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Trivia
- A free-kick in the 83rd minute by Celtic substitute Lubomir Moravcik was sufficient to seal the points for the SPL leaders.
- Motherwell appeared happy to play out time from early in the match, posing little threat to the home rearguard.
Review
It took Celtic less than 10 minutes for them to find their rhythm. Henrik Larsson found Bobby Petta down the left flank and the winger whipped in a dangerous cross which Derek Townsley did well to clear.
Motherwell looked lively on the break, but in the 13th minute Celtic came within a whisker of taking the lead. Larsson again found Chris Sutton and he played the ball wide for Petta, who ran to the by-line and pulled the ball across the face of goal that just eluded the out-stretched boot of Sutton.
Celtic continued to press and moments later Kemble had to make a vital block from Sutton in the box after the wall had blocked Larsson's 25-yard free kick.
It was all one-way traffic and in the 15th minute Andy Goram misjudged Alan Thompson's cross and Stephen McMillan had to head the ball behind. Thompson then struck a powerful free-kick which Goram could only punch clear.
Celtic had calls for a penalty in the 32nd minute when Larsson went down under the challenge of Kemble in the box but referee John Rowbotham waved away the protests.
Celtic then suffered a big blow five minutes before half-time when Petta was forced to leave the field with what appeared to be a hamstring or groin strain, and Stilian Petrov entered the fray. They should have took the lead in the dying seconds of the half when Sutton picked out Ramon Vega in the centre, but the defender somehow totally failed to connect.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with Motherwell attacking only sporadically and Celtic dominating the play.
In the 70th minute, Celtic put together their best move when Thompson crossed from the left to Sutton, who watched his header come back off the post.
Larsson missed a glorious chance to open the scoring in the 74th minute after Adams was robbed by Petrov who slid the ball through to the Swede. He jinked inside McMillan before slashing the ball high over the Motherwell crossbar.
Lubo Moravcik replaced Lambert in 76 minutes and that proved a master stroke when he produced a moment of brilliance to send the relieved fans wild. Strong brought him down just outside the box and Moravcik himself ran up and curled an inch-perfect shot into the top corner of Goram's net.
Thompson could and should have killed the game off with three minutes remaining when he ran into space before unleashing a powerful shot which rattled against the crossbar.
Teams
Celtic:-
Douglas, Valgaeren (Boyd 70), Mjallby, Vega, Agathe, Lambert (Moravcik 75), Lennon, Thompson, Petta (Petrov 43), Larsson, Sutton.
Subs not used:- Gould, Crainey.
Goal:- Moravcik 83.
Motherwell:-
Goram, Corrigan, Strong, Kemble, McMillan, Hammell, Adams (Ramsey 75), Leitch (Lasley 46), Townsley, Spencer, McCulloch (Elliott 61).
Subs not used:- Connolly, Nicholas.
Booked:- Leitch, Adams, Townsley, Kemble, Lasley.
Att:- 58,880
Articles
Pictures
Wednesday, 21 February, 2001, 23:27 GMT
Moravcik is Celts' saviour
BBC
Celtic 1-0 Motherwell
A free-kick in the 83rd minute by Celtic substitute Lubomir Moravcik was sufficient to seal the points for the SPL leaders.
Motherwell appeared happy to play out time from early in the match, posing little threat to the home rearguard.
But Celtic found it unusually difficult to score with Benito Kemble and Greg Strong marshalling things well at the back for the visitors.
They could do nothing about the superb free kick from Moravcik which curled into Andy Goram's top corner.
It took the home side just less than 10 minutes for them to find their rhythm.
Henrik Larsson found Bobby Petta down the left flank and the winger whipped in a dangerous cross which Derek Townsley did well to clear.
Motherwell looked lively on the break, but in the 13th minute Celtic came within a whisker of taking the lead.
Larsson again found Chris Sutton and he played the ball wide for Petta, who ran to the by-line and pulled the ball across the face of goal that just eluded the out-stretched boot of Sutton.
Celtic continued to press and moments later Kemble had to make a vital block from Sutton in the box after the wall had blocked Larsson's 25-yard free kick.
It was all one-way traffic and in the 15th minute Andy Goram misjudged Alan Thompson's cross and Stephen McMillan had to head the ball behind.
Thompson then struck a powerful free-kick which Goram could only punch clear.
Celtic domination
Celtic had calls for a penalty in the 32nd minute when Larsson went down under the challenge of Kemble in the box but referee John Rowbotham waved away the protests.
The home side suffered a big blow five minutes before half-time when Petta was forced to leave the field with what appeared to be a hamstring or groin strain, and Stilian Petrov entered the fray.
They should have took the lead in the dying seconds of the half when Sutton picked out Ramon Vega in the centre, but the defender somehow totally failed to connect.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with Motherwell attacking only sporadically and Celtic dominating the play.
Motherwell breathed a huge sigh of relief in the 70th minute as Celtic put together their best move when Thompson crossed from the left to Sutton, who watched his header come back off the post.
Larsson missed a glorious chance to open the scoring in the 74th minute after Adams was robbed by Petrov who slid the ball through to the Swede.
He jinked inside McMillan before slashing the ball high over the Motherwell crossbar.
Lubo Moravcik replaced Lambert in 76 minutes and that proved a master stroke when he produced a moment of brilliance to send the relieved home fans wild.
Strong brought him down just outside the box and Moravcik himself ran up and curled an inch-perfect shot into the top corner of Goram's net.
Thompson could and should have killed the game off with three minutes remaining when he ran into space before unleashing a powerful shot which rattled against the crossbar.
Celtic: Douglas, Valgaeren, Mjallby, Vega, Agathe, Lambert, Lennon, Thompson, Petta, Larsson, Sutton.
Subs: Gould, Boyd, Petrov, Moravcik, Crainey.
Motherwell: Goram, Corrigan, Strong, Kemble, McMillan, Hammell, Adams, Leitch, Townsley, Spencer, McCulloch.
Subs: Connolly, Nicholas, Elliott, Ramsey, Lasley.
Referee: John Rowbotham