Celtic 0 - 2 Wolves: Pletikosa has night of trial and error as Celtic crash

THERE will be no sleep lost or contracts drawn up by Neil Lennon in the wake of the defeat suffered by his second side plus trialists last night.

After a tame encounter that produced a slightly flattering outcome for Wolves, Lennon is likely to look for more stirring evidence about the worth of keeper Stipe Pletikosa, and strikers Katelego Mphela and Milos Lacny before contemplating deals for the trio trying to play their way to them against Wolves.

Not one of the Celtic starting XI for the opening weekend SPL win at Easter Road was retained in the team that started last night.

With the two games in the Dublin Super Cup this weekend, Lennon has no need to flog any player. Indeed, only the currently-suspended Scott Brown of those on the park for the kick-off could be regarded as a first choice.

With such an unfamiliar line-up there was no little intrigue about the performances of a Celtic team that could still boast 10 full internationalists. And covered eight different countries. Charlie Mulgrew was the only man to feel left out in the senior cap department.

In particular, Pletikosa and Mphela might have felt they had their work cut out as they went on trial as part of a somewhat thrown-together starting XI. Ranged against a full-strength Wolves side in which Scots Steven Fletcher and Christophe Berra featured, there was reason to fear it was asking a lot of a thrown-together home team to make a game of it.

Of course, with the likes of Brown, Shaun Maloney, Daniel Majstorovic and Mulgrew given work-outs there was plenty of Celtic game time in the ranks of Neil Lennon's selection.

However, with summer signings Victor Wanyama and Adam Matthews also making their first appearance in front of their club's supporters, there was a lot of quick learning required to give Pletikosa and Mphela platforms to show their worth.

The Croatian keeper didn't help his cause as Wolves earned the lead approaching the half hour.

A free-kick in a central position just outside of the box was floated into a rather sizeable unguarded area that Pletikosa had left to the right of him.

As a first real impression - he had absolutely nothing to do in Celtic's win in Cardiff last week - it was the sort to make the player want the ground to swallow him up.

Although his previous pedigree is not to be doubted with more than 80 caps to his name, whether he remains at Celtic depends how he handles this week. In fairness to him, he blocked sharply at the feet of the excellent Kevin Doyle late on to partly redeem himself after his earlier aberration.

The visitors, two weeks behind Celtic in their pre-season preparations, caused few worries for him otherwise. Fletcher and Doyle carried menace and certainly worked over former Wolves man Mulgrew and Majstorovic physically, though. Indeed, the way the 24-year-old former Hibs striker seemed to bully the Swede on occasion made you pine all the more for him to bury his differences with Craig Levein and return to the Scotland fold.

At the other end, there were moments from Mphela. He certainly has pedigree with 40 caps for South Africa and a pretty decent World Cup and he almost had his first, and possibly only, Celtic goal when he produced a powerful header that was tipped over by Wayne Hennessey as half-time approached.

It was to be his last notable contribution with Lacny replacing him at the interval.

His impact was almost instantaneous after Hennessey failed to hold a ferocious free-kick from Mulgrew and it hit off his chest and straight into the path of the Slovakian.

Unfortunately, it then bounced again, straight off the striker's toe and back into the arms of the relieved Wolves keeper. It was to be the first of many openings as Celtic took charge.

It was cruel on the home side and young Filip Twardzik that the night ended with Wolves coasting to victory.

He was only on the field three minutes when he slid in to meet a Stephen Ward cross and only succeeded in bundling it over his own line. No blame could be apportioned to Pletikosa for that one, at least.

Celtic: Pletikosa; Cha (Twardzik 69), Majstorovic, Mulgrew, Matthews; Brown (Towell 85), Wanyama; Forrest, Mphela, Maloney (Commons 63); Murphy (Samaras 75).

Wolves: Hennessey; Stearman, Johnson, Berra, Elokobi; Kightly (Foley77), Henry (Davis 90), O'Hara (Milijas 85), Hunt (Hammill 62); Fletcher(Ward 62), Doyle (Keogh 81).