2011-09-10: Celtic 4-0 Motherwell, SPL

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• Celtic 1pt behind Rangers who we play next weekend.
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Great victory for Celtic and puts us a bit back on track. Forrest's first great game for Celtic and a lot of respect and kudos to him.

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Celtic 4 – 0 Motherwell: Well tormented by Forrest

Published Date: 11 September 2011
By Andrew Smith
at Celtic Park
Celtic 4

Scotland on Sunday

Forrest 9, 74; Ledley 33; Ki Sung-Yeung 67

Motherwell 0
AS A pre-amble to the arduous assignments ahead for Celtic in Madrid and Ibrox over the coming days, Neil Lennon might have felt the need to pinch himself at just how swimmingly the afternoon went for his side. Anything that could go right, did, as Motherwell were handed a real cuffing. From the exhilarating display of two-goal James Forrest, to a tidy debut from on-loan left-back Badr El Kaddouri, Lennon exhausted a dictionary-worth of superlatives as he reflected on a winning effort he, unsurprisingly, adjudged the best produced by his men this season.

No wonder when he could gush about four slick, sharp and clinical strikes, the Morrocan's "excellent" first outing and, foremost, the fizzing, forcing forward play of Forrest. "We have held James back a bit this season because he can be prone to niggly injuries, but that was the best performance we have seen from him for a while," the Celtic manager said. "You saw all his qualities and he was exceptional."

He might not have the chance to be so again in the club's Europa League group opener away to Atletico on Thursday. Lennon said he will "see how his recovery is". The same is true of Joe Ledley, who came off with a lower back problem, and Scott Brown, missing yesterday with an ankle problem he picked up in Scotland's August friendly against Denmark. Lennon conceded he would prioritise next Sunday's derby were his medical team to advise that the Celtic captain couldn't get through both games later in the week.

"He's such a valuable player I don't like leaving him out, but the league's the priority," he said, after admitting Brown could be a big player for his team in the Vincente Calderon, where he acknowledged possession and chances are certain to be as limited as they were limitless yesterday.

Celtic's ability to completely overwhelm a Fir Park team they ultimately left bewildered and bedraggled could only have left Lennon buoyant considering he will still have a sinking feeling when he thinks of previous games in the arena; Celtic proving misshapen and misfiring to go down 1-0 to St Johnstone. Against a side who yesterday morning were joint top of the table, they were everything they weren't against the Perth club.

After his team succumbed to St Johnstone, Lennon lacerated his forward players by declaring that the "front six were rank average". Yesterday, from middle to front, to a man those in Celtic colours were irresistible. Inevitably, and rightly, Forrest's efforts will command most attention. All that the 20-year-old and his team-mates excelled in was illustrated in his fourth-minute opener.

The movement and interplay was delightful as Gary Hooper spread the play out wide to Anthony Stokes on the right and he, in turn, sent a curling ball across the face of the goal that Forrest thumped past the helpless Darren Randolph.

Forrest thereafter tormented and teased the Motherwell backline. He drifted in from the right and popped up everywhere in the final third to create neat combinations with Hooper, Stokes and Ledley, or surged forward to rain down efforts on Randolph's goal, the keeper forced to make several decent saves before he was beaten a second time. In the lead-up to the counter, Steve Jennings also felt his face took a beating from the arm of scorer Ledley, who he said he had "the same off him down south. I'm not saying he means it, but he does it well," Jennings said.

What Ledley did well as Celtic made it 2-0 was slot the ball in effortlessly after being in a central position eight yards out to accept a pass inside from Stokes. In a fluid move, the Irishman had been picked out by Forrest after he sliced his way down the middle of the Motherwell defence which, by this point, was shorn of the injured centre-back Shaun Hutchison, forced off after half an hour . "He's on crutches and could be out long-term," McCall said. "His ankle's up like a balloon." The Clydesdale Bank manager of the month wasn't in the mood for dwelling on a dim day for his club. "Just as I said when we lost to the other half of the Old Firm two weeks ago, it's about how you react to it. To take anything against these clubs, you need a combination of everything we didn't have today. We told them at half-time there were still in it at 2-0, then Ki (Sung-Yeung] goes and bangs one in from 30 yards."

A swish, swerving effort from the outside of the South Korean's foot after the ball was worked to him by Hooper and Ledley, Forrest then wrapped up what he had started when he beetled forward and let fly with a thumping low effort that was going low until it struck Tim Clancy and veered high into the visitor's net. The final 20-odd minutes were jazzed up by the first appearance of Mohamed Bangura, the £2.2m signing from AIK Stockholm. On Friday, the Sierra Leone striker suggested he doesn't want to make too many before stepping on to Spain, England or Italy. The 22-year-old's audacity, as well as his attributes, weren't lost on Lennon. "He was lively and played on the shoulder of the defenders and got into the box. According to him, we've only got him for a year, so we have to make the most of him."

BBC

Page last updated at 15:53 GMT, Saturday, 10 September 2011 16:53 UK Forrest's early opener set Celtic on their way to a comfortable victory James Forrest scored twice as Celtic overtook Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League with a comfortable home win over the Lanarkshire side.
Forrest fired Celtic in front after nine minutes and the winger had another effort saved after Gary Hooper had struck the Motherwell bar.
Joe Ledley slotted home the hosts' second before the break.
An excellent strike by Ki Sung-Yueng and Forrest's second completed the scoring for Neil Lennon's side.
The win keeps Celtic a point behind leaders Rangers ahead of next weekend's first Old Firm derby of the season.
The home side, who gave recent loan signing Badr El Kaddouri his debut at left-back, started brightly and an excellent passing move provided the opener.
Hooper slipped the ball wide to Anthony Stokes and his low centre was clipped into the net by Forrest on the far side. Bangura made his debut as a second-half substitute Motherwell rallied and produced a decent sequence of their own that ended with Nicky Law laying the ball back for Michael Higdon to fire wide.
Celtic began to turn the screw and a series of crosses into the 'Well box led to Hooper's looping overhead kick rebounding off the top of Darren Randolph's crossbar.
Forrest drew a fine save from Randolph after weaving his way across the 18-yard line.
The visitors were forced into a change when Shaun Hutchinson limped off to be replaced by Chris Humphrey, meaning a reshuffle in defence for Stuart McCall's side.
More neat passing created the chance for Ledley to control and convert from inside the box, Stokes again providing the assist.
A meandering run by Forrest ended with the winger's shot skidding wide and Ledley drew another save from Randolph as the first half wound down.
A mix-up between Tim Clancy and Randolph almost resulted in the former scoring an own goal but, fortunately for Clancy, his wayward passback went out for a corner as Randolph stood stranded.
Adam Matthews and Hooper combined to set up Forrest but the Scotland international dragged his effort across the face of the Motherwell goal.
Ledley teed up Ki for Celtic's third, the midfielder catching the shot perfectly with the outside of his right foot to power it into the top corner.
The cheer for that goal was matched by the welcome for striker Mohamed Bangura, the new signing given his debut as a replacement for Stokes.
A quick break set Forrest through on 74 minutes and the winger's shot took a slight deflection as it beat Randolph.