Motherwell rode their luck against a Celtic side that should have had the game wrapped up inside the first 20 minutes and after a hesitant start we began to get a finger hold in the match. Ramsden was sent off following a last man tackle and for 25 minutes we had to endure an onslaught. The game ended with us pressing for an unlikely equaliser but there was to be no reprieve.
Carswell and Kerr made the starting eleven with Lawson and O’Brien injured. We kicked off facing a full South Stand but the early action was at the Cooper end. Guidetti missed the first of his many chances throughout the cold, wet and windy afternoon with barely 2 minutes on the clock. With only Twardzik to beat he rolled the ball inches wide of the post.
What turned out to be the only goal came after 5 minutes. We won possession on the right wing short of the halfway line but instead of pushing up the park the cautious choice was made and eventually Kerr passed back to the ‘keeper. It was a weak effort and Johansen needed no second invitation to steal the ball. He found Stokes with the square pass and we were a goal behind.
It looked as though a collapse was imminent and Forrest should have scored from the edge of the box when his placement beat the ‘keeper. Thankfully if followed the same path as Guidetti’s earlier attempt. Kerr had to be replaced following treatment for an ankle knock and Ferguson was sent on to the right back slot. He coped well and did his hopes of a first team start no harm.
After 40 minutes we had the first sight of a Motherwell corner and before the break Vigurs might have done better with his chance.
The second period saw much more energy from Motherwell as they started to press Celtic and at times we were able to string more than a handful of passes together. Ramsden’s dismissal for the foul on Forrest effectively ended our slim hopes as Celtic forwards lined up to take pot shots at our goal. However, thanks to a combination of poor finishing, excellent goalkeeping and brave defending we saw the game to the end without further loss.
Vigurs and Sutton were replaced by Erwin and Ainsworth for the last ten minutes and they almost provided a fairytale ending. Erwin has a golden opportunity in 82 minutes for an unchallenged header from 8 yards but the big striker missed the gaping target. In added time he was booked for a dive before coming close with a last gasp curling effort.
Kenny Black will be keen to reassure the players that there were some positive signs to take for the game but whether he’ll be in charge for next week’s crunch with Ross County remains to be seen. A narrow loss to the league leaders was probably as much as we could have achieved but we’ll have to start scoring soon.
Motherwell 0 Celtic 1
Attendance 7,740
Team: Twardzik, Carswell, Ramsden, Mcmanus, Sutton (Erwin 78), Vigurs (Ainsworth 78), Lasley, Francis-Angol, law, Kerr (Ferguson 29), Ojamaa