Losing four goals without reply was bad enough but the sight of Hutchison limping off the park in the first half will cause Motherwell fans more concern. The young defender returned to duty after a few weeks and a fresh injury is not what our thin squad needs. His recall caused Humphrey to move to the bench as the game got underway.
An all too rare 'Well attack
We started off intent on playing the ball on the ground and tried to push forward. It was soon obvious that the home side were not minded to stand back and admire our play. They also passed the ball but their speed and movement in the last third was in a different class to ours.
Within ten minutes we were behind to the first of the afternoon from Forrest. He dispatched the ball across the box giving Randolph no chance of the save. The players kept to their plan and we did make a few pushes into the Celtic box. Hammell and Law exchanged a one-two before Higdon got in the way of a weak shot at the near post. He turned and shot into the side netting.
Hutchison was replaced by Humphrey after half an hour and we regrouped. Hateley dropped back to left back and Clancy moved infield to partner Craigan in the centre.
By this time Celtic were in control and our defence was overwhelmed. It was no surprise to see them score number two, this time Ledley took the applause. It was now obvious that we were facing a team oozing confidence. We were fortunate to get to the break without further loss having managed only one corner and no shots on target.
Humphrey offered a decent cross a minute into the second half and Forster had to be alert to take the ball before Lasley could attempt the header. The nervousness in our rearguard was on show when Clancy and Randolph almost combined to deliver a crazy own goal. Randolph ran from his goal to offer a pass to his defender but the back pass caught the keeper out. There was a collective sigh of relief as the ball narrowly missed the goal line.
Ki and Forrest rounded the afternoon off with goals three and four. Ki's effort from twenty odd yards deserves credit. The statisttics will show that we had seven corners in the second period but, alas, still no shots on target. Games can't be won on that showing.
McCall let it be known before this match that Motherwell's season will not be judged on games against the Glasgow teams. That means that the real season starts again next week when St Johnstone come to Fir Park. A win in that one should get us back on track.