SILLY BHOY
Deila rues Ambrose ‘stupid mistake’ as Turks salvage point
RONNY DEILA last night blasted a ‘stupid mistake’ by Efe Ambrose after his blunder saw Celtic throw away another commanding lead in Europe.
Deila’s men seemed on easy street when they went 2-0 up on Fenerbahce after two goals in four first-half minutes from Leigh Griffiths and Kris Commons.
But a woeful back-header by Ambrose, so often the fall guy for Celtic at the back, allowed substitute Fernandao to pull a crucial goal back just before the break.
And, just after the restart, the Brazilian out-jumped Ambrose — who was only in the team after new signing Jozo Simunovic failed to recover from an ankle knock — to rescue a point that had looked beyond the big-spending Turkish outfit.
Deila, whose team also threw away a 2-0 lead against Malmo in their Champions League qualifier earlier this season, said: ‘I think we played well in the first half,
although we started a little bit nervous, but after 10 and 15 minutes we were more comfortable on the ball. ‘We started to play and put in some crosses and created two very nice goals. ‘I think we had good control over them but, of course, we made a stupid mistake which happens in football, but you get punished when you are in Europe. ‘We started the second half poorly and then they get 2-2 from a set play. ‘That is something we need to sort out, to get better, for sure. ‘We finished the game better and we got some crosses in but we didn’t create enough chances during the 90 minutes. ‘I am disappointed but happy with the effort of the team because we had a good chance to win the match.’ Scorer Commons also looked crestfallen after Ambrose, so often the source of blunders at the back for the Scottish champions, gave his team a mountain to climb after their dynamic start. ‘I think either side of half time was obviously pivotal for us,’ said Commons. ‘I think the turning point were both sides of the half, we conceded really late and really early. ‘If we do sharpen up those side of things I think we will do really well in this competition. ‘It would have been nice to come in at half-time with a 2-0 lead — but accidents happen. ‘In the grand scheme of things a draw was probably the right result. ‘I think we were doing really well, we had a good tempo about us and — once you get a head of steam up — the crowd start to play their part, too.’ Skipper Scott Brown added: ‘We still fought on and we played really well. ‘But they then played two up front and changed their game plan and we had to kick it long now and then. In the end it just wasn’t to be.’ However, Celtic fans will find it hard to forgive Ambrose, who also gifted Juventus two goals when they knocked Celtic out of the Champions League two years ago. Elsewhere in Group A, Molde’s 1-1 draw at home to Ajax last night sees the unfancied Norwegians lead second-placed Celtic by two points. Next up for Celtic’s Norwegian boss is a trip back to his native land to face Molde on Thursday, October 22 in a match he will be keen to win to leapfrog his compatriots.