Foran’s fury as Celtic get away with paying the full penalty
Controversy once again but it is Caley Thistle who fall foul of the officials’ decision this time around
WHAT is it about Celtic, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and contentious refereeing decisions?
The epic Scottish Cup semi-final encounter between these two clubs at Hampden two seasons ago was overshadowed afterwards by the furore that erupted over Josh Meeking’s blatant hand ball.
Match official Steven McLean failed to send the offending player off or award a spot kick for his glaring infraction and Inverness controversially went on to win b ot h t he game and t he competition.
The major talking point in this Ladbrokes Premiership meeting yesterday afternoon was also over a debatable call by the referee. On this occasion, though, it was Celtic who were the beneficiaries of his failure to spot and act upon a clear foul.
If Don Robertson had awarded a free-kick or even a penalty to Inverness after Erik Sviatchenko had clumsily barged over Ross Draper on the edge of his area midway through the first half and had red carded the defender then they could easily have suffered their first domestic defeat of the season.
Yes, Owain Fon Williams, the Welsh international keeper, produced five outstanding saves in the second half. He denied Moussa Dembele, Kieran Tierney, Callum McGregor twice and Scott Sinclair and was a deserved recipient of the Man of the Match award. Had it not been for his heroics his side would have lost and lost heavily.
Yet, at the same time, if Brendan Rodgers’s side had been reduced to 10 men, as they should have been, and possibly fallen behind in the opening 45 minutes then it is highly doubtful they would have dominated proceedings in such a manner.
Justice was possibly done when substitute Alex Fisher met a Greg Tansey cross with a sublime glancing header which eluded the clutches of Dorus de Vries with just over a minute of regulation time remaining to net his first goal for Caledonian Thistle. Nevertheless, there was a lingering sense of resentment in the home camp afterwards.
“Ross has pushed the ball in front of their player, Ross has got his body in the way and Ross has been wiped out,” said Inverness manager Richie Foran. “It was a clear for anyone to see. I was very disappointed not to get that decision.”
The game had started encouragingly for Celtic. They quickly took control and Scott Brown’s powerful runs from deep, Tom Rogic’s intuitive touches and Moussa Dembele’s presence in the final third caused their hosts all kinds of issues. It was only a matter of time before they edged ahead.
The opening goal came in the 17th minute. Sviatchenko supplied Kieran Tierney on the left wing and the young defender whipped a low cross into the Inverness six yard box which Carl Tremarco was unable to clear to safety. Rogic met it and turned a left foot volley into the net.
Billy King levelled the match with an outstanding effort 12 minutes later. The on-loan Hearts winger had cut inside Crisitian Gamboa before unleashing a dipping right foot shot which De Vries was unable to keep out of his net despite getting a fingertip to.
The ill-feeling about the DraperSviatchenko incident was exacerbated three minutes when Scott Sinclair picked up the ball just inside his own half, advanced unopposed up the pitch and curled a sublime shot beyond Fon Williams and into the net.
The winger became the first Celtic player since Jimmy McGrory in 1934 to net in his opening five league games. The early success of the man who was signed for £3.5m in the summer has understandably delighted his manager.
“If he ends up like Jimmy it’ll be alright,” said Rodgers. “He’ll be in the Celtic musical. You can see his quality. We have a counter-attacking threat and that’s where his goal comes from. His ability to take the ball up the field very quickly is there and he has a hunger to score goals.”
Foran was similarly effusive about Fon Williams, who he revealed had been sidelined with a groin strain and had been a doubtful starter before kick-off, after his exceptional individual display kept Caledonian Thistle in the match in the second half.
“That is why he is an international and that is why we fought hard to keep him,” he said. “He passed a fitness test this morning. I was humming and hawing about whether to leave him out I really was. We took a little chance on him. He was immense, he was great, he was outstanding really, touching them off the crossbar and stuff.”
The return of Jozo Simunovic, the Croatian centre-half who made his comeback after eight months out with a serious knee injury when he replaced Gamboa in the second half, was a huge positive for the visitors.
Having Simunovic, whose proposed move to Serie A club Torino fell through last month, available for selection should mean that Mikael Lustig can concentrate on playing in his favoured position at right back in the coming months. That will be no bad thing for the reigning Scottish champions as the Swede looked uncomfortable in the middle of the backline in the absence of Kolo Toure with new signing Gamboa outside him throughout the game. This was the fifth league game in a row they have conceded goals in.
Still, the draw meant that Celtic, who have a game in hand, restored their three point lead over nearest challengers Hearts at the top of the Premiership. It could have been a lot worse. Celtic De Vries; Gamboa (Simunovic 69), Lustig, Sviatchenko, Tierney; Brown, McGregor; Roberts (Forrest 75), Rogic (Armstrong 86), Sinclair; Dembele Not used: Gordon, Izaguirre, Bitton, Christie Inverness CT Williams; Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, McKay; Draper, Polworth (Mulraney 69), Vigurs (Doran 59), Tansey, King, McKay; Doumbouya (Fisher 82). Not used: Mackay, Raven, Boden, Cole Ref D Robertson Att 6061