Motherwell were outclassed and well beaten at Parkhead as Celtic scored four without reply.
The margin of the defeat is probably a fair reflection of the gap in quality between the sides. Motherwell fought hard and were a little unfortunate to be behind at the break but Celtic created plenty of opportunities in the second period and won with ease.
Stuart Kettlewell made four changes to the team that lined up in the ‘Well away strip. Liam Gordon, Steve Seddon, Andy Halliday and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos made way for Ewan Wilson, Tawanda Maswanhise, Tom Sparrow and Kofi Balmer and Lennon Miller got the game underway.
As expected most of the play took place in the Motherwell half. Tony Watt took on the lone striker role while his team-mates formed a couple of defensive ranks to repel the frequent Celtic attacks.
Motherwell made a couple of appearances at the other end. Maswanhise was book for simulation after 12 minutes and a corner was won after 26 minutes. In the wash following that flurry Miller and Harry Paton knocked each other to the floor to set up a Celtic break. Maeda had his attempt foiled by Aston Oxborough’s boot and the ball flew high and goalward. The ‘keeper recovered to palm to safety on the goal line.
With the comfrort of the break a minute away Celtic were awarded a soft penalty when Yang and Oxborough came together as the ball bounced. Arne Engels fired low to the corner to give the home side the lead at half-time.
There was an early chance for an equaliser when Marvin Kaleta directed a header from a corner on target only to see it blocked on the line by Tony Watt. The play swung to the other end and Celtic earned a corner. A powerful header from Maeda gave them a 2-0 lead.
Kettlewell made changes but the flow remained to to ‘Well goal. A third was conceded when Nicholas Kuhn’s shot from the edge of the box took a deflection. There was no such deviation for Reo Hatate’s effort beat Oxborough low on his left.
Motherwell held on without further loss and now have to prepare for the visit of the Rangers to Fir Park on Sunday.
Celtic 4 Motherwell 0
Attendance
Team: Oxborough, Katela (O’Donnell 78), Casey, Balmer, Blaney, Wilson, Sparrow (Halliday 62), Paton (Nicholson 72), Miller, Watt (Stamatelopoulos 62), Maswanhise (Tavares 78)
Thursday 26 December 2024