I was in the press box for Celtic vs Motherwell: 3 things I spotted as penalty debate ensues in Parkhead clash

Celtic came out 4-0 winners over Motherwell in a Premiership clash at Parkhead.

The first half had been stuffy before an Arne Engels penalty put the hosts ahead after a challenge by away keeper Aston Oxborough on Hoops winger Yang. It came after a 45 minutes where Celtic had been limited by a strong defensive performance by Motherwell, Daizen Maeda passing up a good chance.

Possession was controlled in the main by the home team with Motherwell reduced to trying to hit on the counter and from set-pieces. They got a great sight on goal with a Marvin Kaleta header but the Wolves loanee was denied on the line by his own man, Tony Watt, who couldn’t get out the way quick enough.

Then it was Celtic’s turn to pounce from a set-piece. Engels’ cross fizzed off a head at the front post and was turned in by Maeda, with two goals too much of a mountain for Stuart Kettlewell’s side to climb against a side who’ve yet to lose this domestic season.

Nicolas Kuhn’s deflected goal put this game beyond any doubt and Reo Hatate added insult to injury as attentions turn to facing Rangers on Sunday for Motherwell. I watched the game from the press box. Here are three things I spotted.

Turning point

This game turned on the stroke of half-time. While not causing any issues in an attacking sense, Motherwell had laid the ground work for taking something from Parkhead with a rigid defensive showing that would eventually force the hosts to take some risks. Engels’ strike killed all that good work in essence and allowed the Hoops full control. The second ended chances of Motherwell winning and a comeback of epic proportions was needed for a point.

Ref chat continues

One Motherwell game with no refereeing talking points appears too much to ask. First, the decision to book Tawanda Maswanhise for diving on the borderline of the box has sparked questions after a challenge by Yang. And there’s social media debate too on how much contact there actually was to warrant the Celtic penalty. Boss Kettlewell has been far from happy with some refereeing calls against his team of late.

Rotation game

It’s right in the thick of a busy slate of games for Motherwell now and that perhaps was reflected in the team news. No Liam Gordon, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos or Andy Halliday who have all been regular starters this campaign. Expect to see more of this chopping and changing in the weeks ahead.