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Trivia
- Due to a break for Internationals, this was the first game since the defeat to Rangers at the end of the previous month.
- It looked like Pierre had kicked his last ball for Celtic after falling out with Fergus and Tommy Burns over his contract and he had been dropped for the Rangers game and forced to train by himself. The war of words had continued to escalate since that game with van Hooijdonk giving interviews back in the Netherlands and Wales. He also made his debut for Netherlands when supposedly injured. He came off the bench to score two goals in their international against Wales on 6/10/96 but on return to Glasgow was told to train with the Reserves, only to be reprieved to start this game.
- Tosh McKinlay was suspended following his red card in the previous game against Rangers. Phil O’Donnell and Paul McStay were still long term injury victims. Andreas Thom was out and Jorge Cadete had a hamstring injury and was back in Portugal.
- The glorious Record reported that Celtic were lining up Mike Newell, then of Birmingham City, as a replacement for Big Pierre.
- Motherwell manager Alex McLeish was thought to be about to leave and join Hibernian. He lost out in the interview process to ex-Celt Jim Duffy but would go on to manage Hibs in 98/99.
- 40 year old Gerry McCabe who coached the U15’s in the Celtic Pro-Youth Academy was approached to work as a player coach with Dumbarton and he would play for them on this day. He continued to work with the Celtic U15’s.
- Fergus was in battling mood taking up the cudgel against players’ agent Ray Sparkes, who acted for Donnelly, Grant, Marshall and O’Donnell. Sparkes had made some comments which Fergus saw as derogatory towards the club and wanted the players to drop him.
- Stewart Kerr made his first team debut coming on for the red carded Marshall
Review
Rain, rain, rain. Gordon Marshall sent off, Van Hooijdonk scoring in extra time to take the points, a win when Rangers lost on the same day, McLeish taking Motherwell to a low point then bailing out for Hibs (where he proceeded to do the same).
Teams
Celtic (4-4-2):
Marshall; Boyd, Stubbs, Grant, O'Neil; McNamara, Wieghorst (Gray 64), Donnelly, McLaughlin (Kerr 83); Di Canio, Van Hooijdonk.
Non-Used Sub: Hughes
Scorer: Van Hooijdonk (90)
Motherwell (3-5-2):
Howie; Philliben, Martin, Denham; May, Wishart, Burns (Roddie 70), Davies (Ross 33), McSkimming; Arnott (McCulloch 79), Hendry.
Yellow cards: Ross, McSkimming (Motherwell).
Red card: Marshall (Celtic).
Referee: R Orr (Kilbarchan).
Attendance: 49,422.
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Articles
Celtic fans celebrate prodigal son's prodigious return
The Scotsman 14/10/1996
THE defiant clenched fist and snarl aimed at the directors' box by Pierre van Hooijdonk as he left the pitch after scoring Celtic's late winner against Motherwell spoke volumes.
It underlined that, while the rift with manager Tommy Burns may be healed, finance, and the relationship with chief executive Fergus McCann, remains a problem. "Tell me I'm not worth what I'm asking," was the clear message.
While the powers that be apparently remain unconvinced, the Celtic fans have no such doubts. A roar of approval greeted news of his inclusion and the final volcanic eruption when he scored was conclusive proof of his acceptance. Only news of Hibs' progress against Rangers came close to stirring the Parkhead hordes as the rain teemed down, apparently assisting a depleted but resolute Motherwell team.
For 20 minutes, Burns' side threatened to swamp the visitors. They were slick and threatening but a combination of last-ditch tackles and near misses maintained the status quo.
The longer the match progressed, the less likely a home win appeared, and when Celtic keeper Gordon Marshall was sent off, it looked like the last straw. Marshall's fresh air kick at Tom Boyd's simple pass back saw substitute Lee McCulloch round the goalkeeper only to be manhandled to the ground. Marshall's fate was inevitable.
The result left Motherwell devastated. Manager Alex McLeish eventually left the post-match conference with the words: "I'm struggling to speak". He refused to discuss the vacant manager's job at Hibernian and insisted on concentrating on his own players.
"They're shell-shocked in there," he said, indicating the dressing-room. "I thought we were playing the golden goal rule today. I try not to look at the watch, but I did when they scored and I made it five minutes and 15 seconds over 90 minutes. The ref told me Marshall's dismissal accounted for most of the time, but my players are gutted. They gave a powerful, disciplined display and showed great composure."
Burns acknowledged that the injury-ravaged Motherwell side had made life difficult and added: "That's part of the emotional wringer you go through every time you watch Celtic. We showed a lot of patience, however, and I'm well pleased."
Not that well pleased. He refused to allow Van Hooijdonk to meet the Fourth Estate, and commented only briefly on the goal: "That's the big man's job. That's what he's here for."
Skipper Peter Grant did appear, and talked briefly about the Dutchman. "The only other person who could have pulled that one off is Ally McCoist. Pierre proved today he only wants to play for Celtic," said Grant.