Celtic's Premiership title precession hit a bump on the road after Kevin van Veen pounced to wreck Ange Postecoglou’s perfect Parkhead record.
The Motherwell striker stunned the home crowd with a second half leveller to cancel out Callum McGregor’s opener to become the first side to take points off the league leaders on their own patch all season.
The Hoops were left huffing and puffing against Stuart Kettlewell’s superbly drilled side and they still need another two wins to stick green and white ribbons on the trophy. Celtic were without injured Jota, Liel Abada and Reo Hatate – and Postecoglou will be hoping at least one of them will be fit to face Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-finals next weekend after a frustrating afternoon on league duty.
The Steelmen put in an unbelievable shift to claim their point. They flew out of the traps and had a couple of great chances inside the opening couple of minutes.
Keven van Veen sneaked in behind but couldn’t get past Joe Hart from a tight angle and then Calum Butcher fired over from the corner, but it was a real statement of intent. Celtic – with Reo Hatate still out – took a while to get used to a tweak in the system with Tomoki Iwata alongside Callum McGregor again but they gradually took charge.
McGregor curled one over the top and the clipped a ball in behind fro Daizen Maeda, which Liam Kelly did well to beat away before Alistair Johnston’s drilled low cross was inches away from being turned in. Well got through the opening 20 minutes but the bulged just another four later though when McGregor let rip from 30 yards and his fierce daisy-cutter clipped off Dan Casey on the way into the bottom corner.
It was nearly two when Maeda slid in to get on the end of Sead Haksabanovic’s cross, but he steered wide. Celtic struggled to carve out too much though – but a lot of that was down to Motherwell’s rigid shape and huge work rate.
Kyogo was quite, but he sprung to life early in the second period after a neat move gave him the chance to spin, but he fired just wide. But right out of the blue van Veen brilliantly struck to fire Motherwell level.
Callum Slattery carved a ball over the top and it left the Dutchman one-on-one with Greg Taylor – and he came out on top with a couple of twists and a superb finish into he far corner. Celtic responded and Matt O’Riley slipped in Kyoto, but Kelly superbly stopped the striker’s attempted dink.
The keeper was making life awkward for the Hoops and he got booked for time-wasting as Well looked to protect a point. Postecoglou chucked on Oh Hyeon-gyu as he chased a winner. Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt both went close with headers – but couldn’t get past Kelly.
Oh had the chance to be the hero with a couple of minutes to go, but he sent his diving header spinning wide.
Concerns for derby day
Celts are comfortable in the league but there’s some concerns for Postecoglou ahead of Hampden next week. The fitness of Reo Hatate in the coming days might dictate the way his side will play, but, perhaps more importantly, the status of Jota will be a pressing matter.
The Portuguese wide man was a major miss against Motherwell. His creatively has been a huge part of the Parkhead success story and the side just wasn’t quite the same without him.
Replacement Sead Haksabanovic had a frustrating afternoon up against a solid Steelmen backline. The Montenegro cap kept plugging away and demanding the ball, but not much came off for him.
He’s shown plenty of potential from the bench this term, but it’s been a slightly different story when he’s started. Postecoglou will be hoping the main man makes it next Sunday.
Well drilled
Stuart Kettlewell has really steadied the ship at Fir Park since he was thrust into the caretaker role and then bagged the gig on a permanent basis. Motherwell looked relegation material when he took charge – but they’ll now see out the season safely.
A trip to Celtic Park is pretty much a free punch for most sides in Scotland but the Well manager did far better than most of the rest. His team’s 5-3-1-1 formation made it tough for Celts to find the space they needed to operate in the forward areas.
It was out wide Motherwell really excelled. The Hoops are usually lethal at hitting the byline but young Max Johnston and James Furlong tucked in and never gave Haksabanovic and Maeda much joy. The pair kept switching flanks but it didn’t do much good.
It was the disciplined shape and incredible work rate that allowed them to stay in the game – and with Kevin van Veen around they always had a sniff. The big striker took his tally to 24 to the season – and it’s no wonder he is in the conversation when it comes to player of the year candidates.
Shape of things to come
Ange Postecoglou said his eyes were only on Motherwell but you couldn’t help but think there was some tactical thinking going on today with Rangers next week in mind.
The Aussie changed his shape with Tomoki Iwata in the team and it was more of a 4-2-3-1 than his normal 4-3-3. It was pretty fluid, with Iwata and Callum McGregor given license to move up the pitch.
But it can’t be any coincidence using two deeper midfield men was an in game tactic that worked against Gers in the Viaplay Cup Final and in the league win at Parkhead.
Iwata looked the part as the main anchor though, and it freed up McGregor to roam more. With Reo Hatate struggling to be fit for Hampden, this might have been a major hint as to how Celtic will line up against the Light Blues.
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