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Motherwell V Celtic 28/04/13


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Noted that myself - if only he had come sooner...

 

Who got Man of the Match on Sky? That would be a *really* difficult pick :thumbup:

 

I'd go for Izaguirre, myself, or Lustig.

 

Ho ho ho!

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Good take on tactics yesterday from STV website.

Often been critical of Hateley but he had a great game yesterday.

 

 

 

Motherwell's 3-1 win over champions Celtic, a result which saw the Steelmen guarantee their place in Europe next term, was eye-catching for a number of reasons.

 

It ensured Stuart McCall's men became the first SPL side to beat the Hoops twice in the league this season.

 

Michael Higdon's goal also ensured three out of the four PFA Player of the Year nominees hit the net this weekend with Niall McGinn and Leigh Griffiths also on target.

 

However it a tactical switch by Motherwell boss Stuart McCall really caught the eye.

 

The Steelmen set up with a three-man rearguard with regular right back Tom Hateley being deployed in front of the defence.

 

The move was concocted by McCall after hearing Celtic planned to start out with Gary Hooper, Tony Watt and Georgios Samaras in attack.

 

Each Hoops attacker would be monitored by defenders Steven Hammell, Shaun Hutchinson and Simon Ramsden. Hateley's job was to pick up runners from midfield, mainly Tom Rogic in the first half.

 

By sitting in a deeper position, Hateley allowed fellow midfielders Nicky Law and Keith Lasley to stay closer to Motherwell's forwards when in possession whilst also keeping tabs on Victor Wanyama and Beram Kayal.

 

There were early teething problems as each player adjusted to their role.

 

Hutchinson was booked early for a crunching tackle on Samaras while Darren Randolph was forced to make a smart stop after the 'Well defence left Gary Hooper unattended at the back post.

 

As a natural full-back Hammell was comfortable drifting out wide to confront his opponent while Ramsden, a centre back by trade, was cautious not to find himself in one-on-one situations on the wing.

 

It is noticeable that Celtic's goal came from one of the few occasions where Ramsden was beaten to the ball, allowing Tony Watt to run into the space Hateley would normally occupy at right-back with Gary Hooper applying the finishing touch.

 

When in possession Hateley did drift over to the right side at times to feed winger Chris Humphrey, whose pace relieved first-half pressure on the home side's backline.

 

The 23-year-old's ability from set pieces is well known and he was able to display his long-range passing ability in this game. It was his cross into the box which Lustig headed against his own post before the ball bounced into the net off Fraser Forster.

 

By stretching the Celtic defence he allowed Law, Ojamaa and McFadden to support Michael Higdon in attack and so giving the Steelmen a route back into the match.

 

Explaining the reason for Hateley's change in position, Stuart McCall said: "We weren't going to set out like that but then we looked at Celtic's team and they didn't have James Forrest and didn't have a natural winger.

 

"They came here before and played a diamond and we were aware if Hooper was playing off the front two then Tom [Hateley] would go in there and we'd go to a back three. They reverted to it very quickly and did it well because it was very much a game where they attacked, then we attacked.

 

"They still caught us on the break but without [us] playing that way they would have caused us more damage. It was something [playing three at the back] we talked about prior to the game depending on how they went.

 

"Celtic's team, even when you get the team sheet, you're still not sure which way they are going to go so we had to be aware.

 

"I'm always one for trying to get your own system on top of their system but it was just a shape we felt would work best for us. I've seen when they've come here before when [Kris] Commons has played in the hole and he can destroy you so that was the reason for the formation."

 

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Thought the applauding of them on to the park by our players was half harted at best and Faddy looked especially disinterested . Great stuff

 

That was my only complaint about yesterday...Celtic show no respect to any other team so they deserved to get none back...i turned my back on them at that point

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That was my only complaint about yesterday...Celtic show no respect to any other team so they deserved to get none back...i turned my back on them at that point

 

 

You mean apart from St Mirren, who they gave a guard of honour to after they won the League Cup....

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Now that the euphoria has died down I will list how I thought the performances were. This is not meant as negative but on the contrary is meant as a compliment to the team. I believe that all the players individually get pass marks but by no means did everyone perform at their individual best but yet as a team performance it ranks up there.

 

My point is that we beat celtic well and with plenty to spare and room to improve. Would be happy to see the team stay together just to see how good they could get. These past few games they have been a delight to watch. during the celtic game we had patches where we were just knocking the ball about you could feel the confidence radiating from the team. there was never a thought of holding on for dear life to see if we can actually hold our 3 - 1 lead. They maintaned their composure and nerve and played liek a team who were expecting to win that game.

 

Anyway lets see who agrees and disagrees should pass a wee bit of time wheil we wait for the inverness game

 

Randolph - played well but I would say only one save that you migh expect a goalie not to make. Not sure about his choice to comeout for the celtic goal

 

Ramsden Hutchie and Hammil : steady performance the whole game through without any real standout heroics. special pat on the back to hutchie for lasting the whole game with the early yellow.

 

Hately: Played very well. contender for man of the match

 

Lasley: hard working shift. excellent pass for the goal. didn't control the game but also didn't let Celtic control the game. Didn;t give the ball away very much at all.

 

Law: Good in patches but I thought he was struggling with an injury for a good while in the game. I thought he might have got pulled much earlier than he was.

 

Humphrey: Took him a while to get into the game but great second half I thought although seemd to pass when he should shoot and shoot when he should pass.

 

McFaddden: Can't deny his skill and great run in the first half work rate ws first class but got caught with the bal lor gave it away too much for his standards.

 

Higdon: Somewhat like Lasley in that he didn't win the battle with his opponent but neither did he get beat. What a terrific PK though. didn't bother to disguise it just hit it solid and accurate and even though the keeper knew where it as going he still didn't get near it.

 

Ojaama: gave him MoM but I think he won that based on his goal and the second half performance. He was struggling with his touch the first half but after that goal it seemed to just lift his performance. 2 excellent defence splitting passes in the second half for humphrey and McFadden. Workrate from this boy is just tremendous.

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Noted the attendance was a dismal 7,500. We are trying to consolidate second place and playing at home to the champions and the fans can't be arsed turning up. When you consider that this fixture used to have over 20,000 attending you realise Scottish football is in a very bad place. Sad times.

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Noted the attendance was a dismal 7,500. We are trying to consolidate second place and playing at home to the champions and the fans can't be arsed turning up. When you consider that this fixture used to have over 20,000 attending you realise Scottish football is in a very bad place. Sad times.

 

Attendances are going down due to cost. That's all it is. If we made that game a fiver for kids and a rennet for adults it would be close to full. We got 10000 last time we did that against Dundee Utd.

 

We need a tv deal that allows clubs to reduce prices and get fans in the stadium.

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Noted the attendance was a dismal 7,500. We are trying to consolidate second place and playing at home to the champions and the fans can't be arsed turning up. When you consider that this fixture used to have over 20,000 attending you realise Scottish football is in a very bad place. Sad times.

 

Prices, the fact that it was on TV and that it was Celtic. Our home crowd was always a good 500 - 1,000 down at Celtic & Rangers games.

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Attendances are going down due to cost. That's all it is. If we made that game a fiver for kids and a rennet for adults it would be close to full. We got 10000 last time we did that against Dundee Utd.

 

We need a tv deal that allows clubs to reduce prices and get fans in the stadium.

 

I bet you are an iPhone user! I have no idea what a rennet is but it always fires it into my texts as well.

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