Former Celtic boss Neil Lennon records his first win as Dunfermline manager.
Lennon took over The Pars less than two weeks ago as the Celtic legend was charged with saving Dunfermline’s Championship status.
In his first match, Lennon faced up to his former Celtic captain Scott Brown at Ayr as the Hoops duo squared up to each other in the managerial dugout.
Brown came out victorious in that game but after facing David Martindale’s Livingston last night, Celtic hero Lennon recorded his first victory in Fife.
David Martindale fuming after defeat to Celtic icon Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline
Remarkably, Lennon had only faced Martindale in the dugout on one other occasion in his managerial career.
That was at Celtic when Livingston held the Hoops to a 2-2 draw at Almondvale in 2021. This time, however, Lennon got the upper hand and he has left Martindale fuming after his 1-0 win at East End Park
Martindale told Livingston’s YouTube channel: “Twenty minutes not good enough I thought they bullied us, game is really direct, really physical.
“I expected it from Neil’s team. I kind of know Neil really well. I know he’s been the Celtic manager it’s a wee bit different.
“He would have came in and looked at his squad and said, ‘This is how I think we going to pick points up
“The game was really direct. I felt that for 20 minutes, we struggled to get a grip on it slightly, and then I changed the shape. We change the shape, and then I think the game becomes a bit more even, let’s call it that, and then we give away the goal, and it is really, really disappointing.”
Neil Lennon praises Celtic youngster Tobi Oluwayemi
Lennon will be delighted to finally get his first win under his belt as the Dunfermline manager and the former treble-winning Celtic gaffer pointed out a Hoops youngster who was crucial in the victory.
Lennon told Dunfermline’s official website: “They have had two brilliant wins. Falkirk, obviously, last week and then the Cup final at the weekend.
“We thought maybe we’d catch them early, maybe there’d been a bit of fatigue there. But you know, and I know from my experience, when you play a David Martindale team, whether you’re the manager, Celtic, Hibs, or Dunfermline, you’re going to be in a game.
“It’s going to be competitive and the players had to stand up to that and I thought they did that very, very well.
“We defended set plays well. Tobi [Oluwayemi] had to make one outstanding save when they needed him and you know, that’ll give him a huge shot in the arm as well. So as an all-round team performance, I could not have asked any more of them.”
Oluwayemi left Celtic to join Dunfermline on loan at the start of the season to continue his development at the Championship side.
Despite their struggles, the Celtic Academy graduate has made 31 appearances for the Fifers and kept 10 clean sheets.
At just 21, Oluwayemi has time on his side to continue his development and, hopefully, come back to Celtic a better keeper at the end of the season and look to stake a claim as the Hoops number one some time in the future.
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