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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
David Irvine

Watch Neil Lennon's pained reaction to Celtic Champions League nightmare

This is the moment a stunned Neil Lennon reacted to Celtic's Champions League opener descending into disaster.

Brendan Rodgers' side had equipped themselves well in the first-half with very little between them and hosts Feyenoord in the group stage opener. That was until a stoppage-time opener.

With just seconds to go before the break, Calvin Stengs fired home a free-kick past the despairing Joe Hart to send his side in front.

And Lennon - appearing on Sky Sports Soccer Special - could not believe what he was watching as his former club fell behind in the Netherlands.

Clutching his head, he shouted: "Oh no! No no no no no!"

A gutted Lennon then described the goal and suggested keeper Hart might have done more to prevent the opener.

He continued: "There's been nothing in the game.

"It's a free-kick, it's central, it's about 30 yards out I've no idea how it's gone in and Joe Hart doesn't save it.

"It's whipped in by Stengs around the wall, it bounces in front of Joe and it's gone in not even in the top corner, sort of halfway in the side of the net.

"It's such a poor goal for us to give away. There's been nothing in the game.

"You're expecting a goalkeeper of the calibre of Joe Hart to save that."

However, Martin O'Neill insisted there was another reason for the goal - an incorrectly set-up wall. 

The former Celtic manager pinpointed Kyogo Furuhashi's role on the inside of the wall as the ball curled past him and into the net.

It was referenced by Brendan Rodgers post-match with the players making and in-game decision on the wall set-up which would prove costly.

He said: “We’re disappointed with the first goal. We made a decision to adjust the wall in-game and it maybe cost us.

“I don’t mind players making decisions in-game, if it works. We were still in the game but in the second half I was really disappointed with the sendings off."

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