Lennon hails ‘talisman’ Edouard as Celtic great
NEIL LENNON last night hailed Odsonne Edouard as a talisman to rival Celtic’s best strikers of the last two decades.
A toe injury meant the French star started yesterday’s league match against Ross County on the bench but he scored with his first touch after coming on as a substitute for Leigh Griffiths in the 63rd minute and then added his 20th club goal of the season to transform a ponderous Celtic performance into a 3-0 win.
Lennon, who played alongside Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton and John Hartson after signing for the club in 2000, believes Edouard deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as that trio.
‘Odsonne is hugely important. He is an outstanding footballer, almost talismanic,’ said the Celtic manager. ‘He is up there with some of the best we’ve had over the last 20 years.
‘He made a huge impact today and we are delighted with that. It
After scoring against Thistle and Killie, Griffiths used his goal celebrations to send a message to his critics. He departed here without seriously threatening Baxter’s goal and had barely sat down when his replacement took the acclaim of the crowd in happier fashion.
McGregor checked with the bench to make certain he was next in line for deadball duty and promptly claimed an assist.
The delivery was good and Edouard stooped and instinctively nudged the ball over the line.
The striker’s second was less of a poacher’s goal but showcased his blend of speed and quick footwork as he gathered Forrest’s pass and swept towards goal before finding the bottom corner.
In between those efforts came County’s last show of resistance when Cowie sent Spittal through on goal. Forster’s save gave Edouard the platform to seal the result.
‘We feel there was a marked improvement on our last visit here,’ sighed Ferguson. ‘We wanted to make sure we were in the game but also offer a threat at the other end of the pitch.
‘The chances we created suggests we got that right. We feel we competed well on the day. We don’t feel like it was a 3-0 game but the scoreline tells us otherwise.’