Stand-in Riga boss Mihails Koņevs has revealed his surprise at Jeremie Frimpong being left on the bench for the Europa League clash with Celtic.
Konevs was in charge with manager Oleg Kononov back in Russia for personal reasons and he was full of praise for Frimpong after his match-winning performance from the bench.
The wingback created the only goal of the game after replacing the injured James Forrest in the first half in Latvia, with Moi Elyounoussi netting the late winner.
And Konevs admits he couldn't believe it when he saw Frimpong not starting but he was delighted with how his players coped for most of the match.
He said: "It was a good game. Of course, it was painful to let in a counter-attack at the last minute, but I want to say thank you to the guys who gave themselves up and executed the game plan, which we adopted before the game according to the opponent and our abilities.
"Throughout the game, we followed this plan, covering both flanks, which is Celtic's most dangerous weapon, and the center areas. Celtic didn't have a clear chance to score, but with the release of No. 30 [Jeremie Frimpong], which I was most afraid of and thought he would play from the start, dangerous episodes and a goal from the right flank also arose.
"We did well in counter attacks,and at the very end we had the same moment as Celtic - if they had performed a little more accurately, everything could have been different."
The Latvian minnows pushed Celtic all the way until the last minute in the 1-0 defeat and Konevs insists the budget available to the Hoops means his side can be proud of themselves, and reckons it proves football in his country is on the rise.
He added: "We also lacked a little ... maybe £93 million (Celtic's turnover from the 18/19 season). Thanks to the guys who showed not only their character, but also all their skills and showed that the Latvian championship team can also play with such greats as Celtic and claim some results."
