GRIFFITHS IS FEELING THE PINCH
Celtic striker makes encouraging return to action but Klimala steals the glory in friendly win over Hibs
AS the clock ticked past the 59-minute mark, Leigh Griffiths appeared on the touchline. Cometh the hour mark, cometh the man on his way back from his latest fitness controversy.
With Griffiths being Griffiths, of course, talking points are never far away. And despite an encouraging cameo against Hibs yesterday, the Scotland striker must have been left feeling robbed as team-mate Patryk Klimala denied him a deserved goal on his comeback.
With the scores level at 1-1 courtesy of strikes by Hibs’ Josh Doig and Celtic’s Karamoko Dembele, Griffiths ran onto a ball from Dembele 12 minutes from time. Showing fast footwork, he broke past Adam Jackson before superbly chipping over keeper Kevin Dabrowski. The ball was heading into the net when Klimala made sure by adding the final touch.
The Pole’s greed was no doubt down to him also being desperate to nail down a place in the Celtic starting line-up alongside first choice forward Odsonne Edouard. Encouragingly, however, if Griffiths was annoyed by his goal being blatantly stolen he did not show it. Instead, he knuckled down and helped secure this 3-1 win.
The 29-year-old supplied the corner that looked to have been touched on by Hatem Abd Elhamed for Klimala to head home Celtic’s third and final goal.
The last time Griffiths had featured for Celtic was here at Parkhead on March 7 when his hat-trick in a 5-0 rout of St Mirren sent the championselect 16 points clear at the top of the Premiership.
So confident was he back then that after the game he declared himself ‘born for Ibrox’ as he pleaded to be let loose in the upcoming Old Firm clash with Rangers.
Nobody could have predicted the next time he would be spotted in a green and white jersey would be four months later, following a global pandemic, in a pre-season friendly played behind closed doors with artificial crowd noises piped in to mask the lack of atmosphere. But that was the surreal situation Griffiths found himself in yesterday after coming back into the team after being left out of Celtic’s pre-season trip to France due to reporting back from lockdown overweight. Regardless of performance, his mere presence in a Celtic jersey again was a step in the right direction after Neil Lennon’s tone as he filleted the forward for his lack of professionalism had suggested the troubled sharpshooter was edging towards the last-chance saloon. Yet while he may not have been on the scoresheet he definitely made his mark in a positive manner to leave Lennon (pictured) smiling for a change.
This was the final warm-up match for both sides ahead of the Scottish Premiership starting this weekend, initially behind closed doors.
Hibernian host Kilmarnock on Saturday at Easter Road with Celtic raising the title flag the next day before taking on Hamilton Accies.
With Lennon’s strongest line-up having played 24 hours earlier against Ross County, this was a chance for fringe players to stake a claim.
Among the young starting XI was Ewan Henderson, brother of former Celtic and Hibs midfielder Liam; defender Stephen Welsh, who started a league match against Hamilton last season.
There was Lenzie-born midfielder Scott Robertson, who made his debut in the Europa League group stage tie against Romanian outfit Cluj last December, plus highly rated Kerr McInroy and electric 17-year-old wide man Dembele.
Hibs boss Jack Ross was without several first picks like Ofir Marciano, Christian Doidge, Scott Allan, Lewis Stevenson and new signings Kevin Nisbet, Drey Wright and Alex Gogic.
Celtic were first to threaten when a cross from McInroy right on to the head of Henderson brought out a terrific save from Dabrowski.
Soon after, Dabrowski had to look lively again to smother a skidding shot by Dembele that was made all the more difficult by the teeming Glasgow rain.
But it was Hibs who went ahead on 14 minutes when Ben Stirling sent Daryl Horgan scampering away down the right.
His perfect cross found Doig lurking in space. The youngster took his time before sending a thumping volley first time past Celtic keeper Conor Hazard.
Celtic had looked close to a leveller when Klimala backheeled a cross by Anthony Ralston from the right wing.
Dabrowski saved it but the linesman’s flag was up, to the virtual anger of the piped in fans-in-a-can who whistled in displeasure — albeit after a short time lag.
In a spell of pressure from Celtic, it took a timely intervention from veteran Hibs defender Paul Hanlon to nick the ball from the toes of Dembele as he tried to burst clear in the box.
Ntcham saw a deflected shot fly wide but the French midfielder was soon the architect in his side’s leveller.
Picking out young Dembele in the box, the teenager showed great composure in steadying himself before firing hard past Dabrowski to the keeper’s near side.
But Hazard in the Celtic goal had to show a strong hand to save a deflected Stevie Mallan strike from distance just before the break.
In the second half, Klimala, who opened his Celtic account to rescue a 1-1 draw with Nice over in France last week, saw his header from a corner bounce back off the post.
But the Pole’s moment arrived with 12 minutes left on the clock when he latched onto Griffiths’ goalbound flick and forced the ball over the line for his first ever goal at Celtic Park.
A second soon followed when Klimala headed in from close range at the back post, admittedly via a deflection from Hibs defender David Gray, to wrap up the champions’ pre-season programme.