Andrew Smith: Leigh Griffiths' 'redemptive' goal as Celtic striker takes step towards professional normality

Genuine heartfelt moments don’t tend to come along in mid-summer, early-stage European qualifiers. The one that Leigh Griffiths conjured up, though, could only but induce a mass outbreak of swelling in the throats of those watching on at Celtic Park.
Leigh Griffiths took a step towards professional normality with his comeback goal against Nomme KaljuLeigh Griffiths took a step towards professional normality with his comeback goal against Nomme Kalju
Leigh Griffiths took a step towards professional normality with his comeback goal against Nomme Kalju

The 29-year-old’s struggles with depression exacted a heavy toll as he took an extended break from football that, in recent weeks, he has spoken about with admirable candour.

Griffiths, the man, should be separated from Griffths, the footballer, of course, but the act – and the art – of scoring a first goal since he was forced to step away from the game in January for a period had a redemptive feel to it.

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As a striker who has always measured his professional worth in finding the net, doing so with a glorious curling free-kick on the European stage brought an outpouring from the little man that spoke of unbridled release following the fears and frustrations that had dragged him to such a low ebb.

He is a man with a wonderful flair for the dramatic on a football pitch. When he struck a free-kick in stoppage time of the first half up and over the wall with a trajectory that almost seemed to have been plotted on a draughtsman’s board, the roar that greeted the ball crossing the line required to be deafening to drown out the scream of sheer ecstasy and relief that flowed from the man himself.

He ran to the corner flag, punched the corner flag, then dropped to his knees as the tears appeared to flow before he covered his face with his hands as he soaked up just what it meant to have arrived at his here and now. Each and every outfield player made their way over to him to smother him with hugs before he jogged to the halfway line, pointing to the main stand and making a heart gesture with his hands.

If it was five goal celebrations rolled into one, then Griffiths could hardly be begrudged savouring every second of his first strike at Celtic Park since he netted the winner against Rosenborg last September.

That goal to make it 3-0 against Nomme Kalju – and set his team up for a 5-0 victory which surely means they are set-up for the Champions League third qualifying round – was his first goal for the club since he scored against Hamilton in November last year.

Handed a first start since he missed a penalty at Motherwell on 5 December, Griffiths stressed this week the road he has been on in dealing with depression, although he has not travelled alone. Support has come from many quarters. Last night, it came with cheers from every quarter of the stadium on each occasion he made his way over to take a corner.

The forward looks physically stronger than towards the end of last year and, in his frontline partnership with Odsonne Edouard, he provided glimpses of the predatory instincts that allowed him to become the only Celtic player to break the 100-goal mark in the past 15 years.

The sharpness isn’t quite there yet, but in taking his tally to 105 goals in Celtic colours, Griffiths demonstrated his knack for doing the extraordinary – never better exemplified than when he claimed a remarkable free-kick double against England two years ago.

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The latest example of his unearthly deadball prowess means he has now scored 14 goals in Europe for Celtic. That tally moves him above Stevie Chalmers, whose recent passing so shortly after Billy McNeill brought into sharp focus what titanic figures the Lisbon Lions’ matchwinning goalscorer and the storied captain of that European Cup-winning team are in the lore of the club.

Griffiths exists on a different plane, but he took one step last night to professional normality. And that is sure to be all he craves.

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