Paddy McCourt was the difference between the teams today as Celtic came from behind for the second time in three days to beat Motherwell at Celtic Park, securing second spot in the league. Craig Higdon opened the scoring for Motherwell after 11 minutes with a header from a corner kick but Anthony Stokes levelled, also from a corner, two minutes later. Substitute Gary Hooper scored the winner late on.
Despite a sprightly first minute Celtic were on the back foot for most of the opening period and it was no surprise Motherwell opened the scoring. Nor was the manner in which they lost the goal a surprise. Tom Hately crossed from a short corner which Celtic slept at, failing to mark-up. The defence also pushed out in instalments, leaving Craig Higdon free six yards from goal to head home.
Celtic immediately pushed forward and Georgios Samaras flicked a Kris Commons header onto Stokes at the back post, who volleyed into the net.
A Commons free kick was blocked by Samaras, whose shot was saved. Thomas Rogne headed a Commons’ corner on target but the ball was blocked on the line. On the half hour mark Higdon drew a good save from Fraser Forster.
Four minutes into the second half Stokes should have given Celtic the lead when he latched onto a long ball from Daniel Majstorovic which evaded the defence but Darren Randolph closed the space. On 54 minutes the lively Stokes cut-back for Commons who took one touch too many and was robbed. Fraser Forster was called into action again soon thereafter when he blocked a Nicky Law effort.
Paddy McCourt replaced Samaras with 15 minutes to go and transformed the game. On 79 minutes he collected the ball inside his own half, drifted through a nervous looking Motherwell midfield until he reached the edge of the D before feeding Stokes on the left. Stokes made space before rifling the ball into the six yard box for Gary Hooper to score the winner.
Tim Clancy was shown a straight red card late on for kicking Gary Hooper. If referee Charlie Richmond had taken an earlier opportunity to control Lasley or Jennings, Gary Hooper, James Forrest and Beram Kayal would perhaps have finished the game with fewer injuries.
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Great result. Some serious questions need to be asked of the SFA as to why refs allow players to be kicked all over the park for 30 minutes without a yellow card being shown. Even the most bias of commentators on ESPN and Radio short bread made comment on the refs lack of action and in some instances baffling decisions. Surprised NL didn’t mention this in the post match interviews given his reaction to some of the refs calls during the game.
Paddy Mc did more in 5 minutes than KC did in the 70+ he was on the park. That is apart from a corner that lead to Stokeys equaliser. Is KC not match fit or are we witnessing the lack of consistency that he was renowned for in the English championship? He is a shadow of the player we saw last season.
Good team effort, more grit than skill but we deserved the win. The defence needs to be sorted, the inability to defend set pieces, long balls over the top combined with other basic defending errors are hurting us. Experienced top notch defenders required in January, not someone from the Championship or backwaters of European football. I do not care if they are 36 as long as they can do the basics correctly and mentor our younger players.
Special praise for our much maligned Greek – Sammi. He was kicked and literally punched most of the game but continued to be a constant problem to Murderwell. Again well done Sammi.
With all the injuries, the upcoming international friendly week is a chance for recuperation. JF should definitely withdraw from the SFA U-21 squad to allow recovery from today’s SFA-sponsored mugging.
Ceaser67……Big Dan was brilliant today, as was the whole team…..and Commons is gradually getting his sharpness back…
Fight-back begins. Great result, but we really must sort our back line out.
It really is a shambles and makes me wonder what the hell goes on at Lennoxtown.
By far the biggest point for me was the scandalous refereeing , it was war-fare and it appears to me that Open -season has been declared, once and for all on us. This cannot be allowed to continue. In all honesty, about 3 of their lot should have been off the first half alone, but we got three points and we showed a lot of good fight today, something which has been lacking for ages.
Well done lhads.,with big pass marks to “Stan” Mathews and Kayal and of course Paddy and dear ole Sammi, who I like mair and mairer ( Sorry KOJO)
Hail Hail
KINGLuBO/ /
Big Packies Accent
Stokes’ booking will bear that out, but Jennings foul was so obvious to anyone watching that our whole team should have reacted to it. What is Richmond gonna do, book four or five of us for standing up for a team mate? Well, even if the answer is yes, I will take that chance.
Just watched the first 19 minutes. Jennings and Higdon should already be in the book. Dire stuff.
“Did David Begg’s dog just die,or what?”
“Nah Celtic just scored.”
“Oh right,that explains the sadness in his voice.”
What about wee Chick,straight after the game?
“Never a red card,he didn’t do anything,i have watched the replays over and over again.What about the goal Gordon? Hooper looked well offside to me blah blah blah boo hoo.”
There were only seven minutes left to play,and Celtic were dominating the game at that stage.Cue 2mara’s back page headlines – “Celtic Narrowly Defeat TEN Man Motherwell!”
McCall interview – “It was a sending off,he stupidly kicked out,disappointed with my player,but no complaints with the decision.”
Also i stated a few weeks ago,on this website,that Murdo Macloud is not a hun – I would like to change my mind now – he is an anti-Celtic gobsheen,and it kills me to have to say that.
Richard Gordon was in my opinion impartial to be fair to him.
BBC RADIO RANGERS – GIRFUY!
Oglach……spot on …Sammi was immense, despite the despicable treatment he endured……
i thought young Matthews had an excellent game today ..playing out of position against a tricky opponent
Mr Richmond an absolute disgrace today. Legalised assault after assault unchecked, then books Stokes for complaining about being elbowed in the face.
Bare-faced cheating, and yet still emerge with the points.
It was a good day.
Hail hail
Spiers on twitter: “Neil Lennon declines to speak to the papers after today’s 2-1 win at Fir Park…some cock-and-bull story about a sore throat.”
Sounds like he is calling @OfficialNeil a liar.
Caesar67, 14.49
I take it that you don`t expect to be running for a bus! :-)
Our boys showed great restraint today
in the face of unbelievable provaction.
We played with pride.
Paddy should have been on from the start.
Will his detractors say he can only do it against the diddy teams?
Inverness away, Rangers away, Motherwell away – not to mention Hearts, Motherwell at home.
Paddy is unique and can produce the goods against ANY sides, but the lazy myths about him continue to be peddled.
Give him a run in the team – he deserves it.
24th minute Lasley huckles Forrest. Even Burley reckons he should have been booked.
The attitude of the ref and the Motherwell team today, shows that Rangers will be guaranteed a soft landing back into the SPL, in the event of an event.
No other team in the league are competing against them as they do us and the SFA’s reps on the park are on message.
Therefore, I make no apologies for repeating my mantra:-
What are Celtic going to do? Acquiesce or resign.
A big, big, season for us and that’s just off the park.
Well done the Celts today, on and off the park.
The Celtic boys, in the stands, showed more confidence of victory than I did from my bar stool, until the final whistle.
Anyway…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBfqABtOoxI
COME ON CELTIC!! :)
Motherwell identified our main dengerman, Forrest, and systematically kicked him with not one booking forthcoming from the joke in black.
They wonder why Scottish football is so bad and a joke around Europe, watch today’s assaults and a compliant referee who allows them to go unpunished, that is the norm, not the exception.
Notice that their pseudo hardmen went for the wee guys, didn’t have the bottle to tackle Big Vic.
up-over-goal,
Paddy Mccourt was a passenger on Thursday.
The reason the Scottish national team are so pish and have not been competitive for 25 plus yearswas evident today. The true national side are a parasite on Scottish football. While Celtic parasites dwell on the OF, the SPL and SFA sink to lower and lower depths of cheating in this national protection racket. The SFA are now reduced to a Hun pension plan. The hun cheating over the same time period has been so extreme they (both the huns and the mini huns) even dodged paying taxes. The problem is that institution is not Scottish or Irish. Thank goodness.
I also think the Scottish national team would do well with the demise of the huns.
Like today young Scottish footballers may see that skill can win games instead of sanctioned thuggery.
I expect the Neil Lennon hate campaign to get into gear soon after the new year. Like last year.
Great win despite what was arguably one of the worse refereeing performances this season – no wonder the MIBs get few Euro gigs!
Late tackling and using the advantage of play-on provides them with their excuse. Few of them ever return to the culprit and book them.
High time this was highlighted at every opportunity by the Club.
BelfastCityCelt………things will hopefully change when RFC become insolvent, but won’t hold my breath…..!!!!!……despite the barstewards who run Scottish Football, we WILL win this league …
Wnder what the odds will be of the SFA erasing all trophies RFC won whilst cheating the Tax Man
Charleroi FC gave FIFA / UEFA the heebie-geebies when they threatened to sue after one of their players was injured in an International game ——
Celtic should be in UEFA’s face about the SFA’s inability / unwillingness to enforce the rules and spirit of the game of football in Scotland..
Motherwell made a mockery of the game of football today. They behaved like thugs. An SFA endorsed Referee allowed them to do so . He is either ignorant and incompetent or he is ever so partial —-
Maggie
Are you on this side of the pond the noo hen?
MWD
Hammell kicks Forrest. Burley reckons MIB is very lenient.
Greensideup is also Neil Lennon says:
6 November, 2011 at 14:09
There are mitigating circumstances, for sure, but hammer-throwing opposition and biased officials are something Celtic players have had to put up with for exactly 124 years.
The Commons of last year would have still scored today. Perhaps he just needs more games, to recapture some sharpness, but I think he is just one of those players who has good seasons and bad, which would explain why he has played so much of his career in lower leagues.
Sorry about the spelling, fholks….still raging at the MIB etc today….
TBB, small csc, celtic mac
Pull him out of the u21s then.
Agree we should fully support a GB team.
You guys know I have been out of the loop but a martian could tell you that lasley, Jennings , craigan, hammil would be allowed to kick, tackle through the back and elbow with impunity today. It was a rerun of the 2.0 game.
Reagan needs called out publicly especially after last season.
HH
up over goal
Paddy plays the first half on Thursday…poor
comes on as a sub today…excellent
does that not suggest something …does to me
The Smallest CSC says:
6 November, 2011 at 14:55
Spiers on twitter: “Neil Lennon declines to speak to the papers after today’s 2-1 win at Fir Park…
some cock-and-bull story about a sore throat.”
Well done NL, give them nothing to use.
Ceaser67 says:
6 November, 2011 at 14:49
Is that your allocation for the week?
re Commons miss…i thought it was a pen …a pen the huns would have got btw
the defender kicked Commons before the ball
Speirs is an A hole
toadying hun chuckle monkey
Praecepta…..CORRECT……OUR CLUB NEED TO TAKE ACTION NOW………WE HAVE THE EVIDENCE……
….PFayr says:
6 November, 2011 at 15:01
on first viewing i thought he held onto the ball too long but the replay from the camera behind the goal shows their player catch his foot before the ball. the tackle was also from behind which i thought was an automatic foul
falkirkbhoy says:
6 November, 2011 at 14:16
what did jock broon say about murdo in his book?
ref was the biggest thug today
as i said earlier how many tims are from auchinleck
husnae refed in the spl till the day
bbc shocking wonderin why clancy was sent aff
lasley and jennings were booting james forrest about the park the day
it was like the hamilton game last year
sammy ribbed by craigans elbow
celtic should pull forrest from u21s for this
give him a wee rest i was sure he was gonna get injured the day
paddy legend as usual better tactics fae lennon
same as wed
dont think well win the league
huns are a slippery lot and were too inconsistent
bet they avoid administration
i hate them more every day
67Heaven … I am Neil Lennon..!! Tick Tock !! says:
6 November, 2011 at 14:58
Indeed.
Go get ’em Lenny!