Ronny Deila says that Leigh Griffiths will not dwell on the disappointment of his missed penalty at Hamilton.
Celtic manager Ronny Deila says that under-fire striker Leigh Griffiths will not be stripped of penalty duties after missing a crucial one in Friday’s 1-1 draw at Hamilton Academical, in comments published by The Herald.
The 25-year-old scored and missed a spot-kick in the stalemate, with his second effort bringing a superb stop from goalkeeper Michael McGovern on 65 minutes.
Despite the Bhoys playing with 10 men at the time, after Dedryck Boyata picked up a first-half red card, it seemed as if the botched penalty would not prove costly – but it did.
Seventeen minutes from the end, second-half substitute Eamonn Brophy equalised in fine fashion as the hosts spared their blushes by salvaging a hard-earned point.
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers marksman has 25 Scottish Premiership goals to his name this season, and Deila believes that the hitman will bounce back as a result of his disappointment.
“Leigh missing the penalty isn’t a concern for me because I know he’ll continue to score goals,” the Norwegian is quoted as saying by Herald Scotland.
“We had three big chances in the second half against Hamilton at 1-0. If we got to 2-0 then it becomes very hard to catch us again. It was disappointing. There’s competition to take the penalties, but Leigh is a good penalty taker. Normally he scores and he scored one on Friday.
“When you have a striker who has scored over 30 goals this season he should be capable of doing that. He’s shown it before. The penalty could have been a bit lower, but it was a good save. He’s a confident boy. He’ll be hungry for the next game now.”
The reigning SPL champions and current leaders were let off the hook by second-placed Aberdeen, who missed the chance to reduce the gap to four points after being held to a 1-1 draw by St Johnstone on Saturday afternoon.
Celtic are back in action on March 2 for the visit of Dundee FC.
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