Lenny’s gamble pays off as he shuffles pack for winning hand
Neil Lennon took a calculated gamble by shuffling his pack and still came up trumps.
With Celtic’s critical Champions League qualifying second leg against Cluj on Tuesday night, Ryan Christie and Odsonne Edouard were left on the bench.
There was tinkering in defence too but stand-in right-back Kris Ajer proved to be a wild card by popping up with Celtic’s equaliser after Liam Donnelly had put Motherwell in front.
Leigh Gri f f iths dealt the Steelmen a cruel hand before halftime by rifling home a trademark free- kick. Goals from James Forrest, Edouard and a Christie penalty then sealed Celtic’s highest scoring start to a league season in 48 years with 12 goals in two games.
Lennon insists it doesn’t matter who he picks because he knows all of his players are up to the job.
He said: “I don’t have a firstchoice XI. These guys are all top quality. Griff iths is a Scottish international with a proven record for goals. Olivier Ntcham is a £ 5million midfield player who is probably worth more now.
“I had no hesitation in playing them. We had to change the back four which led to problems but as the game wore on we looked very assured and strong.
“We didn’t start well. We invited pressure on to us and conceded a poor goal. “Once we eradicated that , we were outstanding, w ith some really br i l l iant Stephen Robinson was gutted individual mistakes cost his side big time against Celtic.
The Fir Park boss was pleased with certain parts of his team’s display but was cursing basic errors.
He said: “Some of our football early on was terrific. We pressed the life out of Celtic and there was little in the game.
“We actually dominated the first half but if you defend like that against performances. We were powerful, there’s a ruthlessness about us.”
This was supposed to be the first real Premiership test for Celts. Stephen Robinson strengthened Well over the summer, especially in the forward areas, so the Celtic gaffer was taking a risk with Ajer filling in at full-back, while £7m man Christopher Jul lien was partnered with Nir Bitton.
Motherwell started brightly and posed a threat going forward.
They were holding their own in midf ield, with Donnelly, Allan Campbel l and Liam Polworth inf luential, and when Donnelly put Robinson’s team in front , Lennon might have wished he’d cha n g ed h i s goalie as well.
Polworth’s pass picked out Declan Gal lagher and when Donnelly got hold of his lay- off and shot towards Scot t Bain’s left- hand corner, you expected Celtic’s No.1 to smother it.
I n stead, he failed to grasp it down low and it nestled in the net.
Donnelly has been a stand-out in pre- season, ba g g ing four
KRIS AJER:
Celtic you’re going to get punished. We had four individual errors for the goals. It’s a big learning curve but there were a lot of positives for us.
“You can coach until the cows come home but you can’t make basic mistakes.
“Two long balls cost us the first two goals. We need to take those things out of our game and produce a 90-minute display. We goals before yesterday’s game. Playing in a new role as the midfield anchor, he was excellent again.
The sign of champions is how they bounce back and Celtic took only two minutes to make it 1-1.
It’s an indication of how good a player Ajer has become that Lennon put him in at full-back and the young Norwegian looked like he’d been doing it his whole life.
At 20, if he continues to impress, he’ll be the next Hoops star being courted by Premier League clubs for megabucks.
None of that wi l l be of consolation to Robinson, though, who was left scratching his head as to how he’d run the length of Fir Park to score. Ajer passed to James Forrest in his own half and galloped forward, w ith neither Richard Tait nor Jermain Hylton on that side tracking him.
Forrest picked his mate out in the box and he slotted past Mark Gillespie with the conf idence of a seasoned striker.
Suddenly, Motherwell had to show character and try to regain their composure.
Celtic were on top for a spell , pouncing on every misplaced pass, and if Robinson was annoyed at the concession of Celtic’s first goal, he’d have been pulling his hair
Thrown in at right-back which isn’t his natural position but still strolled his way through the 90 minutes, barely breaking sweat.
His run and finish for Celtic’s equaliser was right out of the top drawer and the Norway cap almost got a second near the end. Terrific defensively as well. 8
Was perhaps a bit harsh on Well at times who felt they should have had a penalty in the first half then a handball in the build-up to Edouard’s goal late on.
But he was up with play and got Celtic spot-kick decision right as well as most of the home side’s yellow cards. 6
NICK WALSH:
won’t get judged on losing to Celtic and we’ll continue doing what we’re trying to do here.
“Celtic didn’t open us up, it was indecision and errors. You might get away with it against lesser teams but not Celtic.”
Well scorer Liam Donnelly, who now has six in six games for Motherwell, insists his double was no consolation in defeat.
He said: “The goals are a bonus for me but all I’m out at the second. Why centreback Gallagher decided to wrap his arms around Griffiths on the edge of his own box after 41 minutes is anyone’s guess.
The Celtic striker made him pay by burying the free-kick.
Motherwell had shot themselves in the foot and they never recovered from Gallagher’s poor decision.
In the second half Celtic took control. The home side’s midfield had lost their zip and energy and Forrest put the game to bed with a tidy finish after good work by Lewis Morgan and Boli Bolingoli.
There was no way back for Well after that as Lennon’s game-plan kicked into action.
The last thing Motherwell needed at 3-1 down was to see Christie and Edouard come on as subs. The big Frenchman put the tin lid on it with a fourth which infuriated the Fir Park faithful.
They were claiming a handball from Bolingoli in the build-up but got nothing and when Ntcham picked out his countryman with a stunning pa s s , Edouard’s cl inical finish found the net.
L ennon’s subs kept pummelling Well late on.
Donnel ly tripped Edouard in the box for a clear penalty and this time it was Christie getting in on the act as he made it five and completely justif ied his manager’s team selection.
In added-time, Celtic got sloppy at a corner which allowed Donnelly to pull a goal back from close range but it was too little too late. feeling is disappointment. It wasn’t ideal being pegged back right after scoring.
“You want to keep it tight for 10 minutes. We might have kept them at bay and killed them off.
“Mistakes will be punished against Celtic so we need to cut them out.
“We felt they were there for the taking. We were always going to press and have a go. We did it well in the first half but need to do it for 90 minutes.”