The Celtic supporters have been out in force on social media as they heralded super-sub Leigh Griffiths for his contribution at Pittodrie.
The Hoops were 2-1 down to Derek McInnes’ side when Neil Lennon threw Griffiths on. Unsurprisingly, he scored a whopping effort just minutes after arriving onto the pitch as he slammed a brilliant left-footed strike into the top corner.
It was a simply colossal moment in the game, as it completely helped to turn the contest around. Celtic would score two minutes later to go 3-2 ahead, albeit McInnes’s side nabbed another penalty in stoppage time to secure a point.
However, despite the sour taste in our mouths, Griffiths’ impact on proceedings yesterday simply cannot be underestimated. That was reflected in supporters’ reactions to his goal contribution too as many urged Lennon to stick with him going forward:
https://twitter.com/Dylan67CFC/status/1320358334575370245
https://twitter.com/CMcGin2006/status/1320358357769834498
https://twitter.com/HarryJ_67/status/1320360298478473216
A super-sub or the first name on the team-sheet?
It’s easy to go all in on the manager and have a massive pop at him for not starting Griffiths, but you also have to take in the bigger picture.
Griff was one of the poorer players against Milan on Thursday night, and that’s saying something. Given he played 45 minutes in it after only having played 37 beforehand all season, you can see why Lennon was hesitant to start him yesterday.
Besides, were any of us truly complaining when we saw Albian Ajeti up top on his own? There was nothing wrong with the starting XI at face value, and it was easy to see why the manager felt like starting Griffiths on the bench.
The only real aspect you can question Lennon on here is whether he left it too late before bringing him on. But even then, Griffiths had time to play his part as he got the second equaliser. It’s not as if our lack of chances cost us yesterday – we scored three goals.
But it’ll also be intriguing to see how Lennon uses Griffiths going forward. He’s now scored late goals in two of his three substitute appearances in the Premiership this season. Does the manager see him as more of a super-sub? Or is there a place for him in the starting XI when everyone is fit?
For me, it’s the latter. Griffiths is an utterly stupendous finisher. For a team in need of goals he needs to be stuck with, especially when we visit places like Motherwell, Hibernian, and Rangers over the next few months. Hopefully, that’s the call Lennon makes.
In other news, Kristoffer Ajer has shown his leadership qualities as he refused to blame a struggling team-mate for yesterday’s collapse.
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