Motherwell 4-2 Celtic, April 1991

The greatest of them all. Having been robbed first by Douglas Hope and then the inside of the post in the first tie, we were due a break in this semi final replay. We got it when Elliott’s early opener was disallowed for offside but Celtic looked like steamrollering us and went one up moments later. Remarkably we equalised through Arnott but the first half was given a fairer complexion when Rogan restored their lead. Philliben forced a breathtaking save from Bonner but we weren’t to be denied and Arnott equalised again. With fifteen minutes to go, Colin O’Neill stepped up – and you know the rest. Kirk’s glorious chip secured our cup final place and the party could begin.

What a first goal...

Motherwell 2-1 Celtic, December 1996

What a beautiful day this turned out to be. We were fighting yet another relegation battle whilst Celtic were trying to stop Rangers matching their nine in a row league record. The majority of the first half was largely forgettable but Billy Davies gave us the lead just before half time with a clever looping header. In these days you were still only allowed three subs and we had chosen to have an extra outfield player on the bench rather than a spare ‘keeper. The wisdom of this decision was severely called into question when our goalie – Woods? – was crocked by a bad challenge and had to go off. Surprisingly the diminutive Jamie Dolan was nominated to go in goals and we waited for Celtic to turn us over. Instead, a heroic rearguard action kept them out until the 83^rd minute when Chris Hay equalised. The game seemed to be up for us but we hit back in the best manner possible. In the last minute, Andy Roddie met a cross on the half volley and while the shot was saved, the ball squirmed along the goal line. Ian Ross slid in to force it into the net and send Fir Park wild. You don’t get days like that any more!

Motherwell 2-1 Celtic, September 2002

September may be too early to be in a relegation battle but every ‘Well fan knew that we were in for a long, hard season post administration. Not for the first time no one gave us a chance against Celtic and not for the first time we proved them wrong. We were very lucky though – Henrik Larsson gave Daniel Sengewald the run around and missed three first half chances he’d normally have scored in his sleep. As the game wore on we began to win more territory ourselves before James McFadden stepped up a gear. First a clever turn and nut meg released Hammell down the wing – his cross was bulleted home by Shaun Fagan. Moments later Faddy skipped past his man and danced in front of Valgaren. The Belgian did not turn down the opportunity to commit the foul and McFadden got up to score the penalty. Hartson got one back with a deflection and we had a very tense moment in injury time when Maloney was poised over a free kick. But he missed – and we had another famous victory.

Following the leader

Celtic 0-2 Motherwell, November 1997

The exact details of our situation in the build up to this game have escaped me but suffice to say we were at the wrong end of the table again. Also, we had not won away from home for an obscene amount of time. Things started as expected with Celtic pounding us and it took a combination of good defending and luck (there were multiple goal line clearances and they might have hit the post) kept us level. When we finally managed to escape our half, we won a set piece or a corner and took the lead. Again luck was involved, Coyle’s shot deflecting into the net off the chest of McCulloch. We got a further break when Regi Blinker – who had been torturing poor Kevin Christie – took exception to one challenge and elbowed him in the head. He was off and we were up against ten men. Celtic, now roared on by an enraged crowd, still dominated but we held firm. In the last minute Coyle broke down the right and squared to give Micky Weir a tap in, which he nearly contrived to miss. A glorious success was guaranteed.

Celtic 0-1 Motherwell, October 1999

Our last win at Celtic park was six years ago this month. It would not be unfair to suggest that 90% of the credit for this win belonged to Andy Goram. For ninety minutes he produced a string of saves to deny Celtic, including a miraculous tip over the bar from a Viduka header. We thought we had taken a very early lead when Spencer’s header seemed to be clawed back from behind the line by Gould but the goal was only delayed. A wonderful inside ball from McMillan released Twaddle who raced clear and scored with a great finish. Celtic pounded us and got a boost when Shaun Teale was sent off after a strange interpretation of the ‘goal scoring opportunity’ rule. Despite being down to ten men we held on through hard work, organised defending and brilliant goal keeping. What is often forgotten about the John Barnes ‘era’ at Parkhead is that they actually made a good start to the season. Had they beat us that night, they would have gone back to the top of the league. As a result of our win, Barnes and his Celtic side never recovered.

So, there you have it, five great wins over Celtic to get the juices flowing before Wednesday. How sweet would another unlikely win be?