is the best spell of my career. I feel as if I’ve been born again,” the Latvia international told Sportacentrs. “I don’t have the words to describe how I feel. You don’t beat a legendary team like Celtic every day.”

Falkirk moved up to fourth in the table, while Celtic remained top. The result was Falkirk’s first win over Celtic in almost 20 years and extended the club’s league winning run to four matches, a sequence Meļņiks said the side had not achieved for around a decade or more. Fourth place would also be the club’s highest league finish since 1938.

Meļņiks said Falkirk knew Celtic were having difficulties and might struggle on the artificial pitch, but the players went into the match aiming to win. An early goal, after a defensive error in the third minute, helped shape the contest. Celtic had 70% possession, 24 shots to Falkirk’s six and an expected goals advantage of 2.84 to 0.96, but Meļņiks praised his goalkeeper for making about nine saves.

“We knew they would have more of the ball – it’s Celtic,” he said. “We tried to play on the ground and combine, but they pressed well. The early goal was very important. We had to defend deep later, worked hard at the back and were rewarded.”

The 24-year-old joined Falkirk from Auda in the summer and said he is mostly used as a defensive midfielder, with plenty of work off the ball. He added that his contribution is appreciated in Scotland, and spoke of the contrast in attendances with Latvia’s Virsliga, recalling that Falkirk’s away support filled its section for a match in Aberdeen.

Meļņiks also addressed his costly misplaced pass for Latvia against Cyprus in October, which led to a goal in a defeat. He said fatigue may have contributed after three consecutive full matches, and described the error as a technical mistake. “It’s mentally difficult because I want to forget that moment. But it’s reality; it happened,” he said. “One bad pass can ruin everything.”

He has won 16 caps for Latvia and started and completed all four of the national side’s Nations League matches this autumn. Falkirk are due to visit Hearts on 8 November before the international break.

Source: sportacentrs.com