Murphy pleased to open Celtic account with penalty

Daryl Murphy was relieved to opening his goalscoring account for his new club Celtic.

The Irish striker converted from the penalty spot to claim the only goal of the game in last weekend's Clydesdale Bank Premier League game at Motherwell.

Speaking on Channel 67, he said: "Before the game I said to Scott Brown, 'If we get a penalty today I am taking it and that's it'.

"As soon as it was given, I looked straight for the ball, to see who had it.

"Thankfully Sami (Georgios Samaras) was off the pitch at the time, because I think he would have fancied it as well.

"It gives you a lift when you score early in your career at a club and I think it's important for any striker to get off the mark as soon as they can at a new club."

However, Murphy - who joined from Sunderland in the summer - refused to bask in the glory of his winner afterwards, despite the players being given the following day off.

He added: "I don't think you have time to celebrate goals.

"I know we had a day off, but I am still up every morning, dropping the kids off at school, so I thought there was no point going home to go back to bed.

"I thought I might as well come in and do a bit."

 
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