Source: FOOTYMAD
Some light in a dark night
Neil Lennon saw enough to be encouraged despite watching his side drop out of the Champions League Celtic manager Neil Lennon was pleased with how his side responded in the second half against Sporting Braga last night. While failing to overhaul the three goal advantage the Portuguese side brought to Parkhead he saw some encouraging performances in the second-leg of their Champions League tie where they fell at the first hurdle following a 4-2 aggregate defeat by Sporting Braga. Goals from Gary Hooper and Efrain Juarez on their competitive debuts earned Lennon's men a 2-1 win but Paulo Cesar's first-half away goal had already effectively ended the tie as it left Celtic needing five to get through to the Champions League play-offs. They still have a play-off but for the Europa League. Lennon said: " Overall I'm delighted with the performance and intensity and all the things you ask for - commitment and passion. The pace we played at and the passing was very pleasing. At half-time we just asked them to win the game and I thought we deserved to win. But we keep conceding soft goals. I'm learning from it and hopefully the players are learning." Cesar managed to run across Cha Du-ri before heading home to make it nine goals lost in four games, including the Emirates Cup. Lennon added: "I just think it was a poor goal, the guy has got across Cha. I didn't think there was much pace on the cross and he headed it from far out. I thought we were excellent in the second half. There were some great performances."
