Griffiths hits ton as Celtic secure spot
LEIGH GRIFFITHS scored his 100th goal for Celtic as they booked their place in the group stage of the Europa League. Boss Brendan Rodgers was disappointed with his side’s performance in the 1-1 draw in the first leg in Lithuania last week but his players responded with a convincing victory at Parkhead. The win was set up in the 27th minute when the Scotland striker curled in a textbook free-kick from 25 yards to reach his century. Midfielder Callum McGregor added a second seven minutes after the break before defender Kristoffer Ajer headed in his first goal for Celtic just after the hour mark to complete a comprehensive 4-1 aggregate win. After being knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers by AEK Athens, Rogers had stressed the need for European football until at least Christmas and his side delivered that with some style, albeit against limited opponents. The Scottish champions join Rangers in today’s draw and both Glasgow clubs being in Europe will add some more spice, if needed, to Steven Gerrard’s first Old Firm game as Ibrox boss on Sunday. Whether Moussa Dembele features is another question. Before the game Rodgers revealed Celtic had rejected a bid for the French striker, with Lyon having confirmed their interest in the 22-year-old on Wednesday night, two days before the deadline. Griffiths led the line with Scott Sinclair and Mikey Johnston, while Olivier Ntcham returned to the starting line-up. It was soon evident that Suduva were happy to defend but a lapse when trying to deal with a Sinclair cross in the 18th minute almost allowed Griffiths to score. Griffiths’ milestone goal came after Jovan Cadenovic fouled McGregor 25 yards from goal after the Hoops midfielder had worked hard to regain possession. The former Hibs forward stepped up and curled a wonderful leftfooted shot past the flailing Kardum to become the first Parkhead player to reach the 100-mark since John Hartson in November, 2005.