Elyounoussi saves sloppy Celtic from ‘unthinkable’ exit

NEIL LENNON last night hailed Mohamed Elyounoussi for the last-ditch strike which saved Celtic from an ‘unthinkable’ Europa League exit. A late replacement for Odsonne Edouard, the Norwegian international sparked relief for Scotland’s champions when he swept home a 90th-minute winner against Riga FC as extra-time beckoned. Fellow substitute Jeremie Frimpong made the difference for the Parkhead side, a huge assist for Elyounoussi teeing up a trip to Bosnia to face FC Sarajevo in the play-off round next week. A relieved Lennon admitted: ‘You start thinking about extra-time — but I thought we’d get a goal eventually. ‘The timing of the goal was perfect and we’re all delighted to have negotiated a tough place and go into the play-offs. ‘We’ve dealt with the tie very

well. I thought we wore them down. Of course, at 0-0 you’re always (worried) they get something from a set-play or a deflection, something. ‘But they tired and I thought we would’ve been comfortable in extra-time if it had come to that. To get it done in the 90 minutes, I’m very pleased. ‘Riga just operated a low block for the majority of the game and it was tough for us to get through it. They didn’t want to come out and play. ‘I’m really glad we broke them down in the end. ‘We just lacked that finishing touch. But in the end, on a difficult pitch, we’ve played well and won and I’m absolutely delighted for the players. ‘It was a big result. We knew going out of Europe was unthinkable. It was another important away win in Europe for us — and now we’ve got another one to negotiate.’ Left out of the starting XI after a switch to a new 3-5-2 formation, Elyounoussi replaced a under-par Edouard up front and took his chance. ‘I can’t speak highly enough of him,’ added Lennon. ‘We took him out of the team for a couple of games and he’s trained brilliantly over the last week or so. ‘He took the goal fantastically well and he’s a great example to the rest of the squad. His attitude is great. ‘He’s worked really hard in training and I thought he looked good tonight. ‘He was probably unfortunate not to get on a bit earlier. But he’s come up with a really important goal for the team and the club. ‘Hopefully, that will set his season on fire. He’s a great player and a great boy and I’m delighted with him. ‘I thought (Albian) Ajeti also did well when he came on. Frimpong was superb, that’s the best he’s looked.’ Celtic face high-flying Hibernian at Parkhead on Sunday with injury doubts over winger James Forrest and captain Scott Brown. Forrest limped off to be replaced by Frimpong after 34 minutes, while Brown was the victim of a savage second-half challenge. ‘I’ve got plenty to think about for the team on Sunday, but that’s good,’ added the Northern Irishman. ‘I’m using the squad as best I can. ‘We’ll have to assess the injuries tomorrow and Saturday. ‘James is struggling a bit. He’s got bruising on the ankle and he’ll need a scan either tomorrow or Saturday. ‘I don’t know how long he could be out for. He’s really sore and tender. It’s a big worry for us. ‘He’s had it for a couple of weeks but he’s been able to handle it okay. But it was just too much for him tonight and we had to make the substitution. ‘We’ll need to check Scott. We were worried. We thought we might have to take Scott off. Thankfully, he was able to carry on. ‘There might be a bit of swelling there, so we’ll need to look at him also for the weekend.’

“But in the end, we have played well and won”