Brendan on Celtic’s penalty winner as he praises Iheanacho | OneFootball

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has discussed the penalty decision that helped his side to a hard fought win at Rugby Park. Kelechi Iheanacho netted from the spot to spark jubilant scenes behind the goal in injury time.

The Irishman watched on as his side impressed in the second half but conceded a late goal as David Watson rose to head in from a corner to cancel out Daizen Maeda’s goal. Celtic were pushing for a late winner when James Forrest’s effort on goal deflected against Lewis Mayo’s arm.

Matthew MacDermid instructed John Beaton to attend at the pitch side monitor, which resulted in a penalty kick being awarded. On his debut, Iheanacho stepped up and scored.

Speaking to the media after the game, Rodgers expressed a degree of sympathy for Kilmarnock regarding the penalty that sealed the points for Celtic.

“Yeah, listen, I think if you’re the home team and you get that given against you then of course you may not be so happy. I think for myself, we create the chaos in the box, create the opportunity and then obviously we get that moment where it does pop up and hit someone on its way, maybe into goal.

“I don’t know, but it’s certainly on the one image I’ve seen. But like you say it pops up and hits his arm.”

The manager touched upon what the goal could mean for the Nigerian forward, who arrived to little fanfare given Celtic’s poor end to the transfer window.

“I was really pleased with Kelechi Iheanacho, for him. I think the last penalty he took was for me at Wembley against Manchester City in the Community Shield, he stuck that one away and that was his other moment there, and I think that’s a big moment for him with the supporters and everything else.

“So, yeah, we got it, he’s still got to score and he scored it and then we take the win.”

The ball was directed goalwards and the SFA have been clear that proximity and the deflection shouldn’t mean that a penalty cannot be awarded. Killie fans may feel aggrieved but the reality is that this comes from confusion over what the handball rule is as opposed to the decision itself.