Gordon: I didn’t see Saidy coming
CELTIC keeper Craig Gordon insisted he wasn’t to blame for Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s second goal in last night’s nerveshredding Champions League play-off second g.le T he Scotland stopper saved a penalty early in the match – but was then involved in a shambolic mix-up with Saidy Janko which handed the Israeli champions a second goal and made for a fraught final 40 minutes.
Gordon caught a tame ball into the box then let it go when he collided with his team-mate.
“I didn’t even see Saidy coming,” he said. “I shouted to Kolo [Toure] to let it run and Saidy has come in on my blind side and crashed into me. These things happen but we managed to see the game out.
“I think I did all right, I don’t think there was a lot I could do about the second goal. I thought I handled everything that came in the box and that’s all I can do.”
Celtic captain Scott Brown hailed Gordon’s display as “outstanding”. The Hoops were ultimately grateful to Gordon’s first-half penalty save as they held on for a 5-4 aggregate win to rejoin Europe’s elite following two seasons out of the competition.
Brown said: “We made it tough for ourselves but the big man [Gordon] saved our day once again, an outstanding performance from start to finish and a penalty save as well. The way he has been playing recently is outstanding.
“We managed to dig deep and it was a gutsy performance. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been in the Champions League but we deserve our place.”