1995-02-04: Motherwell 1-0 Celtic. Premier Division.

BYLINE:Ian Paul

IF THERE is any one game this season which should be preserved as a classic example of Scottish League football in the nineties,Motherwell'scollision withCelticat Fir Park is the one. Everything that we have come to expect about the premier division was on display. There were the usual ingredients — speed, agility, courage.But, maybe if the tape is preserved for future generations, it will be what was missing that will prove the real reminder of what has been lost in the craving for victory.

The absence of subtlety, of intelligence, of craft, of football as we knew it, was deeply depressing for anyone who hopes the old ball game can be revived.It was one of those days when the goals could have been removed and the keepers sent home to watch the racing.
There was virtually no danger of anyone causing as much as a flutter in the penalty area, other than the one time whenCeltic'stwo tall central defenders got too close toMotherwell'swee substitute and literally paid the penalty, but even that can be tolerated if there is some good midfield play to please the eye.
There was none of that, either. The contest in the middle of the park was a bit like those Rugby League games where one man picks up the ball, charges forward, is dumped, passes to another mate who charges forward and is dumped. Then it is the turn of the other side. It may make good entertainment for the RL fans, but it doesn't do a lot for those of us who prefer a rather more cerebral style of ball game.
Perhaps it was all a result of two teams being too well-matched, but that is a paltry excuse for such a display of juggernaut football.
Managers may wish to see better stuff — indeed, Alex McLeish said as much — but their living depends on scorelines and I suppose it is not entirely fair to castigate them for allowing their men to leave their skills in the dressing -room.
It has become the custom in this division for the first 15 minutes of most games to be a battle of wills and macho determination, followed by a little less freneticism, and, eventually, something approaching skilful exchanges. At Fir Park, the first 15 minutes went on for an hour-and-a-half, if you see what I mean.
McLeish was 'ecstatic' — his word — about winning the three points and, after a run of four matches without a win, was entitled to be pleased.
He acknowledged that 'it was not much of a game', as didCeltic'sTommy Burns, but admitted that he had been trying to get through to his players that there are occasions when they have to 'dig' out victories. His men did that.
Celticdug in just as competitively but lost out with that penalty, scored by Rob McKinnon late on. They didn't deserve to go down but weren't worth a win, either. Their Dutch striker, Pierre van Hooydonk, seemed transfixed by it all in the first half. As players hurtled around lunging into tackles, pushing and shoving and body checking, Pierre must have wondered if he had meandered into some kind of Gaelic ritual, rather than the pass-the-ball modus operandi which has been his lot to date.
In the second half, it was almost comical to watch him — presumably in frustration — try to join in this battering-ram version of the game. He is pretty hopeless at knocking people down without being caught. He has a lot to learn about the quiet, wee foul on the blind side, the knee in the back, the gentle dunt, and all the rest in the modern British 'dirty tricks' manual.
His shoves and bashes were out front and cost him fouls each time, not to mention a booking. In that he was not alone. Three of his team-mates were shown yellow cards, Tom Boyd, Brian O'Neil, and Peter Grant, whileMotherwell'stwo frontmen, Tommy Coyne and Dougie Arnott, also were booked.
There will be people who will criticise referee Stuart Dougal but, in the circumstances, I thought he did well enough. If he had been less vigilant the game could have been worse, and that is saying plenty.
A defender had to be man-of-the-match and Brian Martin was it. Typically, he had comforting words for the twoCelticmen, Brian O'Neil and Mark McNally, who sandwiched Paul McGrillen six minutes from time to give away the penalty.
"Maybe, it was a bit of inexperience by them that caused the penalty, but they are young and will have learned from that," he said.