Mixed feelings for Commons after Benfica draw
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Article summary
Kris Commons was left to rue Celtic FC's lack of cutting edge after being held by SL Benfica though the consensus from both sides was that a Group G point was a fair result.
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Kris Commons, who caught the eye in an unusual role behind lone striker Nicolás Fedor, admitted Celtic FC lacked "cutting edge" as they played out a goalless draw with SL Benfica in their UEFA Champions League Group G opener. Ultimately he was not too disheartened, however, a feeling replicated in the Portuguese side's camp by Jardel.
Kris Commons, Celtic forward
I'm slightly surprised to get the [Player Rater] award because there were a lot of good performances out there tonight: Scott Brown, Kelvin Wilson and Emilio Izaguirre all played fantastically. [Fedor] came in and did a tremendous job. He held the ball up, looked a goal threat and caused them a few problems so for his first game in the Champions League I thought he did ever so well.
We've got to take advantage of our home games and pick up maximum points. We know it's going to be difficult. We've got some tough tests away from home, so we've got to exploit our qualities at home especially with the fans that we've got – it is important we give them something to cheer about. We worked hard tonight but lacked a little bit of cutting edge in the final third.
Thomas Rogne, Celtic defender
It was a good game, I think. We'd have liked to have tested the goalkeeper more than we did but we are quite happy with the performance. You sit on the bench and try to analyse the game and see how they play, so I was able to slot in at the back quite easily. They sat back quite a bit and tried to hit us on the break but we were aware of it and dealt with it quite well. I think we can get points away from home as well, so we are quite happy with our performance.
Jardel, Benfica defender
We are never happy when we don't win but in the circumstances I think it is a good result against Celtic away from home even if the best opportunities to win were ours. We accept the result and we have plenty of games left to pick up more points.
It was a huge responsibility to take the captain's place because the captain always wants to be involved, but I think we coped well without him. To take a point away from home is important for the final reckoning, but we now have to think about the next game and try to win.
