Luis Palma had a disappointing evening in European action on Thursday as his Lech Poznan team suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Lincoln Red Imps – a result that inevitably stirred memories Celtic supporters would rather forget…
The Honduran wide man, on loan from Celtic, was introduced at the break in Gibraltar but was unable to turn the tide as his side fell to a shocking defeat against the part-time hosts.
The scoreline brought back memories of one of Celtic’s most infamous European upsets – Brendan Rodgers’ debut match as manager in 2016 – when his Celtic side fell 1-0 to Lincoln Red Imps in a Champions League second round qualifier.
Although the Hoops convincingly overturned the result in the second leg with a 3-0 win at Celtic Park, that shock defeat still stands out as possibly Celtic’s worst ever European result, although that is debatable with the Kairat fiasco this season being a contender given that we actually lost the tie, failed to score in two games and ended up losing £40m in Champions League income.
Palma was substituted onto the pitch at half-time with Lech a goal down following Kike Gómez’s early strike. Although Mikael Ishak converted a penalty to bring the visitors level in the second half, a late header from Christian Rutjens secured a landmark victory for the Gibraltarian champions.
The result marked Lincoln Red Imps’ first-ever win in a European group-stage fixture and dealt a major blow to Lech’s Conference League hopes of finishing in one of those elusive top 24 places.
Palma has been a standout performer for Lech this season, tallying ten goals and assists in all competitions.
Despite some challenges during his time in Poland – including a recent red card after a horror tackle against Rakow – Palma continues to impress for his loan side, while Lech also retain the option to make his move permanent next summer.
This week The Celtic Star editor alongside a writer from another Celtic site were both interviewed in a leading Polish media outlet about the on-loan Celtic winger as Lech look to make the deal permanent this summer. Every encouragement was given to aid the sales process (you’re welcome Michael!).
Attention for Palma and his teammates will now turn to Lech’s must-win on Sunday against Legia Warsaw. They currently sit five points behind table-toppers Jagiellonia Bialystok after 11 games.
Celtic are also five points adrift of Hearts, the current Scottish Premiership leaders but hopefully Brendan Rodgers and his Celtic side can do something about that tomorrow by picking up a vital three points at Tynecastle.
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