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Trivia
- Celtic and Manchester Utd officials met in London in an attempt to thrash out a one year loan deal for Mark Bosnich. The deal would see Celtic picking up all the Australian’s £1 million wages. It all looked to be going well with Bosnich left to think over the offer but on the 5/8//00 Bosnich rejected the offer and pledged to stay at Manchester Utd and fight for his place.
- Stewart Kerr put in a transfer request following the meeting with Manchester Utd reps. Kerr had three years left on his contract but was not prepared to linger on the bench any more. His agent was given free reign to seek another club for Kerr.
- Regi Blinker, who had been freed at the end of the previous season joined the Dutch team Den Haag.
- This was the first home game of the season. Stubbs was out injured with a knee knock picked up in the first game of the season against Dundee Utd. Tebily replaced him. Tommy Johnson was dropped and Mjallby came back from injury.
Review
Alan Freeland, one of the greatest incompetents ever to referee in Scotland turned the game into a farce showing three red cards.
Teams
Celtic: Gould, McNamara, Tebily, Boyd, Valgaeren, Mahe, Lambert, Petrov, Berkovic (Mjallby 68), Larsson, Sutton.
Subs Not Used: Kerr, Moravcik, Burchill, Petta.
Goals: Petrov 11.
Motherwell: Goram, Corrigan (Elliott 82), Kemble, Strong, Brannan, McMillan, Davies, Harvey (Townsley 61), Hammell, McCulloch, Wood (Nicholas 61).
Subs Not Used: Woods, Oueifio.
Booked: Sutton, McNamara (Celtic) Davies, Strong, Kemble, McCulloch (Motherwell)
Sent Off: McNamara (66), Sutton (81) (Celtic) Davies (37). (Motherwell)
Referee: Alan Freeland (Scotland).
Attendance: 59,057
Articles
- Match Report
Pictures
Stats
| Celtic | Motherwell | |
| Bookings | 2 | 4 |
| Red Cards | 2 | 1 |
| Fouls | 18 | 24 |
| Shots on Target | 5 | 2 |
| Corners | 5 | 1 |
| Offside | 4 | 3 |
O’Neill short-changed
Scotland on Sunday 06/08/2000
Paul Forsyth
Celtic 1 Motherwell 0
OF ALL the reasons Martin O’Neill gave for his decision to swap Leicester City for Celtic, the chance to enjoy a higher standard of football was not one of them. The passion, the supporters and the club’s stadium were the attractions and it was those elements, rather than anything beautiful on the pitch, which contributed to an absorbing home debut for the Ulsterman.
O’Neill walked up the tunnel at full-time with his teeth gritted and his fist clenched after a raucous encounter in which three players, two for Celtic and one for Motherwell, were sent off. Red cards for Chris Sutton and Jackie McNamara followed the first-half dismissal of Motherwell’s John Davies to transform a match which had started with promise for the home side and degenerated into a gripping shambles.
An early goal by Stilian Petrov was enough to earn Celtic the points on a day when the greasy surface, together with a few questionable decisions by referee Alan Freeland, contributed to a stilted performance by the home side which will be remembered more for its guts than its guile. “It was hard work,” said O’Neill. “I think we were a little bit nervous in front of the home crowd. When we got the goal I thought it would settle us down, but it never really did. Just after half-time, I thought we might get a second goal which would have eased things, but the two sendings-off changed the complexion of the match.”
It is not the first time that controversy, which manifested itself most clearly in Sutton’s sending-off, and the fire and fury of a reckless battle have inspired a crowd and compensated for the lack of subtlety in Scottish football. O’Neill is devoted enough to the game to appreciate the passion of such an occasion rather than treat its deficiencies with scorn.
It must be a source of great encouragement to Celtic’s suffering supporters, dismayed by the lack of desire and unity in last season’s team, to see a manager on the touchline with such unbridled enthusiasm. O’Neill’s introduction to the home support ran the full range of antics for which he has become renowned. First there was the studious pose, sleeves rolled and arms folded, then the frenzied gesticulation at anyone who dared drift out of position. But the spontaneity with which he celebrates Celtic’s goals is enough in itself to suggest that if anyone can bring the club together, he can.
Only 11 minutes had elapsed before the optimism which Celtic supporters ooze at this time of year, misplaced or otherwise, appeared to have found justification. The noisy legions high in the stands, buzzing with hope over what they see as the club’s imminent rejuvenation, were still familiarising themselves with the sight of O’Neill in the dug-out when the opening goal arrived. Paul Lambert, who was magnificent throughout, caught the Motherwell defence square with a little dink over the top which Petrov chested down and hooked into the bottom corner. Claims by the visiting defence that Eyal Berkovic had strayed into an offside position were dismissed by the referee.
It was the highlight of a first half which was lifted more by the atmosphere of promise than by goalmouth incident. Celtic fans also had the home debut of Joos Valgaeren to occupy them. The Belgian defender, playing on the left side of a three-man defence which enlisted Olivier Tebily in place of the injured Alan Stubbs, had a solid match at the back and threatened several times to exploit his aerial presence in Motherwell’s penalty box.
But Celtic never quite penetrated their opponents’ rugged defence as they might have hoped. Henrik Larsson, Lambert and Berkovic all came close to securing a second for Celtic in the opening period, but each effort was from long range and never likely to trouble Andy Goram. The visitors had Ged Brannan sitting in front of the back three to thwart Berkovic, as well as Kemble manhandling anything that moved, so that even the red card for Davies in the 38th minute didn’t seem to affect the visitors. His second bookable offence on Petrov signalled the game’s descent into chaos.
Celtic appeared unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage and had to wait until 15 minutes into the second half before they effected another significant goal attempt, Sutton seizing on a dropping ball to lash a snap-shot against the base of the post. But if Motherwell were encouraged by their survival, especially with only 10 men to call their own, they enjoyed a surge of new hope in the 67th minute when Celtic were dealt an identical blow.
Kemble tumbled to the turf after an exchange with McNamara, who had been booked only a minute earlier, and hauled himself up to see the Celtic player issued with a red card.
Motherwell manager Billy Davies scented a chance and began hurling his arms in the air and demanding that his players take advantage. Little did he know that another twist of fate would emerge in his favour a few minutes later. This time Sutton set off to chase a lost cause with Greg Strong and, not for the first time, the two tangled into a heap on the ground. The former Chelsea striker, booked for an earlier exchange with Strong, looked incredulous as Freeland flourished red.
Suddenly Celtic were rocking. A poor clearance by Tebily offered Stuart Elliott a chance inside the area but he skewed it wide. “We let ourselves down by giving them too much respect,” said Davies. “We had more pressure towards the end but we were missing that little edge.” Celtic will not want to meet them when they find it.
- Manager Interview
Martin O’Neill post match :
“It was hard work.
“We can play much, much better. We didn’t reach the same heights we had against Dundee United and we were probably a bit nervous of the home crowd.
“I thought when we got the goal it would settle us down but it never really did. The sendings-off changed the complexion of the game but I was pleased with the players’ application, that we had the durability to see it through.”
“It is a bit early to make assessments like that (on whether Sutton was a marked man)
“Chris is a physical player, but so are the players he is playing against. It is a man’s game.
“I don’t know if there is a campaign against him. I thought he reacted well throughout the game and I felt his sending off was harsh.
“The second booking was such a 50-50 ball that I thought we were going to get the free-kick.”
Paul Lambert:
“Billy Davies has them well organised. But winning was good because last year we blew it against ten men here and that didn’t happen today.
“They had a bit of a flurry towards the end when they had the extra man, but they did not have any real scoring chances. The spirit is good in the team, but it has always been that way, even last season when things went wrong.
“Of course, we know what the new manager is thinking. He has told us what he wants and we all know that if we do not play well we won’t be in the team. We all fear for our first team place. He has that fear factor instilled in us now. If we let the team down at all we will be out. He has been quite clear about that and that is the way it has to be at any top club. That fear factor makes you play because you know that there is real competition for first team places.”
Celtic 1 Motherwell 0 PA sport
Chris Sutton's home debut for Celtic was marred by a red card but Martin O'Neill's men held on for all three points in a bad-tempered affair at Parkhead.
The £6million recent capture from Chelsea was given a hero's welcome as he, manager O'Neill and fellow new boy Joos Valgaeren appeared for the first time at Parkhead in competitive football.
But the carnival atmosphere soon stopped as the game blew up with three players receiving their marching orders.
Bulgarian midfielder Stilian Petrov put Celtic in front with a great first-half strike and they looked on their way to a comfortable three points following the sending off of Motherwell youngster John Davies.
But in a full-blooded second period Celtic duo Jackie McNamara and Sutton saw red for second bookable offences although, despite Motherwell's best efforts, the Hoops at least maintained their 100% record.
The visitors were not prepared to let the reputations and big names of Celtic faze them and after winning with 10 men at Parkhead last season, who could blame them.
In the very first minute Paul Harvey found himself in acres of space on the edge of the box to fire a shot at Celtic keeper Jonathan Gould – once again given the nod ahead of Stewart Kerr – who could only parry.
Young Well midfielder Davies let his over-exuberance get the better of him in the fifth minute when he floored Petrov with a reckless challenge which set the tone for the rest of the game. Referee Alan Freeland took his name.
Celtic created their first-half chance in the eighth minute when Valgaeren rose in the box to head Petrov's free-kick wide of the post as he missed out on marking his first start at Celtic Park with a goal.
The home side finally looked to be gaining a grip on the game and in the 11th minute they took the lead in emphatic fashion.
A moment of hesitancy in the Motherwell defence gave Celtic a look at goal but it still needed something special to capitalise and Petrov produced it with a crisp 20-yard right-foot volley from McNamara's pass which flew into the bottom corner.
Motherwell again responded and Gould had to be alert to save Martyn Corrigan's fierce effort in the 12th minute.
But Celtic looked high on confidence going forward and defender Greg Strong put Well under more pressure with a foul on Stephane Mahe on the edge of the box in the 23rd minute.
From the resulting free-kick Petrov tried to return the favour to McNamara on the edge of the area but the wing-back blazed over the bar.
Valgaeren showed his aerial threat from set-pieces three minutes later when he rose to head McNamara's free-kick just over the bar.
Despite Valgaeren's presence at the back, the home defence still looked nervous on occasions as Motherwell refused to throw in the towel.
But Celtic still looked dangerous going forward and it was amazing that they failed to double their advantage.
Mahe, Henrik Larsson and Sutton linked up well to create a good opportunity for Eyal Berkovic, but the Israeli slashed his effort just wide of the post.
Motherwell's hopes of getting back on level terms were dealt a massive blow in the 37th minute when Davies petulantly pulled back Petrov and Freeland sent him off for his second booking.
The home side could have capitalised from the extra-man advantage almost immediately when Sutton shrugged off the challenge of Benito Kemble before laying the ball into the path of Berkovic. But he looked slightly off-balance and could only find goalkeeper Andy Goram with his effort.
Kemble was the next Motherwell man to go into the referee's notebook with three minutes to go before the break after he came in late with a challenge on Larsson and manager Billy Davies welcomed the whistle so he could regroup his players.
After the restart Larsson, who had a quiet game by his own standards, got his first glimpse of goal in the 49th minute when he looked to be in a great position to head home McNamara's corner, but it was just too high and he could only pull it wide.
But it looked only a matter of time before Celtic would double their advantage as they looked to wear the visitors down.
Sutton was inches from grabbing his second goal in as many starts after 62 minutes when midfielder Paul Lambert played a quick free-kick into his feet but he agonisingly watched his effort come back off the upright.
The home crowd were far from happy with several of the referee's decisions and their frustration seemed to get to a couple of the players – McNamara was booked in the 66th minute for a foul on Strong.
But it would get much worse for Celtic; two minutes later and the Scotland international saw red when he left Kemble in a heap on the floor.
Motherwell boss Davies tried to fire up his players from the touchline and it seemed to work as McCulloch fired just wide from a tight angle in the 69th minute.
The sending off seemed to have an adverse effect on Celtic and in an amazing turn of events they found themselves down to nine men when Sutton was red carded in the 81st minute.
The former Chelsea striker – already booked for tangling with Strong – was shown the red card for pulling back the same player to leave Celtic facing an anxious last nine minutes.
McCulloch then should have followed Sutton down the tunnel after kicking out at Mahe with just four minutes to go but the busy referee pulled out a yellow card.
However, Celtic dug deep – a quality which perhaps was not associated with them in the recent past – to give O'Neill encouragement and, more importantly, all three points.
Teams
Celtic: Gould, McNamara, Tebily, Boyd, Valgaeren, Mahe, Lambert, Petrov, Berkovic (Mjallby 68), Larsson, Sutton. Subs Not Used: Kerr, Moravcik, Burchill, Petta.
Sent Off: McNamara (66), Sutton (81).
Booked: Sutton, McNamara.
Goals: Petrov 11.
Motherwell: Goram, Corrigan (Elliott 82), Kemble, Strong, Brannan, McMillan, Davies, Harvey (Townsley 61), Hammell, McCulloch, Wood (Nicholas 61).
Subs Not Used: Woods, Oueifio.
Sent Off: Davies (37).
Booked: Davies, Strong, Kemble, McCulloch.
Att: 58,534
Ref: Alan Freeland (Scotland).