Honest mistake denies Leigh Griffiths debut goal (video highlights)
With Celtic leading 3-0 and the game entering the closing stages the former Wolves striker judged his run perfectly to meet a pass from Kris Commons before racing on to put the ball in the net.
Griffiths’ run and movement was perfect but unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for the linesman on the North Stand who raised his flag despite being perfectly placed to judge the incident.
Unfortunately the SPFL decided not to include that incident in their match highlights.
That decision wasn’t the only major decision that the officials got wrong with Stevie McLean, whose younger brother chose to play for Northern Ireland rather than Scotland, bottling out of awarding Celtic a penalty early in the second half when Stokes was chopped down just inside the penalty box.
A debut goal would have capped off a perfect day for the striker but he now has the mouthwatering opportunity to open his Celtic account at Tynecastle on Saturday and hammer in another nail into the relegation coffin of the Gorgie tax dodgers.
That opportunity won’t be lost on the striker who was in good company yesterday as a new look Celtic side illustrated their determination to complete the campaign undefeated.
“When you see Leigh’s performance, he was just the energy bunny,” Neil Lennon said. “He was everywhere and as the game continued he got more and more confident and he was very unlucky not to get the goal that was given offside, but his all-round game was excellent.
“And Stokesy’s been looking for that – for someone to play with at times. He had a great relationship with Gary Hooper and we’re hoping Leigh and him will form a good bond between the two of them.
“Stokey’s always got goals in him but the way he’s been playing in the last month or so, we’ve been very pleased with his all-round game, and now he’s getting the goals to add to his performances.”
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