Former Celtic boss Davie Hay has identified when the Hoops got it wrong in their 3-1 Europa League loss to Copenhagen, the Evening Times reports.
Hay, who won the title as Hoops manager in 1986, feels that Neil Lennon made a mistake in showing too much respect to the Danish side, and should have started the strike duo of Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths.
“Where Neil Lennon perhaps did make a mistake in my book was that he showed Copenhagen a little too much respect at Celtic Park” Hay said, writing in his Evening Times column.
“Really missed the partnership”
“I can understand being cautious and going with one up front over there, but I thought that Celtic really missed the partnership between Leigh Griffiths and Odsonne Edouard up front on Thursday night” he concluded.
Did Celtic show too much respect to Copenhagen? Perhaps.
Although it should be remembered that the Hoops did create plenty of chances on Thursday.
Had one or two of those efforts found the back of the net then Lennon’s decision to play with one striker would have been lauded.
Perhaps manager thought Hoops would dominate
However, it was not to be, and the Hoops exited Europe. Perhaps as Celtic dominated large parts of the first-leg playing only one striker, Neil Lennon thought that lightning would strike twice.
That didn’t happen though, and Celtic lost a tie they really should have won in the first-half of the first-leg.
One wonders if when the Hoops return to European action for the Champions League qualifiers Neil Lennon will decide to move to two strikers once more.
That could depend on the circumstances of the game, opponents etc. Still, Hay’s viewpoint certainly has some merit, and it can be argued that he is correct following the Hoops’ exit from Europe.
Is the former Celtic manager correct? Should we have played with two up-front against Copenhagen? Share your thoughts below with a comment in our new discussion forum…
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