Lennon relieved as Bhoys avoid repeat of cup upset
The Hoops boss suffered disappointment in last season’s semi-final against Ross County and he was keen to avoid a repeat of that result against the Irn-Bru Third Division outfit.
Berwick managed to pull off one of the biggest shocks in Scottish football when they defeated Rangers back in 1967 but they failed to match that achievement when goals from Daniel Majstorovic and Scott Brown sealed a 2-0 win for Celtic.
Lennon said: “It was solid but it wasn’t spectacular and we expected that to be the case today with the pitch and the conditions.
“We had to play in a different way because the pitch didn’t suit the way we like to play. It’s another clean sheet and we are pretty pleased.
“These games are always difficult and they are always scrappy affairs. If you look at England yesterday, there were quite a few upsets. Anything can happen on any given day.
“We were quite comfortable in the game and once the second goal went in I felt we could have won the game more comfortably.
“I thought we should have had a penalty for a challenge on Thomas Rogne but we can’t complain, it’s been a good day’s work.
“It’s a test of their character, it’s from one spectrum of the game to another. It’s all about attitude and application and they had all that today.
“Sometimes the quality wasn’t great but sometimes you have to accept that on a pitch like that.
“I’ve been involved in one or two (upsets) myself and they can come back to haunt you. It’s important because we want to challenge for all the trophies.”
New signing Freddie Ljungberg made his debut at tiny Shielfield Park after recovering from the virus that kept him out of last week’s Old Firm derby win.
Lennon said: “It was difficult for him to have an impact on the game because it was quite congested in there.
“But the 60 minutes will have done him the world of good and the longer he trains and plays, there will be more opportunities for him to show what he can do.”
Meanwhile, Lennon hopes Georgios Samaras is not set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after being forced out of the action before half-time with a hamstring injury. He said: “It doesn’t look as bad as first feared. It was almost like a cramp so we’re not too sure whether it is a tear or a tweak yet.”
Berwick boss Jimmy Crease claims his side were denied a penalty in the opening minutes when Steven Notman went to ground under pressure from Charlie Mulgrew.
But he admits Celtic would probably have come out on top even if his side had taken an early lead, despite having no complaints about his own players’ efforts.
He said: “We’ve put in a decent performance. We are disappointed to get beat as you would be as a football man, whether it’s against Celtic or anyone else.
“We’ve got to take the positives out of the game, I thought we equipped ourselves well and our discipline was good. I thought my players handled the occasion well.
“We had a great call for a penalty kick after two minutes, we think it was a stonewaller. These things happen and referees get things wrong and I thought the officials were excellent.
“It would have given us a confidence booster but, in saying that, Celtic were comfortable with their win and I always felt that, if we had scored, they could maybe have went up the park and scored themselves.”
BERWICK: Peat, Smith, McLean, McLeod, Thomson, Notman, Currie, Greenhill, McLaren, Little (McMullan 68), Darren Gribben (Brazil 76).
CELTIC: Zaluska, Wilson, Rogne, Majstorovic, Mulgrew, Forrest, Kayal (Crosas 84), Ledley, Ljungberg (Brown 64), McCourt, Samaras (Stokes 36).
Referee: C Murray (Scotland).
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