Celts dig out win over tricky Saints

NEIL LENNON and Steve Lomas found themselves clashing over two major incidents during Celtic’s 2-0 win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park yesterday, which took them to within four points of SPL leaders Rangers.

Saints boss Steve Lomas questioned the honesty of Daniel Majstorovic’s challenge on David Robertson on the half-hour mark which saw both players go off, but which left the Sweden international with a suspected fractured cheekbone and eye socket.

Lomas also claimed that Hoops midfielder Beram Kayal should have been sent off after the break for charging down Liam Craig’s free-kick after being booked by referee Euan Norris for doing it the first time.

Celtic broke for Ki to score Celtic’s second goal, adding to Gary Hooper’s opener minutes earlier, with the Perth boss saying: “Maybe you don’t get those decisions against Celtic.”

However, Lennon said: “I don’t think it deserved a booking the second time and the Majstorovic challenge was a perfectly good full-blooded challenge from a centre-half who only had eyes for the ball and he ended up worse off for his own bravery.

“There was nothing wrong with the challenge at all.”

On Saturday Rangers beat Inverness 2-1 at Ibrox. Gers supporters booed the team off at the interval against Caley when the game was goalless and whose nerves were shredded during the second half before substitute Kyle Lafferty scored a late winner, after former Rangers midfielder Andrew Shinnie cancelled out Carlos Bocanegra’s opener.

Pat Fenlon’s Hibernian went down 1-0 to 10-man Aberdeen at Pittodrie. Peter Pawlett was sent off late on for the Dons but Scott Vernon’s second-half penalty after Pawlett had been brought down by Ivan Sproule, proved enough. Fenlon said: “I thought it wasn’t a penalty when I saw it for the first time and I have since watched it again and it wasn’t a penalty kick. I don’t think there was any contact.”