Celtic winger Bobby Petta has been rewarded with a call-up to the Holland squad for next week's friendly with England. Petta scored the first goal in Celtic's 3-1 win against Dutch giants Ajax, to edge the Parkhead club closer to their first appearance in the Champions League group stages.
Manager Martin O'Neill received another boost with the news that midfielder Neil Lennon is not on the verge of a suspension. It turns out that UEFA rules state that a player must be booked three times. The Northern Ireland international picked up a booking for a foul on Rafael van der Vaart, and feared that another caution in the return leg in Glasgow would mean that he would miss games in the group stages.
Lennon believes that he was unlucky to be booked. "It was just a little tug and considering what was going on it wasn't that bad. I did think that the possibility of a ban would affect my chance of playing in the second game at Parkhead. I wasn't sure how the system worked. But now I have been told that, even if I get booked in the second leg, I would be able to play in the first group game if we finish the job next week and get there. Last night is done and now I can go on and play like I always do," said the former Leicester City player.
Martin O'Neill paid tribute to his compatriot. "I thought he was terrific against Ajax, just immense. I must try and find another word to describe him," he said.
Goals from Bobby Petta, Didier Agathe and Chris Sutton gave Celtic a formidable lead. However, a strike from Shota Arveladze kept Ajax in with a chance, and Lennon is determined to avoid complacency. "You don't want to get carried away and we could easily go and blow it in the second leg. But we will try to make sure that does not happen," he said.
Filed by Greg McKevitt