ON THE EDGE
Rodgers praying Griffiths will be fit for second leg after stalemate
CELTIC face a race against time to get striker Leigh Griffiths fit for next week’s fraught Champions League trip to Norway.
The Scottish champions suffered a night of frustration in a goalless home draw with Rosenborg; a combination of injuries and suspension for £30million striker Moussa Dembele and Scotland forward Griffiths forcing Brendan Rodgers to pitch midfielder Tom Rogic up front.
Kare Ingebrigtsen’s side scorned golden chances to snatch an away goal in the second half and now the Parkhead boss will concentrate on getting Griffiths back to fitness for the return leg of their third qualifying round tie after Dembele was
ruled out until September with a recurrence of an old hamstring problem. And Rodgers remains confident his team can exploit more space away from home to advance to the play-off round, saying: ‘It was a little bit frustrating we couldn’t get the win, but 0-0 is never a bad result in Europe. ‘It’s important that, if you can’t score, you don’t concede. ‘We were up against it a wee bit without strikers, but they had a level of control and have shown an ability to be patient and wait for the openings. ‘You can see they are a good side. But they will also know that they’ll need to come out a little bit more than they did when they are at home. ‘That opens the space. I think we scored more goals away from home last season, so yes, it’s evenly balanced, but we’ll be another week fitter.’ Celtic were visibly unsettled by the absence of a focal striker, with Craig Gordon proving the busier of the two goalkeepers. Blighted by the loss of his two key forwards at a critical juncture, Rodgers refused to rule out a move into the transfer market, but admitted the fitness of Griffiths — suspended for last night’s match — is the more pressing priority. ‘We’ll see with Leigh,’ he continued. ‘Even if he was available for this game, he couldn’t have played due to a calf strain. ‘I would think Dembele is out until September. Of course it’s a concern when you haven’t got strikers that are fit, but I can’t worry about it so much. I need to focus on finding a way to get a result. ‘I thought Tom did well. We weren’t really playing him as a striker. He played a withdrawn role slightly ahead of normal and I was asking the wingers to come in and penetrate a little. ‘I thought at times our general play was very good. It was just that little bit around the edge of the box where when you have a natural striker they maybe get the ball and have a shot. ‘Maybe in just that final section of the field, we just missed that. But we will try to find a way next week.’ A long-term ailment for Griffiths could force another move into the transfer market, however, as Rodgers conceded: ‘We’ll assess it and if we don’t think we’re going to get the response from Leigh, then we may have to look at it, if it’s going to be for a sustained period of time.’