High expectations, the day the season pivoted
Luis Palma’s 87th minute goal should have been enough to secure the win at our visit to Fir Park in September. Incredibly, Motherwell’s equaliser 8 minutes later was not enough for them to take a point. A game which couldn’t produce a goal for so long, ended with a flurry.
Almost two months later, the winner that day, scored by Matt O’Riley, feels like it is going to be one of the most important goals of the season. Not only did it secure another two points for Celtic, it punctured the pre-match mood 15 miles away at Ibrox. There, the early crowd came alive at news of Motherwell’s 95th minute equaliser. The O’Riley goal sapped energy out of the stadium. Barry Robson’s side scored three and took the same number of points back home to Aberdeen. If ever a season pivoted on a day…..
I like Stuart Kettlewell. The Motherwell manager is a talent waiting for a bigger platform. His achievements in Dingwall were under-appreciated, but they love him in Lanarkshire, for now, anyway.
We return to Celtic Park after the last of the autumn international breaks, desperate to see Celtic, desperate to push through a season with so much promise. Being eight points ahead and going into a period with predominantly home games, expectations are high.