The Scottish Premiership side made it through to the group-stages of the Champions League, but the defender’s performance almost cost them dearly.
Celtic’s Saidy Janko in action against Hapoel Be’er Sheva
Celtic may have made it through to the group-stages of the Champions League, but supporters were not entirely happy following their 2-0 defeat to Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the second-leg of their play-off tie with one player taking the brunt of the criticism.
The loss in Israel saw the Hoops go through 5-4 on aggregate, but it was perhaps a much more tense night for Brendan Rodgers’ men than it needed to be.
Brendan Rodgers celebrates
After an emphatic win at Parkhead left Hapoel with only a slim chance of progress, the last thing Rodgers would have wanted was for his side to give their opponents any hope of capitalising on their two away goals.
Sadly for the Hoops, the home side were given a huge amount of hope as Saidy Janko’s early challenge led to the referee pointing to the spot. While the contact appeared to be just outside the box, it was undoubtedly a lazy attempt to win the ball by the full-back.
Luckily for him, Craig Gordon spared his blushes by saving the spot-kick.
However, things would get worse for Janko as shortly after half-time, when Hapoel were 1-0 up, his mistake led to the home team’s second goal.
Hapoel celebrate their first goal of the night
Seemingly under very little pressure, the former Manchester United youngster managed to collide with Craig Gordon, knocking the ball out of the goalkeeper’s hands and presenting Ovidiu Hoban with an open goal to double the lead on the night and ensure that all Bhoys supporters would spend the final 42 minutes on the edge of their seats.
Unsurprisingly, fans took to Twitter to express their disappointment at Janko’s display, but perhaps slightly unexpectedly, Rodgers also came in for some criticism for not substituting the 20-year-old at any stage.
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