Lennon blasts late dismissal

Celtic captain Neil Lennon believes it is “a nonsense” that Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink was sent off following the Dutchman’s injury-time winner against Inverness.

The 28-year-old pounced after Darren Dods sent a Shunsuke Nakamura cross skywards and when the ball came down in the Caley Thistle penalty area, Vennegoor of Hesselink blasted a volley past Michael Fraser.

The former PSV Eindhoven striker proceeded to celebrate amongst the jubilant Celtic support behind the goal and when he emerged from the joyous scenes, referee Iain Brines produced a yellow card.

Vennegoor of Hesselink had already been booked for dissent during the second half and as a result, the forward was dismissed.

That decision left Lennon feeling aggrieved and the 35-year-old has called for officials to adopt a more understanding attitude in the future.

He said: “It’s just a nonsense and I think it is really petty, especially when he is running to his own fans to celebrate.

“What else is he meant to do? Because he has won the game for us right at the end and obviously he is ecstatic about it.

“People will say that the referee is doing things by the book, but I would like to think that some officials could show a little bit more common sense.”

Lennon also thought Vennegoor of Hesselink was unfortunate to have received his first caution.

The Dutchman protested after Inverness equalised Derek Riordan’s opener when Graham Bayne scored in the aftermath of what appeared to be a wrongly awarded throw-in.

Lennon said: “To be fair, he has been booked for telling the referee that the throw-in which led to their goal should have been ours, so I think both the bookings were a bit harsh.”

However, Lennon was delighted to have emerged from a tough encounter with a hard-earned victory saying: “I was concerned that we took our foot off the pedal during the second half so I am grateful for the three points.

“A lot of people will think we nicked it and to be fair we probably did, but this is a great win for us.

“I thought that Caley Thistle played well, but they always do against us and I have a lot of respect for what they have achieved since they came in to the SPL.

“But I can’t feel too sorry for them, because I am sure they wouldn’t have felt sorry for us if they’d have won.”

Inverness goalscorer Bayne was disappointed with his side’s late capitulation, but paid tribute to Celtic’s battling qualities.

He said: “When you hear on the tannoy that there is only two minutes to go then you think you have done enough to earn a point, but I suppose that is why they are the champions, because they always keep going to the end.

“It is annoying, but the amount of times Celtic score in the last five minutes to win matches is testament to them”.