Tomoki Iwata

subbing him was a mistake, we lost control of the midfield once he was off and the only time motherwell got up the park was when he was too far forward at teh corner that cost us the goal.

when your chasing a goal you need to keep the man who runs the midfield on.

 

I don't think he was running the midfield and he had some sloppy moments but will take him time to adjust to our system. I think the issue was taking him off for Mooy who is just not at the races at the moment. Should have brought on Turnbull.

 

Only sloppy moments I seen from him was when teamtes weren't quite on the same wavelenghth when trying passes. Not his fault. He ran that midfield today

 

Aye that one to Maeda and one second half by the north stand halfway line..

Apart from that I thought he was our motm today. I really like him..

An assist on the board as well..

 

He didn't run the midfield, if he was running the midfield he would have been more aware of what his teamates were doing around him and not given the ball away as much as he did. The midfield was as usual run by McGregor who had to swap places and move back to his usal place early on because Iwata wasn't getting a handle on things. No biggie, it wasn't working, the players knew it and made the onfield change necessary.

 

I didn’t think he should have been subbed. Mooy was a downgrade

 

Had a hand in a lot of our better moves. Soon as he came off we became utterly stale. Ange got it wrong to take him off.

 

I would have kept him on today, haksabanovic was poor, and Maieda had an off day along with orielly.

 

As others have said, Ange made a mistake taking him off. Needs to start next week.

 

O' Reilly had a good game today, unfortunately he lost possession just before they scored. He looked really disappointed to be subbed, and thats what we want to see.

 

I like Oreilly, but his last few games aren't at the standards he set at the start of the season, never created enough for me.
Hence why he got subbed.

 

Tomoki Iwata reveals where Celtic went wrong and why it won't be same against Rangers
Tomoki Iwata believes Celtic will regroup and right the wrongs of a 1-1 draw with Motherwell in time for Sunday’s huge Scottish Cup semi-final clash against Rangers.




Ange Postecoglou’s team dropped points in surprising fashion in their cinch Premiership encounter with the Steelmen, failing to build on a first-half opening goal from Callum McGregor. They were pegged back in the second half by Kevin van Veen’s equaliser and despite dominating possession thereafter, they could not find a way through a disciplined Motherwell backline. It was the first time that Celtic have dropped points at home in the league this season and Iwata knows restoring their usual levels will be required at Hampden against their fierce Glasgow rivals.

“Of course I am disappointed to only draw the match,” said Iwata. “Everything started from the period after we scored our first goal, because we couldn’t score another one. I think we made the game difficult by ourselves. Personally speaking, I couldn’t get involved as much as I wanted in the attacking situations during the match. I think I have to improve on that in the future. As a team, as I said before, we should have created more chances. Also, from the chances we did create, we should have scored. That’s what I think was missing in comparison with the last few games.”


Celtic defeated Rangers 2-1 at Hampden back in February to win the Viaplay Cup and overcame them 3-2 at home a few weeks ago to all but seal the Premiership crown. Japanese midfielder Iwata knows how vital victory is for the club’s aspirations of landing more silverware. “We definitely have time until the next game,” he said. “We just have to review what happened in this game and try again to do our attractive football. Getting a result is very important. Every minute in the game is going to be important for us. So we will try and take the opportunity to do everything we can. Our football is very attractive, I think. We put in 100 per cent and we just try to win the game every time.”

Iwata, a January signing from Yokohama F Marinos in his homeland, has been involved in the past two matches against Rangers and started against Motherwell once again in the absence of compatriot Reo Hatate, who is struggling to be fit for the Scottish Cup showdown. “I have played twice in the derby, in the League Cup final and in the league derby here at home,” said Iwata. “There were very good atmospheres in both of the games. Of course, though, it’s very important that we get the result. It’s not just about playing in a good atmosphere. Personally, I just need to prepare as well as I can for the next game. I enjoy the pressure because this is something you don’t really get often. But at the same time, I just want to perform well in each game. That’s what I need to do in the following games.”

Iwata arrived in Scotland a J-League champion and was voted the best player of the season. Nicknamed “the tank” by his team-mates, he is keen to add more medals to his collection. “Winning titles in Japan and getting the player of the year award was pretty precious to me,” he said. “Coming here, though, I had to switch my head again. Now I’m with Celtic, I’m trying to achieve something here but nothing has been done yet.”

 

Exactly the one I was thinking of, when he tried to play in between the LB and LCB and Maeda checked his run. Other than that he was very good. Nice wee bit if skill as well to set up McGregors goal

 

Must've been watching a different game form the rest of us bud but hey ho

 

Methinks we might see a long-range goal from Iwata. Afterall, tanks have cannons for long-range fire.

 

He will defo be starting this Sunday. Be the same midfield as the weekend there and I think he will more then be able to handle it.

 

My only gripe about him thus far is the fact he either can't or is too scared to have a shot from range, he's got a fantastic ability to make space for himself and other players. If he could utilise that better, he'd be a complete baller.

 

Would like to see us give him a run at centre back. No the tallest but strong, quick, aggressive and good on the ball and he basically won player of the year in that position.

 

I was thinking that too. Either there or at right full back as he has also played there and right of a back three if I am not mistaken?

I feel like his physical presence, being decent in possession and mobility are things we could do with in the team whilst missing key players like Johnston and CCV the now.