Motherwell’s trip to Parkhead ended with a 2-1 loss. A goal in each half and a donation from Celtic settled the contest.
Motherwell got the game underway and immediately pressed forward. A corner was earned inside the first minute. Any thought that this bright start might be an early indicator of the flow of the game was soon dispelled.
We soon adopted a 4-5-1 shape as Celtic grew into the contest. Gone was the notion that Liam Kelly would initiate a calm build up from the back and instead he regularly launched the ball as far as he could upfield.
The home side scored after fifteen minutes. Careless loss of possession from Barry Maguire sparked an attack and Jota’s cross was headed from close range at Kelly by O’Reilly. The parry fell to Kyogo for an easy finish.
The ‘Well defence was shaken and they were under lots of pressure as Celtic pressed for a second goal. Kelly’s woodwork was rattled twice before the break but a lifeline appeared.
In a rare trip to the city end Motherwell got the ball into the Celtic penalty area. A clearance fell to Blair Spittal and he retuned it with a hopeful high lob. Juranovic chested the ball back but Hart was caught out and the ball trickled over the line. At the break it was 1-1.
There was more of a contest in the second half. Celtic had most of the ball but there were signs that Motherwell were playing their part. The winning goal followed a short Celtic corner. The ball was worked to Hatate outside the area and he unleashed an unstoppable shot to Kelly’s left.
Stevie Hammell made four substitutions as he tried to freshen resolve in search of an unlikely equaliser. Kelly produced a great stop at the feet of the Celtic striker but as the game neared the end Celtic were reducd in numbers as McGregor was given a red card as he choose a last man foul on Ross Tierney.
The home side retreated to a go slow as they held on to the slim lead but there was to be no upset. Motherwell have gone four without a win and travel to face Ross County on Tuesday.
Celtic 2 Motherwell 1
Attendance Team: Kelly, Penney, McGinn, Lamie, Solholm, Cornelius (McKinstry 68), Spittal (Tierney 79), Maguire, Goss(Morris 79), Van Veen (Moult 68), Shields
Saturday 1 October 2022