Clint Hill told me he got away with penalty decision, says Brendan Rodgers
Monday 13 March 2017 12:53, UK
Brendan Rodgers has claimed Clint Hill told him he "got away with it" after a late Celtic penalty appeal was turned down against Rangers.
Hill's dramatic equaliser earned Rangers a 1-1 draw from the fourth Old Firm clash of the season after Stuart Armstrong's first-half strike opened the scoring at Celtic Park on Sunday.
The hosts had a stoppage-time penalty shout waved away by referee Bobby Madden when substitute Leigh Griffiths was upended by the Rangers goalscorer.
It would have presented Celtic with a golden opportunity to snatch victory and Rodgers said Madden's decision was incorrect.
"My only disappointment is I felt it was a penalty at the end," Rodgers told Sky Sports. "Whenever Clint Hill tells me he got away with it at the end, then that lets me know it was a penalty.
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"But our run continues. The players were absolutely focused today to get the three points, we couldn't get the win but we'll take the point and move onto the next game."
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Celtic are six points away from a sixth straight Scottish Premiership title and Sunday's draw extended their unbeaten run to 36 domestic matches.
Rodgers felt his side improved after a sluggish first-half but admitted he was left disappointed by the defending for Hill's leveller.
"It is never nice when you concede late on," he added. "We defended the first phase of it well and in the second phase we just came out and left a gap that we should not have left.
"But I am really proud of the players. I know it's always difficult in these types of games but in terms of a control of the game, we weren't so good.
"I felt in the second half we were much better, much the better team, and then we obviously had to make a change when Stuart [Armstrong] came off with a tight calf.
"We probably weren't so fluent after that. We aim to win every game and if you can't win, you make sure you take your point."
And the Celtic boss also paid tribute to the performance of his captain, adding: "Scott Brown was absolutely incredible in the middle of midfield and overall it shows the level the team is at when we're disappointed not to have won the game."
