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Trivia
- A goal in each half let Celtic open up a six-point lead over Rangers.
Ex-Celt Gordon Marshall lined up in goal for Motherwell, while Barry John Corr was reserve keeper.
Review
Celtic took some time to warm up on a bitterly cold day in Glasgow – but they put Motherwell under pressure in the fifth minute. Chris Sutton flicked on Jackie McNamara's cross, and Aiden McGeady pounced inside the box to get a shot away only for David Partridge to save his side with an important deflection wide. McGeady showed the form which relegated Juninho back to the bench with a bit of trickery but his cross-***-shot was saved by Ex-Celt, Marshall.
Celtic produced by far their best move of the game to go ahead in the 29th minute. Hartson played the ball up to Sutton and his pass sent Stilian Petrov away through the middle.
The Bulgarian cut inside and even though Marshall got a hand to his strike he could not prevent the ball from finishing in the back of the net.
Celtic were far from their best but they still looked the more likely side to hit the back of the net at the start of the second half. McGeady picked out Hartson in the area in the 52nd minute but his knock-down picked out nobody to reflect the quality of the encounter.
Motherwell did not offer much in attack and it was careless play in midfield by Scott McDonald which was exploited by Celtic in the 56th minute. Sutton timed his run perfectly and Thompson played him through to coolly steer the ball around Marshall and into the bottom corner of the net.
Hartson came within inches of extending Celtic's lead in the 73rd minute but Marshall was able to touch his effort around the post.
Teams
Celtic:-
Douglas, McNamara, Balde, Varga, Laursen, Petrov, Lennon, Thompson, McGeady (Camara 77), Hartson (Juninho Paulista 71), Sutton.
Subs Not Used:- Marshall, Lambert, Wallace, Lawson, McManus.
Goals:- Petrov 32, Sutton 57.
Motherwell:-
Marshall, Craigan, Corrigan, Partridge, Hammell, Scott McDonald, McBride, Paul Quinn, Paterson (Fitzpatrick 69), Clarkson (Fagan 69), Foran (Wright 84).
Subs Not Used:- Corr, Kinniburgh, Higgins, Keogh.
Att:- 58,438
Ref:- I Fyfe
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
Celtic 2-0 Motherwell
BBC
A goal in each half allowed Celtic to open up a six-point lead over Rangers at the top of the SPL.
The home side opened the scoring after 29 minutes, when Stilian Petrov surged into the Motherwell box and fired a shot low past Gordon Marshall.
Chris Sutton slotted home the second in the 57th minute, after he was sent clear by Alan Thompson.
John Hartson came within inches of scoring after 73 minutes but Marshall touched his effort past the upright.
The home side took some time to warm up on a bitterly cold day in Glasgow – but they put their opponents under pressure in the fifth minute.
Chris Sutton flicked on Jackie McNamara's cross, and Aiden McGeady pounced inside the box to get a shot away only for David Partridge to save his side with an important deflection wide.
It took 21 minutes for the hosts to test former Celtic goalkeeper Gordon Marshall, but the veteran was equal to their best effort.
John Hartson flicked the ball on, and it broke kindly off Stephen Craigan into the path of Sutton whose powerful shot from eight yards was pushed away.
McGeady showed the form which relegated Juninho back to the bench with a bit of trickery but his cross-***-shot was saved by Marshall.
The champions produced by far their best move of the game to go ahead in the 29th minute.
Hartson played the ball up to Sutton and his pass sent Stilian Petrov away through the middle.
The Bulgarian cut inside and even though Marshall got a hand to his strike he could not prevent the ball from finishing in the back of the net.
Celtic were still far from their best but they still looked the more likely side to hit the back of the net at the start of the second half.
McGeady picked out Hartson in the area in the 52nd minute but his knock-down picked out nobody to reflect the quality of the encounter.
Motherwell did not offer much in attack and it was careless play in midfield by Scott McDonald which was cruelly exploited by the champions in the 56th minute.
Sutton timed his run perfectly and Thompson played him through to coolly steer the ball around Marshall and into the bottom corner of the net.
Hartson came within inches of extending Celtic's lead in the 73rd minute but Marshall was able to touch his effort around the post.
It was to be the Welshman's final contribution, as he made way for Juninho moments later.
The little Brazilian was given a warm reception despite his frustrating lack of first-team opportunities.
Another forgotten man – Henri Camara – was also given his chance to impress after coming on for McGeady moments later but he and Juninho made little impression as the game petered out.
Celtic: Douglas, McNamara, Balde, Varga, Laursen, Petrov, Lennon, Thompson, McGeady (Camara 77), Hartson (Juninho Paulista 71), Sutton. Subs Not Used: Marshall, Lambert, Wallace, Lawson, McManus.
Goals: Petrov 32, Sutton 57.
Motherwell: Marshall, Craigan, Corrigan, Partridge, Hammell, Scott McDonald, McBride, Paul Quinn, Paterson (Fitzpatrick 69), Clarkson (Fagan 69), Foran (Wright 84). Subs Not Used: Corr, Kinniburgh, Higgins, Keogh.
Att: 58,438
Ref: I Fyfe
O'Neill 'satisfied' with victory
BBC
Celtic 2-0 Motherwell
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill was happy with the win but admitted his team were far from their best.
"We did alright," he explained. "We won the game but I thought we did better in the second half.
"I thought we were relatively comfortable at 1-0 but we were able to get the second goal and without firing on all cylinders we won the game.
"We have won a number of games away from home and the lads have kept remarkably upbeat."