YOU’VE BLOWN IT, REF
Lennon in rage after ‘blatant’ handball
And he claimed it denied his Hibs team a result to go with their ‘battering’ of the visitors at Easter Road as Graeme Murty’s men survived a home onslaught to snatch a 2-1 victory.
Former Celtic boss Lennon said last night’s performance was the most dominant
showing by any team he has ever put out against Rangers. But although a string of missed chances during a second-half siege let Murty’s side off the hook, Lennon believes Clancy’s decision to deny the home side a penalty when Bates handled the ball in the box was crucial. ‘It was as clear a handball as you can see,’ he said. ‘I spoke to the ref after the game and he said he didn’t think it was a penalty. So he’s the only one in the ground. He looks to the linesman and the linesman gives that decision. ‘There’s no doubt we’ve been done by that decision. You want officials to get big calls right. It’s blatant. ‘I’ve seen a few handballs, but that’s as close as it gets. It’s hand to ball, he’s even leaned into it. ‘The linesman has seen it, so how he hasn’t called it, I don’t know. Everyone on that side of the ground could see it and you could tell from the reaction.’ Hibs were left baffled by their inability to secure victory, with Lennon singling out goalkeeper Ofir Marciano — at fault for both goals — and the strikers for failing to put away chance after chance. ‘They were battered,’ he said of Rangers. ‘I’ve been involved with Celtic — and that was probably the biggest battering I’ve given them. ‘They camped in for the second half and we controlled it. I’m delighted with the quality. ‘I thought we were sensational and didn’t get what we deserved. Sometimes that’s football. ‘We hit the post twice, worked their goalkeeper, missed good chances in the first half. ‘I think the goalie should do better with the two goals. But we were outstanding, the two wingers in the second half were unplayable. ‘You can’t keep putting in good balls and not scoring. We flashed umpteen balls across the box and they went begging. ‘I never like losing. But the standard of football was outstanding. We deserved at least a point. ‘People were asking me before the game is this a marker. I said no. ‘The marker is over the course of the season. There’s still a lot of football to go. They’ve got to play Celtic, we need to go and win in Aberdeen to stay on their tails. ‘But six points is nothing at this stage of the season.’ Lennon praised Murty for his caretaker handling of the Ibrox club on a night when he secured his fourth victory in a row. He added: ‘Graeme handles himself really well. So I’m genuinely pleased for him.’