NEIL Lennon last night hit out at the Celtic fans who let off firecrackers during their side’s 2-0 win against St Mirren for endangering their own players and their fellow supporters.
The Paisley side’s goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky was so startled by the bang created by a pyrotechnic thrown in his direction after Ryan Christie’s clinching second goal at the Simple Digital Arena last night that he crouched to the turf and required attention before continuing. The Northern Irishman took a dim view of the events, saying the supporters in question had damaged the reputation of the other fans and their intervention was out of keeping with what should be a joyful time as Celtic close in on an eighth successive title.
“It serves no purpose in a football ground,” said Lennon. “I don’t see the motivation for anyone to bring a flashbang or pyrotechnic into a stadium. The health and safety of the players is paramount.
“It didn’t just spook the St Mirren keeper, but some of our players too,” he added. “Ryan was also spooked and the goalie could have burst an eardrum.
“It delays the game when we have scored a goal and want to get going again. It serves no purpose whatsoever.
“The club have made a real stand in condemning at times and I don’t understand why people want to do that. There is no logic in it.
“Why does an individual want to bring that to a game? It doesn’t impress anyone, it doesn’t add anything.
“It just damages people - and it could have damaged a player. It also damages the reputation of the good fans we have and we just don’t want it. It’s just totally uncalled for at a time when we should be enjoying football and hopefully having a big celebration in a week or two.”
Celtic are now just a minimum of two wins away from their eighth title in a row and could be celebrating as soon as this weekend if results go their way. Lennon’s main grumble was the fact that his club weren’t in cruise control any earlier. Olivier Ntcham saw a first-half penalty save – their fifth miss out of 12 from the penalty spot this season – while Oliver Burke spurned a gilt-edged first half chance.
“We had quality chances,” said Lennon. “It wasn’t like Dundee when we had to wait until the last minute. If there is any criticism it’s that we didn’t win by a bigger margin,
“We were in total control and I was very pleased with the win. I had to wait a bit longer than I wanted for the second goal but we know we are two wins away now. The penalty would have put us in cruise control at 2-0. Missing five isn’t good enough. We have enough quality.”
If the good news last night was Christie coming off the bench playing for the first time under him after injury, the bad was that Dedryck Boyata has probably kicked his last ball this season due to injury. He made light of a second half incident where Scott Brown appeared to plant his studs on St Mirren midfielder Jim Kellermann. “It [the stamp] was totally accidental. He didn’t mean it all.
“Ryan brings a lot to the team,” the Northern Irishman added “There was spark, creativity and a bit pizzazz. He makes things happen and his enthusiasm gave us a big lift. It was a good night and the four players coming in did well.
“It’s very doubtful that Dedryck will play between now and the end of the season. It’s a rupture and that means four to six weeks. So it’s very unlikely he would make the cup final if we get there.”
There was also a tribute to the club’s long-standing kit-woman Angie Thomson, who passed away after a battle against cancer last week.
“Angie was very special for my generation of players and the players I managed,” said Lennon. “We had a tribute dinner for her last year and people came from all over the world. She fought so bravely for the best part of two years and she will be sorely missed.”
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