Sport: lt would have been a crime if we’d lost, says Rodgers
● Boss says Celtic should have been four or five up ● Managers disagree over who won midfield battle ● Lennon reveals Hibs interested in Niall Mcginn
Brendan Rodgers last night insisted it would have been “a crime” if Celtic had lost their unbeaten record at Easter Road after Hibernian fought back from two goals down and almost won a pulsating match right at the death.
His opposite number, Neil Lennon, conceded his team would have been “fortunate” if substitute Oli Shaw’s late effort had ended the champions’ run in its 68 th match–but praised their“tremendous character” for achieving a second 2-2 draw against the champions.
Shaw did score Hibs’ equaliser, their second goal in three minutes following a double from Scott Sinclair which looked like it might presage a big win for Rodgers’ men in front of a full house in Leith, the crowd including former Aberdeen winger Niall Mcginn, who is interesting Hibs.
“The game should have been out of reach,” said Rodgers, who will have an eye on Nyon at noon today as Celtic enter the draw for the last 32 of the Europa League after finishing third in their Champions League group.
“We were two-nil up and it probably should have been four or five. We were comfortable with 15 minutes to go but we stopped passing the ball. Then at 2-1 with them not being in the game they had that momentum and they could just be free. I thought we were much the better team without getting the result but the crazy thing is we could actually have lost the game. To lose would have been a crime, really.”
While there was consensus in the dugouts over who had been the better team, the managers could not agree on the outcome of the midfield battle between Celtic’s Scott Brown and John Mcginn. Asked what he thought of the contest, Rodgers said: “No contest. Scott was the exceptional midfielder on the pitch. I like young John Mcginn, he’s a good player with good drive and energy. But Browny is the exceptional midfielder in Scotland. He’s the catalyst for the team. Browny has shown that, not just in Scotland but in the Champions League. He’s [John] got a way to go before he’ll be at that level.”
But, told about Rodgers’ remarks, Lennon countered: “I totally disagree with that assessment. I thought John was superb.
“Physically he was good, his football was good and I don’t remember Browny dominating the game. In fact, in the last 20 minutes he got even stronger. I thought he was magnificent. Maybe Brendan sees it different but I thought Mcginn was a cut above.”
On the game in general, Lennon said: “If we’d ended their run it would have been fortunate so I’ve got to be happy with the result. Celtic in the first 20 minutes of the second half looked physically better than us and we weren’t aggressive enough but we showed tremendous character to get back in the game.”
While Celtic goalscorer Sinclair thought he should have been awarded a penalty in what was a thrilling second half, Lennon had his own quibbles with referee John Beaton, and wondered why Dedryck Boyata wasn’t shown a second yellow card for a foul on Dylan Mcgeouch.
Of the other Mcginn – Niall – who is now a free agent after a spell in South Korea, the Hibs boss said: “We’ve expressed an interest, that’s as far as it’s gone. Niall was invited along to watch the game and hopefully he was pleased with what he saw.”