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Chris Sutton that it was painful watching Lewis Morgan lead the line for Celtic in the first hour of the Scottish League Cup final at the weekend.
Morgan was the surprise name to feature in the starting lineup at Hampden Park. Odsonne Edouard was fit enough to be included in the matchday squad, but Neil Lennon decided against taking a gamble on the Frenchman.
It would prove to be a difficult outing for Morgan. Celtic rarely got anywhere near Rangers’s goal during the first hour and he often got nowhere near the long balls sent up to him by his teammates.
It was no surprise that Celtic looked a lot more dangerous once Morgan came off. Edouard won the free-kick that led to the Hoops’ winner. He nearly created another goal, and he was able to take some of the pressure off the defenders by getting the Bhoys up the pitch.
And Sutton seems to have suggested that Lennon cannot afford to pick Morgan up front again after his cup final display.
“There was no focal point and it was painful to watch as Lewis Morgan just isn’t anywhere near the level of Odsonne Edouard,” .
“To be blunt, he’s not a natural centre-forward and when he was on the pitch Celtic were effectively playing with 10.”
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It was arguably somewhat unfair on Morgan to expect him to play up front. He has played there recently. But he is not a striker. And Edouard’s presence on the bench probably did him favours.
The Celtic fans would have been forgiven for imploring Lennon to bring Edouard on as soon as possible – particularly with Rangers playing the better football. And of course, that leaves Morgan to face quite scathing criticism.