NEIL LENNON declared himself as being reasonably satisfied after the stalemate against St Gallen in Switzerland as Celtic concluded their summer sessions in the Alpine region. “It was a step up in quality and they got 90 minutes in their legs before Sarajevo,” after watching his the goalless draw against St Gallen.
Earlier in the day Leigh Griffiths was in unstoppable form, smashing four past the St Gallen’s development side as Celtic hit them for nine. But Celtic’s second match of the day was a much closer affair against a decent side and it was notable for being the first time the Bhoys had played in a match using VAR.
????️ "It was a step up in quality and they got 90 minutes in their legs before Sarajevo."
????️ #CelticFC manager Neil Lennon gives his thoughts on the match as the Bhoys draw 0-0 in their final pre-season game. pic.twitter.com/iXRyDLSff5
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) July 2, 2019
That resulted in Celtic being awarded a penalty (correctly) which Odsonne Edouard failed to convert and on the downside Jozo Simunovic getting sent off for a high kick that was actually above the St Gallen player’s head. It was a clear red card and now Neil Lennon is sweating over whether it will result in a ban for the European qualifiers for the big Croatian.
“I’m not sure how much contact there really was, so it seemed a bit harsh in a pre season friendly.
“As for the VAR, some go for you – we got the penalty from it, and I though it was a penalty.
“But it is in the laws of the game, it is the referee’s interpretation, so you have to accept it and get on with it.
“It will be in the group stages but let’s hope we get there first.
“It has been a good 10 days and we’ve got another week’s preparation to go,” Lenny said. “We’ll be better for it in terms of our training and match-sharpness.
“It’s too early to say where we are. We still need to get Jullien up to speed and are hoping to bring one or two more in before the 4 July deadline.
“We are in good shape and with a couple more bodies in we will be even better. We know the areas we need to strengthen.
“But we had no injuries, which is important, against good opposition. We had some chances tonight, which I was pleased about, but we maybe needed a little bit more sharpness.
“We needed to take a little bit more care in the game but I’m really pleased with the work-rate and with the attitude of the players.”
????️ Match report as #CelticFC were held to a goalless draw in the final game of their pre-season tour tonight. ????????
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) July 2, 2019
Here’s what Jonny Hayes had to say about the game…
Meanwhile, The Celtic Star’s very own Matt Corr was in Switzerland for this evening’s game. Think he’s still in the pub though…
Full time pic.twitter.com/ut393odpCC
— Matt Corr (@Boola_vogue) July 2, 2019