NEIL LENNON says that referee Alan Muir made two penalty blunders as Celtic saw off Partick Thistle at Firhill in the Scottish Cup.
Lennon was upset that Jeremie Frimpong was denied a spot-kick in the first-half under a challenge from Jags full-back James Penrice, and his frustration was compounded when Frimpong was penalised at the other end in injury-time at the end of the game for a tackle on Dario Zanatta.
“I was really disappointed with the penalty decision at the end, I didn’t think it was a pen,” Lennon said.
“I think he has got his body across Zanatta. There was inference his heels were clipped but you can clearly see he has his body across him. His recovery was terrific ,and he didn’t deserve that.
“[The first incident is] a push on the back, a definite penalty, Jeremie is at full pace and he has gone over – he has not dived – so I don’t know how that can’t be a penalty.”
Lennon was rather more pleased with the contribution of his striker Leigh Griffiths, who got the first goal on the night, and dismissed the notion that he may go out of the club on loan during January.
“Leigh is a great player, he is a great goalscorer,” he said. “He has had fitness issues and other issues but he had a good week in Dubai and looked sharp in training this week.
“I know what I have got with him. There is more to come from him obviously, but we don’t score many goals like that, and he does.
“[There will be] no loans. Not at the minute anyway.
“He looked a lot brighter tonight, he was playing things round the corner, running off the shoulder. “He got his goal and his set-piece deliveries were excellent so he can be pretty pleased with his performance.”
Thistle manager Ian McCall was pleased enough with his side’s showing despite the defeat, and in particular, he was buoyed by what debutants Zak Rudden and Darian MacKinnon brought to his team.
“There’s an honesty about them I love, they remind me of the boys I had at Ayr United,” McCall said.
“Darian hasn't played for a while and although he’s fit, he's not match fit. And Zak, our fans are absolutely going to love him.
“In Scotland if you work exceptionally hard, fans tend to love you - and I was very pleased for both, they’ll be big players for us.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here