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Leigh Griffiths will draw on heroics against England as he looks to fire Celtic into Champions League
Leigh Griffiths will close his eyes on Wednesday and think of England. He is likely to do it several times - depending on how many free kicks Celtic are awarded during their home meeting with Astana in the first leg of their Champions League play-off.
Griffiths, of course, captured the headlines in Scotland’s World Cup qualifier against England at Hampden in June, when he planted consecutive free kicks from 25 yards behind Joe Hart in the 2-2 draw.
The memory of those strikes – and another delectable contribution in last season’s play-off against Hapoel Beer-Sheva – fuel Griffiths’ desire to supplement his tally and help Celtic into the lucrative group stage of the tournament.
“Do those experiences give me something? Yeah, especially the Scotland v England game,” Griffiths said. “There was massive expectation on me to get the goals to keep our World Cup dream alive.
“I thought my all-round game that day was good. It could still have been a little bit better but I scored two goals and helped the team get a massive point. I was gutted it wasn’t all three.
“So, standing over a free-kick tomorrow night, when the ref is lining up their wall, I’ll close my eyes and think about that - and last year against Hapoel - and near enough every other free-kick that I have scored. I’m just hoping I can replicate one of them again.”
One way or another, Griffiths is likely to be a crucial figure in these proceedings. With Moussa Dembele out until next month because of a recurring hamstring injury and with no new arrivals in that department during the summer, the 26-year-old forward represents Celtic’s most significant threat.
He has, though, had problems with his calves, a condition which has prompted Brendan Rodgers to use him carefully in the run-up to the matches which will determine the nature of Celtic’s European participation until Christmas. “The calves are good,” said Griffiths, who was substituted in the 1-0 victory over Partick Thistle last week.
“They were feeling good on Friday but the gaffer has to look at the next two Champions League games and he wants his best players available so he took a precaution. I’m raring to go for tomorrow.”
As is Rodgers, who believes that the space of 12 months has seen the Hoops squad advance in proficiency. “This year has been much smoother for us and that’s down to the maturity of the group and how they understand what we look for and how they play and the approach,” he said.
“You can’t get too emotional. They’re emotive games, of course, and we want passion and aggression but in order for us to get to the other side you have to stay calm.
“So, the players have learnt that. We played enough big games last season and from what we’ve seen over this campaign so far, with that bit of maturity in knowing our ideas of the game, if we stick to them we’ll get our rewards.”
The demands of next week’s return leg in Kazakhstan, with a flight time of almost six hours and a time difference of five hours, means that a positive result in this instalment – preferably including a clean sheet – will be of great value. Shortage of cover has seen Nir Bitton withdrawn from midfield to central defence but the Israeli’s performance against Partick Thistle, when he was fortunate not to have given away an injury time penalty kick, prompted some observers to express doubts about his suitability for inclusion in the back line for this contest.
“It could have been a penalty but in lots of occasions those moments will go for him,” Rodgers said. “You could have a defender in there who doesn’t get back quick enough so there are pluses and minuses.
“There will always be a risk if you are putting in a midfield player who doesn’t normally play there. If it was a big gamble I wouldn’t do it. I have taken risks all my life and 8/9 times out of 10 they pay off.
“If I am playing against a team who are totally bombarding you with high balls and direct balls away from home, then maybe you think differently. Ok, it might not be perfect playing Nir there but he has got a good idea of what he is doing, he has got the right profile, he will go and attack it, he will head it and he can play football.
“I don’t see it as a risk. I will take risks but they will always be calculated. I would never just sit down and say let’s play him in there because he is tall. There is a certain dynamic to it and he has done it very well.”
