2014-12-06: Motherwell 0-1 Celtic, SP

Match Pictures | Matches: 2014 – 2015 | 2014-15 Pictures

Trivia

• Easy enough win for Celtic but so many squandered chances and we could have lost the 3pts if Motherwell had got lucky with any of their few chances at goal.
• Tonev's appeal supposed to be this week has been delayed for another two weeks after Celtic say they will take it all the way to the CAS for sport.
• Sevco in hell as they are in a rut after being defeated by Alloa.

Review

(Qualitystreetkid of KDS)
Crazy that finished 1-0

Sitter after sitter missed, but it a was a very good performance generally and even better than that at some points.

Although he wasn't great today, Biton is the pivot to allow Brown, Johansen AND VvD to go wandering and he keeps things flowing.

Apart from a couple of sloppy passes Johansen, and especially his energy, was terrific.

As others have said – a one goal gubbing.

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Stats

MotherwellCeltic
Possession
60% 40%
90mins
Shots
7 20
On target
1 6
Corners
1 10
Fouls
10 9

Articles

Motherwell 0-1 Celtic: Leaders survive late scare
Anthony Stokes goal after six minutes turned out to be the Celtic winner. Picture: SNS

Anthony Stokes goal after six minutes turned out to be the Celtic winner. Picture: SNS

by MARTIN HANNAN
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/motherwell-0-1-celtic-leaders-survive-late-scare-1-3627321

85 comments Have your say!

Near the end of a match that in the first half was as one-sided as Custer’s Last Stand, Motherwell substitute Lionel Ainsworth arrowed in a cross that found the head of his fellow substitute, Lee Erwin, standing all alone in front of Craig Gordon’s goal.

All Erwin had to do was nod the ball forwards and it would have been a goal, yet somehow he made contact with the wrong twelfth of his threepenny-bit head and the ball went well wide.

Had Erwin scored, Motherwell would have snatched a share of the points that they would not have deserved, yet Celtic would only have had themselves, and opposition goalkeeper Dan Twardzik, to blame if they had not won.

James Forrest was back for Celtic, while Motherwell’s Keith Lasley made his 400th appearance for the club. The veteran midfielder was missing his colleague, Paul Lawson, injured last week.

The champions took the lead after six minutes and then contrived to miss chance after chance. When Motherwell revived near the end, Celtic’s defence opened up and the home side might well have snatched all the points as Erwin missed another glorious chance in injury time after referee Calum Murray decided the 20-year-old striker had not been pushed by Virgil van Dijk in the penalty area – he then booked Erwin for a blatant dive, but some referees might have given a penalty.

The Celtic goal after six minutes was down to a Motherwell error. John Guidetti had already missed a glorious chance created for him by captain Scott Brown’s through ball when the Swede bustled Fraser Kerr into a bad back-pass, allowing Stefan Johansen to beat Simon Ramsden to the ball, round Twardzik and set up Anthony Stokes to side-foot home.

For the next half-hour, Celtic sliced through Motherwell at will, playing some precision passing football in rain-sodden conditions. Forrest raced through and shot wide after 13 minutes before Twardzik saved Johansen’s effort on 20 minutes.

A few minutes later, Guidetti had the ball in the net with an overhead bicycle kick. Everyone in the stadium thought he was miles offside, as did the assistant referee, only for television replays to show he was in line with the last defender when the ball was put through to him.

Celtic won a succession of corners but failed to take advantage, and then Motherwell suffered another reverse, losing Kerr to injury, David Ferguson coming on in his place.

Motherwell have been noted for their pressing game, which gives other teams no time on the ball, but this time it was Celtic doing the in-your-face stuff as their manager, Ronny Deila, preaches, maintaining the footballing equivalent of a basketball full-court press as they dominated play entirely.

“The first 20 minutes were brilliant today,” Deila said afterwards. “We pressed well, we created chances and totally controlled the ball. If we had done that for 90 minutes, it would be the game that we want to play.”

As it was, Motherwell almost equalised in controversial circumstances. A fierce shot from Henrik Ojamaa struck Efe Ambrose in a place where the sun doesn’t shine, and the defender went down in the penalty box, writhing in agony. The law says it is up to the players to put the ball out so that an injured man can get attention, unless a head knock is involved, but, as is their perfect right, Motherwell played on until Iain Vigurs’ shot was well held by Gordon. The international goalkeeper showed what he thought of the situation by throwing the ball over the east stand roof and out of the stadium.

Motherwell’s revival continued at the start of the second half when Ojamaa shot wide after Celtic failed to clear their lines before normal service was resumed. Now it was Twardzik’s turn to shine, just as he did in defeat against Dundee United in last week’s Scottish Cup. He foiled Forrest, Stokes and Emilio Izaguirre in turn before Ramsden felled Forrest with a shocking tackle in the 66th minute that saw him receive a straight red card.

Celtic piled on the pressure against ten men, Twardzik saving brilliantly from Guidetti before blocking Izaguirre’s close-range shot with his body. The ball rebounded off the Honduran’s knee and looped over the bar, but Twardzik did not need luck to then make a quick double save from Guidetti and Forrest – his skills were enough.

The young Czech even survived a head knock – referee Murray this time correctly stopped play – before Erwin made his late interventions that almost, but not quite, saved the day for Motherwell.

Motherwell’s caretaker manager Kenny Black said: “We keep giving away silly goals. When that opening goal went in, I thought it was going to be one of those long afternoons. But we hung in there with poor finishing from Celtic and our own good defending, and our goalkeeper had another excellent game.”

Motherwell 0-1 Celtic
By Andy Campbell BBC Sport Scotland

Celtic strengthen position at top
Motherwell remain two points off bottom
Stokes takes season's tally to seven with winner

Reigning champions and leaders Celtic claimed their seventh straight Scottish Premiership victory to leave Motherwell two points off the bottom of the table.

Anthony Stokes tucked away the visitors' opener following a glaring defensive error from the hosts.

Celtic dominated in spells and should have added to their lead, James Forrest shooting narrowly wide in one attack.
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Interview – Celtic manager Ronny Deila

Motherwell's cause was not helped when Simon Ramsden received a straight red card for clattering into Forrest.

Ronny Deila's side re-establish a four-point lead over Dundee United but Inverness could move above the Tangerines into second if they beat Dundee later on Saturday.

Motherwell's defensive frailties were evident with Celtic's first attack as striker John Guidetti spun away from two defenders to latch on to a simple pass from Scott Brown, only to place the ball wide with just the goalkeeper to beat.

However, the visitors did not have to wait long for their opener as they punished a defensive mix-up in the Steelmen's rearguard.
Stefan Johansen and Anthony Stokes

Johansen's interception proved crucial to Celtic's goal

Ramsden tried to usher Fraser Kerr's pass back to Dan Twardzik but Stefan Johansen nipped in front of the goalkeeper, rounded him and then squared for Stokes to apply the finish past two Motherwell defenders on the goal line.

Forrest was guilty of a miss similar to Guidetti's when he fired wide from the edge of the box and the contrast in the confidence of the two sides was palpable as Celtic continued to create openings at will.

Guidetti, with his back to goal, flicked up a Johansen pass and found the net with an overhead kick but the offside flag had already been raised. However, television replays suggested the Swede had been onside.

Motherwell were given another let-off when Adam Matthews' cross was diverted out of play by Zaine Francis-Angol's arm and it was a corner, rather than a penalty, that was awarded to Deila's men.
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Interview – Motherwell interim manager Kenny Black

Having been dealt such good fortune, the Steelmen finally began to gain some attacking momentum and carved out an excellent chance to equalise.

Moments after Henrik Ojamaa's shot had been blocked by the chest of Efe Ambrose, Keith Lasley flicked a pass on to the edge of the box for Iain Vigurs but the midfielder's tame shot trundled into the arms of keeper Craig Gordon.

It was an advance forward by Scotland cap Forrest that led to Ramsden's dismissal, the defender's clumsy sliding challenge completely missing the ball and taking the winger out of the play.

Still, Celtic struggled to put the result beyond doubt with Guidetti, Emilio Izaguirre and Forrest denied by Twardzik in quick succession.

Such profligacy left the door open for Motherwell to claim an unlikely point and the unmarked Lee Erwin missed an excellent chance when he headed wide from fellow substitute Lionel Ainsworth's cross.

Erwin was then booked for simulation after going down in the box and had one further chance in added time but was well off target.
Live Text Commentary
Full time

Full Time Match ends, Motherwell 0, Celtic 1.
90:00 +2:06 Full time

Full Time Second Half ends, Motherwell 0, Celtic 1.
90:00 +1:35

Attempt missed. Lee Erwin (Motherwell) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right.
90:00 +0:45 Booking

Booking Lee Erwin (Motherwell) is shown the yellow card.
90:00 +0:39

Lee Erwin (Motherwell) has gone down, but that's a dive.
89:35

Attempt missed. Stefan Johansen (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
87:51 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Celtic. Kris Commons replaces John Guidetti.
85:41

Attempt missed. Nir Bitton (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
82:52

Attempt missed. Lee Erwin (Motherwell) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
80:07 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Celtic. Stefan Scepovic replaces James Forrest.
79:56

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Stuart Carswell.
78:44 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Motherwell. Lee Erwin replaces Iain Vigurs.
78:33 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Motherwell. Lionel Ainsworth replaces John Sutton.
77:45

Foul by John Guidetti (Celtic).
77:45

(Motherwell) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
76:50

Attempt missed. Aleksandar Tonev (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
75:42

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by David Ferguson.
75:29

Attempt blocked. James Forrest (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
73:50

Attempt missed. John Guidetti (Celtic) right footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the left is close, but misses to the right.
71:38

Attempt missed. Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic) left footed shot from the left side of the box is too high.
71:20

Attempt saved. Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
70:21

David Ferguson (Motherwell) wins a free kick on the left wing.
70:21

Foul by Stefan Johansen (Celtic).
69:14

Attempt saved. John Guidetti (Celtic) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
67:53

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Zaine Francis-Angol.
66:57

Attempt missed. John Guidetti (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
65:43 Dismissal

Dismissal Simon Ramsden (Motherwell) is shown the red card.
65:26

James Forrest (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
65:26

Dangerous play by Simon Ramsden (Motherwell).
63:40 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Celtic. Aleksandar Tonev replaces Anthony Stokes.
60:35

Attempt missed. Nir Bitton (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
59:30

Foul by Scott Brown (Celtic).
59:30

Iain Vigurs (Motherwell) wins a free kick on the right wing.
58:11

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Stephen McManus.
56:47

Attempt missed. John Guidetti (Celtic) header from the left side of the six yard box misses to the right.
56:31

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Simon Ramsden.
56:19

Attempt blocked. Anthony Stokes (Celtic) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
53:25

Foul by James Forrest (Celtic).
53:25

John Sutton (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
52:14

Attempt saved. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
50:52

Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
50:52

Foul by Keith Lasley (Motherwell).
47:14

Attempt missed. Henrik Ojamaa (Motherwell) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
45:00

Second Half begins Motherwell 0, Celtic 1.
45:00 +1:53 Half time

Half Time First Half ends, Motherwell 0, Celtic 1.
45:00 +0:15

Attempt saved. Stefan Johansen (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
43:20

James Forrest (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
43:20

Foul by Henrik Ojamaa (Motherwell).
41:23

Anthony Stokes (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
41:23

Foul by Simon Ramsden (Motherwell).
41:12

Corner, Motherwell. Conceded by Emilio Izaguirre.
40:57

Attempt blocked. Josh Law (Motherwell) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
40:16

Attempt missed. Scott Brown (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
38:17

Attempt saved. Iain Vigurs (Motherwell) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner.
37:53

Attempt blocked. Henrik Ojamaa (Motherwell) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
37:30

Foul by John Guidetti (Celtic).
37:30

Simon Ramsden (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
35:04

Stefan Johansen (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
35:04

Foul by Keith Lasley (Motherwell).
33:37

Foul by Stefan Johansen (Celtic).
33:37

Zaine Francis-Angol (Motherwell) wins a free kick on the right wing.
31:35

Anthony Stokes (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
31:35

Foul by David Ferguson (Motherwell).
29:56 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Motherwell. David Ferguson replaces Fraser Kerr because of an injury.
29:12

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Zaine Francis-Angol.
28:14

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Fraser Kerr.
23:30

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Simon Ramsden.
23:19

Attempt blocked. John Guidetti (Celtic) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
20:48 Booking

Booking Scott Brown (Celtic) is shown the yellow card.
20:40

Foul by Scott Brown (Celtic).
20:40

Keith Lasley (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
19:47

Attempt saved. Stefan Johansen (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
19:00

Scott Brown (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
18:58

Foul by John Sutton (Motherwell).
17:42

Foul by Stefan Johansen (Celtic).
17:42

Henrik Ojamaa (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
16:00

Stefan Johansen (Celtic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
15:45

Foul by Henrik Ojamaa (Motherwell).
13:45

Attempt missed. Iain Vigurs (Motherwell) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
13:18

Foul by Anthony Stokes (Celtic).
13:18

Iain Vigurs (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
12:25

Attempt missed. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
8:54

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Stuart Carswell.
8:10

John Guidetti (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
8:10

Foul by Stephen McManus (Motherwell).
5:19 Goal scored

Goal! Goal! Motherwell 0, Celtic 1. Anthony Stokes (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Stefan Johansen.
2:17

Attempt missed. John Guidetti (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
1:10

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Fraser Kerr.
0:00

First Half begins.
0:00

Lineups are announced and players are warming up.

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