When I went to play in Austria in 1986, one of my first games was a cup tie against St Polten. We won, but they got a penalty to equalise in the first half and the player who took it just casually knocked the ball into the middle of our goal to score while our keeper dived to his left.
After the match, I spoke to St Polten’s president, who happened to be the only English speaker at the club. I said I was impressed by their penalty taker and it greatly reminded me of the Panenka penalty that won the shootout for Czechoslovakia against Germany in the 1976 European Nations Cup final.
He surprised me greatly when he told me it was Panenka who had taken the penalty.
It was a memorable moment for me as I’ve always had a great respect for how cool he was that day against Germany when they had been very much the underdogs and so much was at stake for him and his country. That style of penalty was then named after him.
The reason I remembered this incident was because of the reaction to Odsonne Edouard’s penalty in last Sunday’s Betfred Cup final. As much as I generally like listening to Neil McCann’s opinion, I could not believe he could accuse Edouard of being disrespectful to Craig Gordon.
It was a delightful penalty and one that takes a lot of bottle too. The goalkeeper always has an advantage with penalties as he is not expected to save them. It is the penalty taker who is under pressure and is generally castigated if he misses rather than the keeper getting credited with a great save.
Considering this was a cup final and Celtic were under pressure because of recent results and the fact they were trying to complete a fourth consecutive treble, I had the utmost respect and admiration for Edouard providing a very accomplished penalty finish.
I’m glad I wrote last Saturday that it was going to be a really exciting final. It certainly lived up to expectations although I have to admit the storyline was unforeseen.
It did however, demonstrate the current weaknesses in this Celtic team. Playing against a lower division team, having controlled the first half and taken a deserved two-goal lead, would normally result in the match being all but decided.
A team who has been winning every trophy for four years should obviously have no cup final nerves and be able to see out the match in the second half. With the opposition having to attack to get into the game, a top side would generally take advantage of this and increase their lead.
This was certainly not the case last Sunday, as Celtic didn’t perform in the same manner in the second half and actually could have lost the match in normal time.
This is a sign that the Celtic team of 20/21 are not the team we have been watching over recent seasons and there is a definite weakness in both their teamwork and in the belief and confidence levels of individual players.
I actually felt that winning the Scottish Cup might be the ideal time for Neil Lennon to resign and move on. Despite all the pleasure and celebrations following the victory, Lennon must have been aware that this was not an impressive performance.
He has been heavily criticised by a large number of Celtic fans despite everything he has done for the club as a player and manager. The winning of the cup didn’t change things for many of these fans and you can imagine what it will be like if the league title appears to be out of their reach.
Lennon is the first person to win the treble as a player and a manager and that should bestow on him a high level of commendation. If he had walked away last Sunday, then he could have left at a high point and should the league championship not be achieved, then he could not be blamed completely for that.
I’m sure he could get a another managerial job but maybe Celtic could appoint him to the ambassadorial role formerly occupied by Billy McNeil. Lennon didn’t win the European Cup but he has now established legendary status with Celtic.
AND ANOTHER THING
A couple of years ago Willie Miller accused me on Sportsound of being a dinosaur because I said I couldn’t believe teams didn’t put players on the goalposts any more when defending corner- kicks. He said that was not now the strategy for defending these situations and I was out of touch with the modern game.
At that time and since then, I’ve seen goals scored from corners, week-in, week-out, that would have been prevented had someone been defending the post.
I think I may have come up with a reason why this is happening. The football authorities must have felt that as goals are a key part of the game for fans, they could increase the numbers by making it easier to score from corner kicks. They therefore, passed a secret resolution for the whole professional game whereby no players should be put on the posts at corners.
I have to admire their decision and say it’s been a total success in providing us with more goals.
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