LENNY’S RELIEF AS MORELOS IS OFF TARGET
Hibernian Rangers
0 0 NEIL LENNON breathed a sigh of relief after Alfredo Morelos showed everything against Hibs except his goal scoring ability.
Rangers slipped from the summit of the Premiership after a goalless draw at Easter Road but Steven Gerrard still hailed their performance as one of the best of the season.
Morelos (below), back after suspension, missed a string of chances and was denied twice in the first half by the brilliance of Hibs keeper Adam Bogdan.
Lennon lauded the pedigree of the little Colombian before the game and admitted he was relieved he didn’t add to his tally of 17 goals already in the campaign.
He added: “Morelos was always a threat. He was very, very good. I was singing his praises before the game and I was glad he didn’t have his shooting boots on because he was a real threat.
“It was a great point in the end and we rode our luck at times. We started well and then Rangers came on very strong.
“Rangers did the dirty bits of the game a lot better than us, although that is maybe to be expected given the size of the club and their finances.
“I’m not overly satisfied with the performance but under the circumstances taking four points off Rangers and Celtic within three days is very, very pleasing.”
Rangers may have won only once on the road against a top six rival this season but Gerrard declared himself delighted with their display.
However, it came at a cost as Scott Arfield limped off at half-time with a hamstring injury that could sideline him for the rest of the year, including the Old Firm tie on December 29.
Gerrard said: “We were excellent for the majority of the game and I was really pleased and proud of the performance.
“I was disappointed with the result because we were so dominant and created the best chances in the first half as well as the second.”
Gerrard played down penalty claims near the end after a shot by Morelos appeared to come off the arm of Hibs’ sub Mark Milligan in the box. But he and even Lennon were less complimentary on a wild challenge by Ryan Porteous on Lassana Coulibaly that ref Craig Thomson decided only merited a yellow. Gerrard added: “I was upset with the tackle because he didn’t try to play the ball.” CELTIC roared back to the Premiership summit but will find out today if Odsonne Edouard is out of their crunch festive triple-header.
Manager Brendan Rodgers is sweating over a striking crisis after his French ace limped off in the first period.
With Leigh Griffiths on the sidelines due to personal issues, Edouard is the only recognised out-and-out striker in the squad.
Rodgers must now wait to discover if the 20-year-old (inset) can face Dundee, Aberdeen and Rangers as he said: “We’ll see. He just felt a tightness round his abductor so we’ll assess that in the next 24 hours.
“It’s where we’re at and there’s not a great deal we can do. It’s been unfortunate for Odsonne because he’s had to play a lot more games than I’d have wanted him to because he’s been the only real striker.
“When you lose any player it’s a concern but he’s played a lot of games and we’ve not been able to rest him so it’s probably a little bit of fatigue.”
Edouard’s injury was the only blemish on an evening when the champions returned to the top of the table.
Scott Sinclair’s penalty came between strikes from youngsters Anthony Ralston and Mikey Johnston and Rodgers was full of praise for his kids. He said: “Ralston was great after getting back to the level of playing and training he was at a year or so ago. He’s a player I really liked. I watched him grow and, if you remember, I put him in against PSG in the Champions League and he did very well.
“He later had an injury and he was never quite the same after coming back from it but he got some games on loan to Dundee United. “Then it was really about timing. He needed to improve but he’s stuck with it and improved by working hard.
“His goal was a fantastic finish and young Mikey got his goal to finish off a really good move of quick passing and combinations. It was great for those young boys who have trained with us a lot to make their contributions, which will help their careers here.
“They are growing all of the time and it was a good night’s work as we played very well, particularly in the first half.
“We’re getting to the end of an exhausting period but the players were bright.”
Rodgers, who played down the significance of returning to the top at this stage of the campaign, also offered special mention to skipper Scott Brown.
The manager presented his captain with a jersey pre-match to commemorate his 500th appearance and said: “We gave Scott a round of applause in the dressing room because to play that number of games for a club like this is fantastic.”