Motherwell 1-2 Celtic: Resolute Celtic fight their corner

Motherwell 1
Porter 60

Celtic 2
McDonald 62; Samaras 79

TO GET an angle on Mark McGhee's frame of mind on the touchline think Krakatoa and double it. As the final minutes unfolded he erupted, shaking with anger at a refereeing error that helped Celtic make it 2-1 with 12 minutes remaining, giving it out about the shortcomings of his own defenders who did nothing to help the situation and, eventually, regretting bitterly the loss of all three points when he felt that at least one was his due.

If this ends up costing Motherwell a place in Europe, McGhee will have to be sedated for the summer.

A two-part incident turned the game and kept Celtic's title hopes alive. Steve Conroy, the referee, gave Celtic a corner when he should have given Motherwell a goal-kick. He saw the ball go out of play off Chris Porter when in actual fact it was Bobo Balde. Big mistake, that. Barry Robson took the corner and swung it on to the head of Georgios Samaras. This was the second instalment of McGhee's dismay. None of his defenders got near the striker. Where were they all? What were they thinking of? Samaras had to stoop to head it home. Embarrassing.

"I'm adamant it wasn't a corner," said McGhee. "I'm shocked he's given it," echoed Porter. When told of Motherwell's fury, Strachan's reply was swift. "I'm furious, too. I'm furious about the offside decision in Inverness and the penalty. Furious, I am. Thank you. Ta." That was that. Away he went, furiously.

McGhee continued his theme. "Look, we still had an opportunity to clear it. Though the referee made a bad decision he hasn't cost us the goal. It's a major mistake but we still gave away a free header. I just thought that all day there were little decisions given against us, a tug here and a pull there not penalised, small things that undermined what we were trying to do. I'm disappointed we got nothing out of that game."

Celtic were relieved and happy. Lucky, too. But you need luck at this stage. As Strachan pointed out, it's not about pretty oil paintings now but big pictures. They ground and they got the win and, for him, that was the end of the story. Their lead at the top of the SPL stretches to eight points. More pressure for Rangers to contend with. Does it really matter how they did it? Not a lot.

For the longest time the game existed only in bits and pieces. In the first half Motherwell had eight corners yet only had a Brian McLean header, directed wide, to show for all their dead ball possession. From open play they had one chance but Marc Fitzpatrick failed to make the most of it.

That was the upshot of Motherwell's work, pretty much. Celtic? Well, they began the game with Balde in for the injured Stephen McManus (Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink took over as captain). The Dutchman would have been as well staying at home for all the decent ball he got. Celtic's (and Motherwell's) passing was atrocious. Beyond atrocious. It would be the easiest thing in the world to blame the pitch as everyone is wont to do, but the bare and bouncy surface wasn't the sole reason why the passing was inept. It would be a cop-out to say so. For an hour the standard was awful. Truly awful.

The way the game was going you couldn't see a goal coming. Mystic Meg herself couldn't have called it. "Yes, I see world peace, I see an end to famine and pestilence and other assorted unpleasantness, but I can't see a goal. No chance." It appeared like a little miracle in the 61st minute. McLean swung in the first threatening cross of the day and Celtic fared abysmally in trying to deal with it. Balde was the man. He was caught by the accuracy of McLean's cross and the indecision of Boruc in goal. Porter, scorer of two last weekend against Dundee United, was the only alert player in the vicinity. He stooped and headed low into the Celtic net.

Thunderous scenes broke out all around Fir Park. Merriment on a grand scale. The cheers were barely hushed by the time Celtic struck back with the sucker punch. On the sideline, McGhee was telling his players to concentrate, that old truth about a team never being more vulnerable than in the minutes after scoring no doubt bouncing around in his wise old head.

The message was relayed and the message was ignored. Good crosses were like the buses now. Wait an hour for one and two come along at once. Nakamura's ball to the Motherwell back post couldn't have been better, McDonald eluding McLean to finish smartly. McGhee's brain was fried by the concession of the first goal almost as much as the second. "The four we lost to Celtic last time they were here were just like it. (Brian] McLean is 6ft 3in tall and McDonald is allowed to score," said McGhee

At last, the big beast had woken up. Celtic kicked-on and got a brief hold on the game. Strachan replaced Vennegoor of Hesselink with Georgios Samaras – Paul Hartley became the new captain – and Scott Brown came on for Nakamura. Fourteen minutes later, Strachan's prayers were answered when that corner was awarded and that header found the net. Having clawed their way back from the brink, Celtic had to weather some heavy moments towards the end but they survived. "We needed that," said Strachan. "Motherwell are a strong side and they were physically better than us for a while.

"Naka was mugged five times in the first 15 minutes and he did well to keep the heid. Today was all about the importance of getting a result. People just want a result and we're lucky enough to have people who can get them for us."

The show goes on. All eyes turn to Rangers at Easter Road today.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Nobody stood out, but Scott McDonald's rapid response to Motherwell's opener was absolutely critical. The Australian forward's strike against his former club could yet be seen as a seminal moment in Celtic's season.

QUICK FACT

Fir Park may have had its troubles this season, but it is a happy hunting ground for Celtic. This was the 23rd game in a row in which Celtic have scored at the ground.

TALKING POINT

The disputed corner kick that led to the winning goal. McGhee's head all but exploded at the injustice of it all.