Lennon takes the positives from his makeshift Hoops
CLUJ: Arlauskis, Susic, Burca, Cestor, Paulino, Bordeianu, Deac (Hoban 85), Djokovic (Aurelio 83), Culio, Omrani (Golofca 74), Traore.
Subs not used: Fernandez Collado, Pascanu, Paun, Peteleu.
CELTIC: Gordon, Bauer, Jullien (Ajer 46), Bitton, Bolingoli-Mbombo, Ntcham, Robertson, Morgan (Bayo 67), Johnston (Dembele 72), Sinclair, Griffiths.
Subs not used: Taylor, Forrest, Hazard, Savoury.
Ref: Halis Ozkahya (Turkey); match: Burca; Match rating:
Man of the 6/10
NEIL Lennon insists he got exactly what he wanted from his makeshift Celtic team despite the Hoops suffering the first defeat of their successful Europa League group campaign with a 2-0 loss against Cluj.
The Hoops had already won Group E to secure a last-32 spot before the final fixture at the Dr Constantin Radulescu Stadium, and the Parkhead boss made nine changes to the side which beat Rangers 1-0 in the Betfred League Cup final at Hampden Park on Sunday.
Lennon (below) left a clutch of key players in Glasgow, with 18-year-old midfielder Scott Robertson making his debut, but after four wins and a draw in the section, the visitors went down to second-half goals from defender Andrei Burca and midfielder Damjan Djokovic which secured second for Dan Petrescu’s side.
The Ulsterman said: “Obviously I’m disappointed to lose the game but, in the main, I’m very pleased with what I got out of the game.
“I’m happy to have used the squad tonight because we have so many important domestic games coming up.
“Some players needed the games and needed the 90 minutes. Scott Robertson made his debut and had a terrific debut. For such a young player he showed such maturity and composure.
“My only criticism is that I thought we were very passive at the start of the second half and I’m disappointed to lose a goal from a set-play.
“But overall we’ve had an amazing campaign. The campaign wasn’t about tonight. “The campaign for us was done and dusted and we’ve already won a trophy so I didn’t want to risk injury.
“I wanted to give others some experience and game time and they’ll need that for the games coming up.
“I thought (Olivier) Ntcham was unbelievable, to give him the captaincy and to take on the responsibility the way he did.
“I thought he was top class. I was pleased for Craig Gordon as well, he made some important saves.”
Celtic’s 16-year-old attacker Karamoko Dembele replaced Mikey Johnston in the second half to become the youngest ever player for the club in a European competition.
Former Northern Ireland midfielder Lennon said: “That wasn’t at the forefront of my mind. We think very highly of him.
“I wanted to give him some experience. I want to keep him around the squad because he’s a real talent.”
Academy graduate Robertson claimed that his debut was “a dream come true for me and my family”.
The teenager said: “It was brilliant for me. I was taken aback on Wednesday when I knew I was starting.
“I was a wee bit nervous but mostly it was excitement through the day.
“I thought I was okay. I started the game quite well. It took a while for my second wind to kick in but I thought I grew into the game very well.”