Source: FOOTYMAD
Difference Of Opinion On Penalty Award
Unsurprisingly, Neil Lennon was not about to agree with his Rangers counterpart, Walter Smith, about the penalty award late in yesterday's Old Firm derby. The Celtic manager labelled claims by Smith as "nonsense" that a campaign based on claiming for decisions led to the penalty award at Ibrox. There were less than 10 minutes left in the game when referee Craig Thomson pointed to the spot when Anthony Stokes, on as a substitute for Gary Hooper, was fouled by Rangers midfielder Steven Davis inside the box. Allan McGregor was up to the job to disappoint Georgios Samaras from the spot to keep the game goalless and Rangers at the top of the SPL, a point clear of Celtic. However, Celtic have a game in hand. The Celtic manager was short and sharp when told what his Ibrox counterpart had said. He said: "It is nonsense. Absolute nonsense. Have they not had penalties against us this season, one where the referee wasn't even looking at it? Eh? Where is his argument there? It looked a penalty to me. People are telling me it is soft but I think the one with (Joe) Ledley in the first half could have been one, and the second one with (Anthony) Stokes, they are telling me there was contact although he did go down a bit dramatically." The build-up to the seventh Old Firm game of the season had been affected by the increased security around Lennon after a parcel bomb was sent to the Parkhead manager. The atmosphere was less poisonous than normal but Rangers fans were outraged when Lennon cupped his ears to supporters in the main stand as he went up the tunnel at the end of the game. However, when the gesture was mentioned in the press conference after the game, Lennon replied sharply: "Don't ask me about that. It's called humour, all right. Don't distract away from my team's performance. Don't even write about it. You have the photographs I'm sure but it is just a bit of fun. I don't want to distract from my team's performance today. They were men. Real men, stood up to everything that Rangers threw at them and came back for more." When asked if some fans might not see it as humour, he replied: "That's their problem. It's only a bit of fun. Don't ask me about it again." Lennon admitted he had his fill of derby games this season - this was the seventh meeting between the Glasgow side - but was reluctant to claim his side now had the advantage in the title race. He said: "I am glad the Old Firm scenario is out of the way and we don't have to go through all the hype that surrounds it. That's seven, plenty for one season. So on the balance of the seven games we have proved we are more than a match for Rangers, if not better, whether they go on to win the league or not. People called this a pivotal game but I didn't see it that way. It gave us a slight advantage going into the remaining five games, one of which is the game in hand which we need to get a positive result from. I was apprehensive about the game but I was very pleased with my team. I am very proud of them." The Celtic manager had no problem with Samaras after his penalty was saved. The Greek striker had scored from the spot at Ibrox at the start of the year but McGregor guessed right this time, diving to his left to push a well-struck penalty round the post. Lennon said: "My only complaint is that he put it the same side as he did the last time. To be fair to Allan, it was a fantastic save and he made another great save from (Daniel) Majstorovic as well. So sometimes you have to tip your hat to the goalkeeper. If it had been a poorly-struck penalty then I would have criticised him for it, but it wasn't, it was an excellent save. So we have no problem with Samaras, we wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for him earlier in the season. He grew into the game as did the rest of the team. We weathered what Rangers threw at us and once our centre halves got a grip of their centre halves, the midfield got stronger and they started to wilt. We defended set-pieces very well and I don't think our goalkeeper had a save to make, although they had a few chances which flashed past the post but you expect that when you come here. We were the better team in the second half and should have won the game." After the game, Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell praised Lennon, the players and fans for their efforts. Lawwell said: "On behalf of the club, I would like to applaud the manager and players for their magnificent efforts today. It's also very important that we thank our supporters, too, for the positive backing which they gave to the team. Clearly, it's been a difficult week for Neil and he deserves enormous praise for the way he has handled this very tough period. I know Neil has been very humbled by the support given to him by our fans during this time, and they were magnificent in the way they backed him and the team this afternoon. They were a credit to the club and supported the team the Celtic way, and their backing will be vital over the final few weeks of the season."
