Boyata misses out on banner headlines this time as fans turn on board
But Moussa twist lifts punters for a consolation meal ticket
IT’S not the pot they wanted to be in.
But there’s still a sumptuous flavoursome feast bubbling for Celtic at lunchtime today when the draw for the Europa League group stage is served up in the south of France.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Milan are just a few of the mouthwatering names in the mix when the menu card is drawn up in the country known for its world-class cuisine.
And the Hoops didn’t have to stew for long before safeguarding their place among them last night, as Leigh Griffiths turned up the heat on Suduva to 100 by completing his century of goals for the Hoops.
Hours before kick-off came an aptly timed kick in the teeth as the Champions League draw in the millionaires playground of Monaco reminded Celtic of what they could have won.
With their qualifying conquerors AEK Athens pulling a plum Group E draw of Bayern Munich, Benfica and Ajax, the reality couldn’t have hit home harder that this battle with Suduva was merely for the consolation prize.
Still, a lucrative consolation it still promised to be and thoughts of letting this one slip through their fingers was unthinkable.
On the 75th birthday of Lisbon Lion Bobby Lennox, it would have been no time to suffer more European disappointment in front of a man who helped deliver the club’s greatest moment.
But if the great man had to make a wish, it would surely have been for the news Brendan Rodgers revealed before kick-off. That he believes Moussa Dembele will remain a Celtic player tomorrow night.
The manager’s revelation that a “significant” bid from Lyon had just been rejected was precisely the kind of tonic the support needed amid growing frustration at the lack of transfer activity.
In fairness to them, they swelled this cavernous stadium in significant numbers not far short of what it would have been for the real thing that Athens will enjoy at their expense.
And there were no dissenting banners aimed at defender Dedryck Boyata this time. But there were some taking potshots at the board, one saying “Lawwell out” and another reading “Only Celtic PLC can stop 10 in a row”.
The warm round of applause Boyata earned 10 minutes in for standing tall to outmuscle Suduva’s Sandro Gotal must have done him the world of good.
But a decent save by Ivan Kardum denying Griffiths Celtic’s best early chance raised questions in the stands.
Would Dembele have done better than blasting straight at the keeper from that range were he not in the stand coming to terms with his big-money move being blocked? Maybe.
But who cares when Griffiths can do what no one else can do better with a dead ball from 25 yards. The banana bend around the gaping wall to tuck neatly inside Kardum’s left post was classic Griff, who wheeled away to celebrate his 100th goal for the club with the boss who has played such a huge part in his success.
Of that glorious century – racked up in just 190 games – the class of execution was worthy of inclusion among his very best.
But Griffiths wasn’t the only top performer in a clinical display. Kierney Tierney’s drive and delivery from the flanks was impressive, Scott Sinclair was lively and menacing on the same wing and Boyata went some way to redeeming himself in the eyes of those fans with some timely interventions when needed.
But if anyone deserved something for his desire to drive up and down that midfield area it was Callum McGregor. And he claimed that reward in style with his 52nd-minute strike before Kristoffer Ajer’s header – his first goal for the Hoops – sealed Celtic’s place in the group stage.
But the night belonged to the Hoops’ latest centurion as Griffiths left the pitch early to reflect on a job well done – not just last night but in the four-and-a-half trophy-laden years since his arrival in Paradise.