McCourt Delights On A Frustrating Night


Celtic 1 - 0 Motherwell
Venue: Celtic Park
Wednesday, 29 December 2010.


Yet another stunning piece of Paddy McCourt magic proved to be the difference on a night Celtic went top of the SPL table - but at a high price. It was a match that the Bhoys were in total control of in the first half, but made very tough work of in the second, before finishing with 10 men, as they clung on for the win.

Prior to kick off and again at the interval there were emotional scenes, as both sets of fans united in paying tribute to the late Phil O’Donnell, on the anniversary of his tragic passing away, 3 years ago.

With Hooper out injured and the Korean duo, Ki & Cha, away on international duty, there were always going to be enforced alterations for Celtic, but boss Neil Lennon surprised many by choosing to make 5 changes to the starting lineup. Georgios Samaras was omitted from the squad after picking up a knock, while Niall McGinn dropped to the bench. In came Mark Wilson, Joe Ledley, James Forrest, Anthony Stokes and Olivier Kapo, in what was his first start for the Hoops.



Hamstring Concern: A First Start for Olivier Kapo

Celtic were imperious in the first half, and the worst thing that happened was half time. There were a number of glorious opportunities, and had they gone into the break 3 or 4 goals to the good, there could be no complaints, either from the crowd or by the visitors, so comprehensive was the home side’s dominance.

After just 90 seconds Emilio Izaguirre spurned a fantastic chance to put the Bhoys ahead, when a rebound fell his way, but the fullback opted for power over placement, blazing his shot into the crowd.

It was indicative of things to come.

James Forrest and Paddy McCourt were causing all kinds of mayhem out wide, and were well supported by Izaguirre and Wilson. In the middle, skipper Scott Brown and Joe Ledley were winning the midfield battles, but the understanding between makeshift strike partnership of Stokes and Kapo, who was just playing off him, struggled to mesh.

Motherwell seemed incapable of being able to string more than 2 or 3 passes together, as the Hoops were just as impressive without the ball, pressurizing, harassing and pressing the Steelmen into simple errors and conceding possession without ever threatening Fraser Forster’s goal.

The ball was in the net in the 11th minute, but Kapo was ruled offside. Shortly thereafter Forrest found some space out wide and floated a gorgeous cross into the box, and was met by Paddy McCourt, whose header was sent narrowly wide.

On 20 minutes Motherwell midfielder, Tom Hateley gave the ball away, which resulted in Izaguirre going on another fine run, but as he approached the area he seemed to be caught in two minds as to what to do and ended up with an effort that was somewhere between being a shot and a cross. The end result was that it ended up too close to the ‘keeper, who saw off the danger with ease.

McCourt was proving to be absolutely unplayable. Everytime he got possession he was a threat, running at the visitors defence, laying off some nice balls and generally keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats. Steven Saunders, the man set with the task of marking McCourt, was run ragged and will be having nightmares about the Irishman, so torrid a time he was given.

The deadlock was broken in the 26th minute, as McCourt provided yet another sublime strike for what is increasingly becoming a very special portfolio of finishes. He does not score ordinary goals, and this one was no exception, as he demonstrated great composure after taking Wilson's pass, drifted into the box, picked his spot and curled a fine right foot shot across the face of goal before ending up inside of the far post.



McCourt Magic: Another Piece of Sublime Skill


What was equally pleasing as the attacking prowess, was that the Hoops were working hard as a defensive unit. This again provided them with a chance, when Hateley again lost possession. Joe Ledley was presented with an excellent opportunity to double the lead, as he went through one on one with the keeper, but his touch let him down.

Kapo was replaced by Daryl Murphy in the 38th minute. He first start featured some nice touches, but he seemed a little off the pace at times, which can be attributed to what was later revealed to be a hamstring strain. It was noticeable, however, that his withdrawal caused a loss of balance for a period, as the Bhoys attempted to adjust.

As the first half moved closer to the break, the Hoops continued to dominate, especially in the wide areas, yet try as they might, they could not find a second before the interval. Even still, the first half was probably the best performance the Bhoys had put in for a good long while.

The second half began at a much slower tempo than what had preceded the break, in what proved to be a much scrappier affair. This seemed to suit the visitors, and at least for a period they appeared to be able to hold onto the ball, and even managed to threaten the Celtic goal. Daniel Majstorovic, who had been booked late on in the first half, appeared to get a little flustered at times, and gave the ball away on a couple on occasions.

Celtic’s striker crisis deepened on 53 minutes, however as Murphy, who had earlier replaced Kapo, also had to be replaced by Beram Kayal, after picking up a knock. Unfortunately, the reshuffle to a 4-5-1 formation didn’t enable to Hoops to carry on where they had left off. Stokes was cleverly being marked out, leaving the Bhoys with no real outlet.

Despite Celtic’s slow and fragmented start to the second period, McCourt continued to cause problems for the Motherwell defence, as he strove to give his team a lift. However, the contest had became quite niggly, resulting in Scott Brown being shown his first yellow card for a foul on Chris Humphrey.

Saunders provided Motherwell’s with one of their few threats on goal, but his shot was well defended by the assured Wilson at the backpost. The visitors slowly grew into the contest, and Humphrey, who had previously been kept well in check by Izaguirre, began moving inside, causing headaches for Rogne and Majstorovic, creating more problems in the central areas than he had out wide.

The game by this point had taken on a real edge. Hateley was cautioned for a foul on McCourt, and he was followed into referee’s notebook by Celtic substitute, Beram Kayal, and Motherwell duo Keith Lasley and Steven Craigen. The crowd were becoming somewhat frustrated and a little agitated by this point.

Throughout, McCourt showed real enterprise, as he continued to strive forward. His efforts to lift the crowd and his teammates with his driving runs, drawing fouls, winning corners and astonishingly, even tracking back to help out the defence on more than one occasion, was worth the price of admission alone.

With about 15 minutes remaining, and the game still in the balance, Motherwell caretaker, Gordon Young, decided to roll the dice and introduced Blackman into the game in an effort to press further forward.

In the 80th minute there was a good counter attacking move, involving Brown, Forrest and McCourt, but once again nothing came of it.

Three minutes later, Keith Lasley was very lucky to remain on the park, as he should have been shown a second yellow for what appeared an obvious handball, but the referee ignored the appeals, much to the home side’s chargrin.



Brown Sees Red... Will Now Miss Sunday's Derby


As the clock ticked over into 90 minutes, Scott Brown, who, in a clumsy and unnecessary challenge, caught Hammell. He was shown a second yellow, followed by the red and will cause an extra headache for boss Neil Lennon, as his captain will now miss this coming weekend’s Glasgow derby.

With 4 added minutes tacked on, Motherwell continued to press, but with Celtic on the rack the 10 men desperately clung on to record their 10th clean sheet of the season, which ensured the 3 points and meaning Celtic will now enter 2011 and Sunday's crucial clash at the top of the SPL table.


What TC Members Said:

Celtic: Forster, Wilson, Majstorovic, Rogne, Izaguirre, Forrest (McGinn 88), Brown, Ledley, McCourt, Kapo (Murphy 38 <Kayal 53>), Stokes

Unused: Zaluska, Mulgrew, Crosas, Towell,

Goals: McCourt (26)
Booked: Majstorovic, Kayal
Sent Off: Brown

Motherwell: Randolph, Saunders, Craigan, Reynolds, Hammell, Hateley, Fitzpatrick (Sutton 88), Humphrey, Lasley, Murphy (Blackman 75), Gow.

Unused: Hollis (g), McHugh, Forbes, Hutchinson, Pollock

Booked: Hateley, Lasley, Craigan.


Man of the Match: P McCourt - Simply Stunning. Inspirational, always dangerous and yet another classy strike.

Honourable Mentions: M Wilson & E Izaguirre - Both fullbacks were reliable, assured, neat and tidy in defence & played some decent balls.

Referee: S Finnie

Attendance: 40, 750