Celtic slump to 3-0 defeat in Braga

Published on Wednesday 28 July 2010 19:51

NEIL Lennon last night directed his frustration in the direction of the match officials as he tried to come to terms with a painful 3-0 defeat to Braga in Portugal before bullishly insisting Celtic can turn the Champions League third qualifying round tie in their favour in Glasgow next week.

• Dejected Celtic players after the final whistle.

The Celtic manager was incensed by the performance of Belgian referee Serge Gumienny and his assistants as Braga were set on their way to victory by the controversial award of a 26th minute penalty for handball against midfielder Ki Sung Yeung.

While Lennon railed against the performance of the officials, however, he did not totally shy away from the shortcomings of his own players who conceded all three goals from set piece situations.

It leaves Celtic with a mammoth task on their hands at Parkhead next Wednesday if they are to avoid elimination from the Champions League and the drop into the play-off round of the Europa League. "I'd like to see the penalty incident again," said Lennon, who was ordered up the tunnel by Gumienny when he angrily confronted him at half-time. "I thought the officials were not great, certainly from our side of the fence. We went a goal down to a pretty controversial decision and the two goals we lost in the second half, from a corner kick and free kick were very disappointing. Ki had his hands down by his side for the penalty and it certainly wasn't hand to ball. The linesman couldn't wait to get his flag up.

"There were some strange decisions tonight. The ref booked Charlie Mulgrew for time wasting after just four minutes, which was incredible. He never even gave him a warning which left him walking on egg shells for the rest of the match. He didn't book a Braga player until very late in the match. I wasn't pleased with the referee's performance at all.

"You can't talk to officials these days. At half-time, he just told me to get up the tunnel. The way they see the game in Europe is different to how we see it in Britain. We knew before the game that we wouldn't get much from the officials."

Despite the margin of defeat, Lennon remains optimistic his team are still capable of reaching the play-off round of the Champions League and staying in the hunt for the riches participation in the group stage of the tournament brings.

"Some people might think the tie is over, but we don't," said Lennon. "I thought we were comfortable in the game tonight. At times, we could have passed it better than we did. Some of our better players didn't take care of the ball as well as they should have done.

"We set up to be defensive and try not to give too much away. But Braga scored from three set pieces which was disappointing. We have a good record at home, though, and have been in this position before. We have to draw on that experience. We hope to have a pretty big crowd behind us at Celtic Park and we will give it everything we have.

"We have left ourselves with a bit to do after looking comfortable with 10 or 15 minutes to go. I thought we were okay and the new players did okay. We were maybe a wee bit nervous and it takes time for the team to gel."

Despite Lennon's assurance on the eve of the match that Aiden McGeady would be in his starting line-up, the Republic of Ireland winger was not even named among the substitutes. Lennon said McGeady's omission was nothing to do with a prospective move away from Celtic.

"He was complaining of a recurring back injury last night and after speaking to the medical people, we decided not to risk him," said Lennon. "We hope to have him next week and I'm not aware of any change to his situation as regards a move."

Lennon also confirmed that Andreas Hinkel, who had travelled to Portugal with the squad but was not involved, has not been registered in Celtic's squad for the Braga tie.

"Andreas has a year left on his contract and knows the situation," said Lennon. "We wanted him to be with the group but we didn't register him. Cha Du Ri is here now and pretty much the first choice right back. We also have Mark Wilson, who suffered a groin strain in training on Tuesday night, while Efrain Juarez can also play there."

Match report

• Sporting Braga 3 - 0 Celtic: Lennon's Champions League hopes in tatters after battering in Braga