There was a special moment for Portuguese youngster Jota on Thursday night as he scored his first goal for Celtic in front of the home supporters at Celtic Park in the Scottish League Cup.
The Benfica loanee, 22, opened the scoring in a 3-0 win over Raith Rovers which saw The Hoops advance to the semi-finals. For Jota, who has already impressed since arriving in Glasgow, a first goal in Celtic colours as he started and finished the move to put Celtic ahead midway through the first half.
“I was really happy to have scored my first goal at Celtic Park in front of these amazing fans and I’m looking forward to scoring more, assisting more and helping the team as much as I can,” Jota said after the match.
“I thought all the plusses were there and we just have to trust in each other and deliver. And I think that’s what happened tonight and we are through to the next round, but we are just waiting for the next game.
“My first goal is to be professional and help deliver results for the team. And after that I think everything just comes together and hopefully we can get a lot of wins.”
Great moment last night as Jota got his first Celtic goal, and it was in front of the home fans pic.twitter.com/sznSyo5IQb
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) September 24, 2021
Celtic have endured an inconsistent start to the new season, but Jota insists things are in place for the team to improve. On a personal level, the settling in period has gone well, although the Lisbon-born winger admits there is one problem.
“First of all, it’s very cold so I’m still trying to adapt! [laughs] I think one more week and I will be fine! But talking seriously, the team is really good, the plusses are very good, I like the way we play football and I think we just need a bit more time to know each other because it’s a completely new team with new players.
“We are building something good here and we will deliver the results.”
By Sean Gillen