Motherwell 1-2 Celtic: League leaders pushed all the way in absorbing contest

Celtic “made it hard for themselves” as their seven-point Scottish Premiership lead came under threat in a narrow win over Motherwell, said Ange Postecoglou.

The Parkhead side cantered to a 4-0 League Cup win at Fir Park a month ago, but needed a first-half Kyogo Furuhashi tap-in to ignite them here.

The game looked over as a contest when Daizen Maeda rifled a thumping second with six minutes to play, only for Ross Tierney’s goal moments later to cause the exodus of home fans to be stemmed in hope of a grandstand finish.

Motherwell – who remain in ninth – caused Celtic some heart-stopping moments during a pulsating 90 minutes, but it wasn’t enough to bring about the visitors’ first midweek league defeat since May 2016.

“We didn’t get into any sort of rhythm, especially in the first half. We complicated things and made it difficult for ourselves. But we found a way to win again,” said Postecoglou.

“Part of the strength of this team is the character and resilience. Subs coming on are important and they all made a contribution. Daizen was raring to go and I’m really pleased he got his goal.”

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The first of those moments came before the plumes of smoke drifting from the away end at Fir Park had fully dispersed.

A Stephen O’Donnell through ball unleashed Kevin van Veen. Bursting through the smoke and Celtic defence, he steered himself around Joe Hart, but his shot from a narrowing angle scudded a post before he scudded the ball away in frustration.

It would be Motherwell’s game in microcosm. Signs of promise, plenty of endeavour, but just not finding themselves in key moments. Similar would happen when Louis Moult’s headed effort agonisingly bounced up and over the bar in the second half, or when a glut of crosses didn’t quite find their mark.

At the other end, they were the masters of their own downfall in two of the game’s key moments. For the opener, Callum Slattery was robbed in his own box by Matt O’Riley, who then put the ball on a plate for Kyogo.

There was an air of the avoidable about the second, too. A quick throw in deep in Celtic territory hit Sead Haksabanovic in the head and bounces to a team-mate in green and white.. The counter-attack was then sprung, David Turnbull floating a delicious ball for Maeda to take on the run and thrash under Liam Kelly.

Celtic were far from their creative best, and were stifled for large parts by their well-drilled hosts. However, they were controversially denied a goal when Jota was ruled offside before cutely lobbing Kelly.

Giorgios Giakoumakis also was just put off enough by Ricki Lamie with the goal gaping with time running out.

Tierney’s late conversion from a Slattery ball had home fans thinking that halting a run of 14 defeats on the bounce to the Glasgow side may be feasible. Instead, it was Celtic who celebrated with their supporters at full-time.

Player of the match – Kyogo Furuhashi

Celtic keep rolling on – analysis

It was far from hot stuff from the defending champions on a wintry night, but it’s hard to argue with the facts as Postecoglou’s side recorded their eighth domestic win in a row. The blip in Paisley which preceded that run seems a long time ago.

There were glimpses of vintage Celtic, but with six changes from the team which defeated Dundee United on Saturday, they struggled to click in the first half, and looked vulnerable in the second as Motherwell attempted to find an equaliser.

For Steven Hammell’s side, there’s a clear identity with how he wants the game played, but their recent run of results have caused any momentum to stall. The Fir Park club have lost eight of their last 10, and will desperately want to get into this winter break with a positive result on Saturday and begin to regroup.

Bevis Mugabi, Stuart McKinstry and Van Veen were all lost to injury in the first half. The Motherwell boss doesn’t have his problems to seek.

What they said

Motherwell manager Steven Hammell: “Matt [Penney] took it quickly and the Celtic player stopped it from off the pitch. That was the frustration. Essentially the Celtic player has headed the ball on to the pitch. It’s not an excuse but we were wanting them to look at it. I don’t even though if they did, it was just dismissed quickly.

“As the game went on I felt we had a lot of momentum second half, we played with more intensity, we played higher up the pitch and a bit more aggressive. Again we just fell short.”

What’s next?

Motherwell conclude their pre-winter break fixtures at St Johnstone on Saturday (15:00 GMT), while league leaders Celtic host Ross County at the same time.