AJETI PUTS IT IN THE NETTY
STRIKER HELPS CELTS TO VICTORY
Neil Lennon hailed new boy Albian Ajeti after the striker bagged a Celtic winner at Tannadice. The £ 5m frontman bagged his first goal for the club since arriving from West Ham to k i l l of f Dundee United. Wi t h seven minutes lef t on Tayside, it looked like Lennon’s side would drop more points on the road on their return to Premiership action. But Ajeti popped up to fire home from close range and secure three vital points.
Lennon admits the Swiss ace is still short of fitness – but hopes his goal will be the first of many. He said :“I’ m delighted for Ajeti, it’s always
good for a striker to come in and make an early impact.
“He’s not match fit yet but that will do his confidence a world of good. He’s a couple of weeks away and has to get used to the game and how we play.
“He did great to keep the ball alive for the goal then flashed a great finish. And some of his link-up play was good too.
“That early impact will do him good. I hope it can be the first of many goals for him.
“Looking at him, and the type of player he was at Basel, he knows where the goals are.”
Lennon insisted there was no panic going into the last 10 minutes at Tannadice with the score at 0- 0.
The Hoops had dropped points at Kilmarnock but he said: “We’re concentrating on what we’re doing.
“I can’t control what other teams are doing. We had to take care of the game out there – and eventually we did. It was a great performance and great win. We should have won comfortably.
“Benjamin Siegrist in the United goal made a couple of great saves. I don’t think we’re hitting top form just yet.
“But our attitude was brilliant and some of our play was outstanding. We had 20-plus shots and 10 corners. It was a dominant performance.
“If we were rubbish, not creating openings, looking leggy or not having desire – that would concern me. But I didn’t see any evidence of that at all.”
Meanwhi le, Ajeti was delighted to get off the mark for his new club – even if he did upset an old Swiss pal.
He said: “I’m very happy. It was a tough game with a strong opponent – but we had plenty chances and it was just a matter of time before we scored.
“The gaffer has given me my confidence back and that’s important for a striker.
“Benjamin is a friend of mine and we played in the Basel academy for many years – but this time we were opponents.
“He had a very good day for United but I’m happy to score the winning goal.”