Celtic v Motherwell 14/03/2026

[MJC]

1 minute ago, wellon said:

Why would be good enough? They spend much more than us, you need luck and a strong ref...hibs drew so it could've been a lot worse.We played really well today,  maybe too open but that's yhe type of players we have

Too many of our strongest players just weren’t on their game. You talk about luck and yes you need that in games like these but you also need to be at your best and we certainly weren’t from what I saw. And when you take the lead in the 32nd minute of the first half you need to be able to see it out until half time. We couldn’t even hold out for ten minitues.

It wasn’t a disaster today and it wasn’t the worst performance we could have put in but we can’t afford to have players like Maswanhise posted missing and Said offering nothing.

[mio]

Don’t have any arguments with that today. I thought we did fine and played really good stuff at times and infact i felt we were having the upper hand at the time of the penalty/sending off. After that it was damage management.

Nothing to get too disheartened about, the next 2 home games are the more crucial ones. We need to stay in 4th and try and cause a bit of mayhem in the top 6.

[wellsince75]

Honestly think perspective is being lost by some.   We're well on track to be 4th.
 

We got beat today by a better team who played well and have the depth, strength, quality of players to hurt us and they did. 

It's not because we were poor , or have poor players or have a ref who caused it. Today we came off second  best, albeit still competed well with them until the penalty.

 I do wonder if all the hype and suggestion of winning the league has skewed many perspectives.   

I don't agree that a bubble has burst - we're too many games into the season to refer to bubbles/lucky streaks. We're a damn good team and on course to be 4th.  

[Prestwickwell]

Don’t actually think Celtic are a better team than us & don’t think they hurt us massively today either 

Argument to be made that teams are maybe starting to figure us out a bit because we don’t mix it up at all 

starting to lose the ball more in dangerous areas 

I’d like to see the big man get a start up front soon but we’d need actually play his strengths & give teams something different to think about 

[Kmcalpin]

12 minutes ago, MJC said:

Alot of people both inside and more so outside of our support have gotten way too carried away about us this season.

Yes we have been excellent and have turned in some great performances resulting in some big wins. Celtic at home being the main one, likewise Hibs at Fir Park and fairly comfortably took care of a good few of the bottom six sides especially at home. But as I said earlier we have failed to record a single win away against any of the current top six and have failed to beat either Rangers or Hearts despite all the credit (or “billing and coo-ing as Tam Cowan put it) over our performances in those games. We have also failed miserably in two massive yet on paper very winnable cup ties.

I described us as being “Fur coat and no knickers” earlier in the season and I stand by that.

Good post which mirrors my own view. We have weaknesses in the team which are now costing us, but in fairness, we are very much work in progress and way ahead of where many of us thought we'd be.  Have the wheels come off? Maybe, but we'll know for sure next Saturday evening. Are we good enough to retain 4th spot? We do seem to have an issue with players have off days in big games. Thats now 3 recent defeats losing 7 goals in the process and scoring 2. 

Looking on the bright side, its been a good day results wise as Falkirk and Hibs only managed to claw back one point on us. I didn't expect that.  Their results were always going to be more important to us than our own.  What did disappoint me was the red card. That was something I was hoping to avoid like the plague today, but I was being a tad optimistic. I haven't seen the penalty incident so can't comment on the specifics. With no back up left back, it'll cause us issues next week  No more Tom Sparrow at full back though..please. I never expected to take anything from today, so in that respect the defeat is neither here nor there.   

[grizzlyg]

I am just disappointed as this was our only chance to win league. Old firm and hearts were for the taking but maybe some of the hype been OTT.  some players believing their own hype and as much as I think Askou is a legend, there is a time and place for possession football.   That's both times at parkheid we have been ahead then gifted goals.

Next week we need a massive crowd.  Beat Hibs and we are 9pts clear with much better goal difference.  That is now the focus

[mio]

2 minutes ago, Prestwickwell said:

 

I’d like to see the big man get a start up front soon but we’d need actually play his strengths & give teams something different to think about 

I’d agree, I’ve not seen too much in him yet but I do think we need to mix it up a little. I’d move Maswanhise wide and have him play off the big man. As much as I love wee Said I think he’s been off it for a few weeks, he might have a stronger impact coming on as sub.

certainly nothing to get worked up about, the football is still good to watch and there’s 8 great games left to the season. Let’s face it, even the happiest of clappers couldn’t have predicted we’d be in this position when we played Twente in pre season. 

[Kmcalpin]

7 minutes ago, wellsince75 said:

I do wonder if all the hype and suggestion of winning the league has skewed many perspectives.   

I think we've been overhyped and that has maybe got to us. Folk need to remain grounded. Yes, we are probably the best footballing team in the league, but that alone doesn't win you games. There are 3 possibly 4 better teams than us in the league and we shouldn't forget that.  

However we'll finish in 5th at worst and thats a tremendous achievement. We've built a good foundation from which to strengthen the squad for next season and turn it into a team capable of winning  a cup.   

[wellon]

I know I've asked a few times but does 4th get euro spot, no matter who wins cup?

[Kmcalpin]

3 minutes ago, wellon said:

I know I've asked a few times but does 4th get euro spot, no matter who wins cup?

Yes.

[El Grew]

1 hour ago, thewelllfan said:

Said did not cause that goal. Sparrow has to clear the ball down the line. 2nd goal is tragic from Longelo but why is he even picking up Maeda in the first place. 3rd goal is fresh out of Sunday league literally a punt down the park and he's clean through. Win the next 2 games and we're in a decent position to come 4th. Would probably leave us needing maybe 4 points from the other 6 games.

Sorry mate but it was Said’s fault he should’ve cleared the ball in the first instance instead of opting but to pass it back to Sparrow and put him under pressure. There’s a time to play and there’s a time to clear it out and that fell into the latter and Said should’ve done that.

[wellsince75]

5 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

Yes.

I thought there were only 4 spaces and one being reserved for Scottish cup ? 
 

Jen’s mentioned Falkirk still being in the cup yesterday when asked about euro which I thought tied back to the old ruling - i could be wrong 

[thewelllfan]

2 minutes ago, El Grew said:

Sorry mate but it was Said’s fault he should’ve cleared the ball in the first instance instead of opting but to pass it back to Sparrow and put him under pressure. There’s a time to play and there’s a time to clear it out and that fell into the latter and Said should’ve done that.

I don't understand how that can be anyone other than Sparrow's fault he either clears the ball or puts enough pace on the pass to SOD for him to clear it. Either way it was another avoidable goal we've conceded.

[thewelllfan]

5 minutes ago, wellsince75 said:

I thought there were only 4 spaces and one being reserved for Scottish cup ? 
 

Jen’s mentioned Falkirk still being in the cup yesterday when asked about euro which I thought tied back to the old ruling - i could be wrong 

Next season is Scotland's last with 5 teams.

Champions - CL P/O Round

2nd Place - CL QR2

3rd place/cup winner - EL QR3

4th place/3rd if cup winner isn't Celtic - Confrence League QR2

5th place/ 4th if cup winner isn't Celtic - Confrence League QR2

[Benson]

Thought we were decent enough without a real cutting edge up front,maswanhise has lost a bit of form,same with watt,said was poor,stupid challenge from longello caught ball watching really changed game,consolidating 4th is our objective.

[johnstone]

I thought some of our football was excellent today. Watched it on Celtic Tv and Peter Grant was full of praise for us. 

It was a pen, but the red card was awful, terrible decision that has changed the game. 

We lacked a bit of cutting edge up front today and were wasteful in good areas. But our play from the back to midfield was outstanding. 

Keep playing the way we are then 3rd or 4th is achievable which let’s be honest would be a fantastic result for the club. 

Just got to keep building this style of play into next season as I’m sure it will bring success to the club.
 

 

[joewarkfanclub]

Thought we were very good first half and deserved to be 1-0 up. Poor decision making for their goal. You can blame any number of players for it, but the manager wants them to play that way so seems churlish to try and hang it on any one individual.

Oxlade - Chamberlain should have walked for a second yellow for his foul on Said, but we dont get those kind of decisions in Glasgow.

Second half MON changed it up and their press was far more effective. That led to far more loose passes and mistakes and ultimately the pressure that leads to the penalty.

Anyone arguing that its not a pen and a red card really needs to take their claret & amber shades off. Maeda might well be pulling Longelos jersey, but the minute he rolls him and gets goal side Longelo has to let go. Maeda has a clear header, so its a DOGSO.

Games a bogey at that point, although I would still have like to see Eythor on much quicker and go more direct. We dont seem to want to throw long balls or crosses at him, despite how good he is in the air.

Overall, decent performance up until the red card. Disappointing result.

Time to put the title race chat to bed and focus on 4th place. 

[wellon]

47 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

Yes.

Good,  is it following season we lose a place?

[star sail]

2 hours ago, MJC said:

It was a clear penalty. We would be screaming blue murder if exact same thing happened up the other end and it wasn’t given.

Time to take those green and white glasses off MJC.

Getting tired of all your pro Celtic rhetoric!!

Step too far today but still much to play for this season. Would still love to beat Hearts at Tynecastle and really put the cat amongst the pigeons.

As JBA is always telling us, celebrate the performance not the result. It is miles better than we have been used to for some time.

[Kmcalpin]

8 minutes ago, wellon said:

Good,  is it following season we lose a place?

It is.