1994-12-03: Celtic 2-2 Motherwell, Premier Division

BYLINE:Kevin Mccarra At Hampden

WITH half-time approaching it seemed thatCeltic'sraw failure was about to reach a neat conclusion. A sequence of nine matches, in which they had failed to beat any of the Premier Division's members, began atMotherwell. With Tommy Burns' team holding a fortuitous 2-0 lead yesterday, the Lanarkshire team appeared set to serve as a solution to the catalogue of distress which they had begun.
Celtic'sinability to win from such a position epitomises the fecklessness which now clings to them. It was totally just thatMotherwellshould eventually secure a draw, since they had been far more artful and controlled in their play. However, it is precisely the knack of riding their luck, which a major club such asCelticought to possess, that hasMotherwellsitting in the ascendancy.

In reality, the home team played as if their good fortune was an embarrassing encumbrance which they had to ditch as soon as possible. Tommy Coyne was happy to be of assistance. The Premier Division's top scorer took two chances with a calmness which was almost solemn. He might easily have won the match, snapping a header wide after Dougie Arnott had eluded Mike Galloway to cross.Motherwellmust eventually have felt rueful about missing out on full points from a match which, at one stage, had seemed beyond their reach. Disappointment comes readily to talented people andMotherwellhave entered a spell in their history where they should feel exasperated whenever they let a limited side such as Celtic escape with a draw.
They were level with half an hour remaining and faced with opponents who seemed to be proving that bewilderment is a terminal disease. In such circumstancesMotherwellought to have been heartless, but the savagery drifted out of their play. In all the time that was left there was only a long range shot by Billy Davies, which rose over the bar, to hint at the destruction which might have been inflicted.
Motherwellshould expect to challenge for the title. With players of great accomplishment and a squad of reasonable depth there can be no reason for mealy-mouthed comments about taking one game at a time. Why not take the entire fixture list by the throat instead?
Now, Motherwell players are in for an anguished afternoon on the living-room couch with the match from Tannadice on the box today. Should Rangers display their durability and defeat Dundee United, the Ibrox side will enjoy a four-point lead in the Premier Division. Motherwell could have made Rangers' task this afternoon even more stressful than it already is.
At the start of the match at Hampden they had looked as if they would trounce Celtic rather than pursue them. The team were at their most streamlined with all the clever confident movement which has become their habit. Coyne and Arnott were losing markers and finding the ball delivered to their feet.
The Player of the Month Award may have gone to Coyne, but the shape of Motherwell's style is determined by Paul Lambert. He is a player who trusts every part of his game at present, as happy to carry the ball past an opponent as he is to slip a pass beyond him.
In the first minute Lambert manoeuvred round Brian O'Neil and from the byline pulled back a low cross which Davies squandered by firing high. Perhaps Motherwell's ascendancy led them to believe that they could afford to miss a chance here or there. Few in the ground, however, would have disagreed with that viewpoint.
Not when Lambert put Davies through on the right and his shot was deflected into the air before Peter Grant headed over his own crossbar. Nor when Arnott sent Coyne through and saw him overrun the ball. Still less when Arnott headed Lambert's free kick beyond the post.
All of this happened in the first quarter of an hour. Throughout that period,Celticwere a disconnected bunch of distressed individuals. Injuries have made manager Burns alter his team, but he is also eager to test youngsters such as Brian McLaughlin and Stuart Gray, who both performed quietly yesterday. The novelty of changed faces may distract the fans from their complaints. However, it also ensures a lack of cohesion in the ranks.
Celticneeded a freak to bind them together. It came in 20 minutes when Willie Falconer scored an outrageously inventive goal, his first of the season. From the right he noticed the goalkeeper Stevie Woods off his line and flighted a 30-yarder over him to the top corner.
Four minutes from the break it appeared that the fates were determined to provide compensation for allCeltic'srecent pains. Following a corner, the ball ran to the back post and Tosh McKinlay's low cross cannoned off John Philliben for an own goal. Celticonly required a little spell of studiousness to take them to safety. No chance. The death wish took over.
In 44 minutes Rab Shannon lifted the ball over and it spiralled up into the air from Galloway's head. Coyne read the situation most lucidly and, as others dithered, lobbed a clever shot over Gordon Marshall. The Motherwell manager, Alex McLeish, was to say that his team's revival had been assisted by a shouting match in the dressing room at half-time.
The recriminations, though, were to pass over toCeltic. In 61 minutes Arnott flicked the ball over O'Neil, who was disastrously positioned, to find Coyne. The finish was delicate and sure.
Celticare left with a run of 10 league matches without a win, the worst spell in their history.