FORREST STILL HAS THE BUZZ

Celtic veteran eager for another Euro high

- By Andy Newport

JAMES FORREST was on cloud nine when he grabbed a magical Champions League moment a dozen years ago.

And despite the passing of the seasons, it’s the lure of another European buzz that is keeping the Celtic veteran going in the autumn of his career.

It was back in August 2013 when a 22-year-old Forrest rode to Celtic’s rescue against Kazakh opposition.

Trailing Shakhter Karagandy 2-0 from the first leg, Neil Lennon’s Hoops battled back to level the tie thanks to Kris Commons’ screamer and a strike from Georgios Samaras.

But with extra-time looming, Forrest pounced to grab a 90th-minute winner which propelled Celtic into the group stage of UEFA’s biggest tournament — as well as launching Lennon on a wild stampede down the touchline.

Even now, Forrest still finds it difficult to put his feelings that night into words.

But the desire to sample them all over again has never left the now 34-year-old winger.

“It was massive,” he recalled. “I think the fans that night were really good because we were 2-0 down and we came back here.

“I remember we scored in the first half and the fans erupted, they were really good for the full 90 minutes.