Ten-man Motherwell dent Celtic’s title hopes for second time

Apr 9 2008 By Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

Celtic 0 Motherwell 1 Scorer: Lappin 33

IT is no secret that Mark McGhee and Gordon Strachan are good friends. In fact, McGhee stayed at the Celtic manager’s home whilst he was house-hunting shortly after he had accepted the vacant managerial post at Motherwell last summer.

They speak, if not on a daily basis, certainly on a weekly one. But this friendship will be tested this week and their regular conversations put on hold as the Fir Park manager enjoys a round of golf with his players in Malaga whilst his pal Gordon takes the flak for a failed championship campaign after his side were put to the sword by Motherwell at Parkhead on Saturday.

“We all need a break,” McGhee said of his decision to take his charges off to Spain for a 'training camp' on Sunday having watched his team beat the champions 1-0, a result that saw Motherwell regain third place in the SPL.

He continued: “I said a really stupid thing in the dressing room, saying if you win today then you can play golf everyday in Spain. I was reminded of that instantly when I walked through the door at full-time.”

And won’t they be looking forward to this well-earned break as they train and play in warm conditions for the first time in a long time in preparation for the ‘return leg’ against Celtic this Sunday.

It would be doing a disservice to Motherwell by describing their 1-0 victory at Parkhead - courtesy of a first-half Simon Lappin strike – as a smash and grab.

But a draw would probably have been a truer reflection on proceedings – something Mark McGhee admitted after the game.

However, results mean everything, especially at this stage of the season and Saturday’s was massive in terms of boosting their chances of clinching the return of European football to North Lanarkshire for the first time since 1995.

Lappin’s 33rd-minute strike came at the end of probably the best move of the whole game and epitomised ‘Wells efforts at trying to play fast, attractive, free-flowing football this season - even when their backs are against the wall.

With the Steelmen having survived an early onslaught, skipper Paul Quinn took a quick free-kick in his own half that found McCormack making a rare foray into Celtic’s half.

His incisive pass to Mark Fitzpatrick opened up the Celtic defence and when the midfielder's powerful shot was parried by Artur Boruc, Simon Lappin was on hand to show great composure and side-foot home his first goal for the club.

McGhee said: “We scored against the run of play during a period where I thought it was only a matter of time before Celtic would score.

"But we dug in and defended well and were excellent in the second half.”

Motherwell were indeed excellent in the second half even after Bob Malcolm, the former Rangers player, was sent off for a rash challenge on Italian midfielder Massimo Donati just after the interval, much to the delight of the home support.

They almost grew in confidence after that incident, with McCormack holding the ball up expertly, allowing his team-mates to gather their thoughts, having been reduced to 10 men so soon after the break.

McCormack almost doubled Motherwell’s advantage minutes after Malcolm was ordered off but his right-foot effort from the edge of the box had Boruc scrambling but did not dip fast enough to find the back of the net.

The Celtic onslaught never materialised and really only Aidan McGeady was a major threat throughout the 90 minutes.

When his continued efforts at supplying his strikers with tempting deliveries from the wide areas failed to pay dividends, McGeady came more and more into the middle of the pitch – trying his luck from long range. This in itself was a moral victory for Motherwell, who dealt with anything a rather pedestrian-looking Celtic outfit threw at them.

Vennegoor of Hesselink had hit the bar after McGeady got to the byline and dinked a clever ball into the box midway through the first half.

But in the main Motherwell were comfortable, despite surrendering the majority of possession.

Keeper Graeme Smith had very little to do in the contest until a late siege on his goal by an increasingly desperate Celtic side. Smith tipped Hinkel’s clever overhead kick from short range over the bar and in stoppage time he brilliantly saved a low strike from substitute Georgios Samaras.

Celtic’s frustrations on the day could best be summed up by the reaction of former Motherwell striker Scott McDonald to his substitution for Samaras on the hour.

He made his feelings known to Strachan as he trudged disconsolately off the field before throwing his tracksuit top into the dug-out.

What a contrast to the last time Motherwell beat Celtic, which was back in May 2005.

McDonald’s late double against his current employers that day ended their hopes of winning the league.

This time it was his (and his team-mates’) poor form in front of goal against 'Well that reduced his new club’s hope of retaining the league title in 2008, whilst at the same time boosting their opponents’ chances of experiencing European football next term.

Celtic – Boruc, Hinkel (Hutchison, 87), Caldwell, Naylor, McManus, Brown, McGeady, Donati (Robson, 69) Vennegoor of Hesselink, Nakamura, McDonald (Samaras, 60).

Subs not used – Brown, Wilson, Sno, Hartley.

Motherwell - G. Smith, Quinn (McLean, 86), Reynolds, Craigan, Hammell, Hughes, Lappin, Fitzpatrick, Porter, McCormack (Murphy, 77) Malcolm.

Subs not used – Daniels, D. Smith, Murphy, Archdeacon, McGarry, Lasley.

Booked – Porter.

Sent off - Malcolm.

Referee – Calum Murray.

Att: 58,624.