REO’S ROCKET IS JUST EXPLOSIVE
Hatate fires home a spectacular winner as 10-man Celtic hold on for victory
WITH Celtic just that little more stodgy and uncertain than we have come to expect and Motherwell impressively solid, it was always going to take something out of the norm for the champions to put this one to bed.
That’s the kind of thing Reo Hatate specialises in, though. And what a spectacular finish the Japanese midfielder delivered to put his side 2-1 up at a key period 64 minutes in and, ultimately, secure the win.
Always technically adept on the ball and looking to create space, it also seems fair to say Hatate — along with most of his team-mates, to be fair — hadn’t had his most influential afternoon until that key intervention.
Indeed, he ended up being taken off late on after an awful pass into no man’s land in the final minute of the game resulted in captain Callum McGregor being sent off (below) — perhaps unfairly, given Stephen Welsh appeared in a position to cover — for hauling down substitute Ross Tierney as he homed in on Joe Hart’s goal.
However, in that glorious moment in which Hatate picked up a short corner from Jota on the left, shuffled the ball inside on to his right foot and delivered a lethal, dipping Exocet missile of a shot that beat the despairing dive of Liam Kelly to nestle inside the far post, nothing else mattered. It was a celebration of everything this little guy is so good at.
Yet, the goal was the product of an element of the unexpected within Motherwell as well. A rare and unusual slip in a very focused, diligent performance.
It might be nitpicking, but there was just a sense that Hatate hadn’t been closed down quickly enough, that Dean Cornelius could have put him under greater pressure before he pulled the trigger had he been a little more observant.
Sure, it might not have made a difference. However, there was a reason Kelly was so visibly unhappy with those in front of him in the immediate aftermath of Hatate’s piece of brilliance. Cornelius’ removal from the play for Stuart McKinstry five minutes later only heightened suspicions that others within his own camp felt he might have reacted better to Jota’s quickly taken flag-kick, too.
At that point, the visitors were still in the game with a comic-cuts own goal from Josip Juranovic having cancelled out an early opener from Kyogo Furuhashi.
Indeed, even after
Hatate’s exquisite game clincher, they still had chances. McKinstry will still be having nightmares over the freshair swipe from yards out late on after a Connor Shields flick-on made its way to him.
That Motherwell kept this competitive from start to finish is of credit to them. They could easily have folded when going behind on the quarter-hour mark to Furuhashi’s opener.
McGregor released Jota on the left and he hung up a ball into the area that was begging to be attacked. Matt O’Riley got there first ahead of the visiting rearguard to put in a powerful header from close-range that Kelly just couldn’t deal with.
The Motherwell keeper did get a hand to the ball, but he couldn’t stop it from going through him and heading towards goal. It might well have crossed the line under its own steam, but Kyogo wasn’t willing to loiter around to find out — gleefully bashing it into the back of the net.
It then looked as though Celtic would have enough in the tank to put themselves in a comfortable position, but they weren’t their usual high-octane selves yesterday. The intense pressing and insane tempo witnessed in other matches wasn’t quite there.
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt were also missing from the centre of the rearguard — replaced by Moritz Jenz and Welsh — and much was going to depend on whether Motherwell could ask questions of that area of the Celtic team.
As it turned out, they were more than capable. It is not easy to remain compact and threaten on the counter, but the Steelmen have been tactically interesting — with different facets in defence and attack — under new manager Stevie Hammell.
Just before the half hour, they offered a real signal of intent. A great ball in from Paul McGinn travelled into a seriously dangerous area. Barry Maguire was there in front of goal to take advantage, but he failed to react quickly enough and the ball just evaded him to skid wide. It could have been 2-0 10 minutes before the interval when Juranovic thumped a 25-yard free-kick off the crossbar, but it was at the other end of the field where the Croatian right-back would have a greater say.
Shields had won a corner by forcing Hart into action with a shot.
Sean Goss’s flag-kick was cleared at the front post, but Blair Spittal picked it up 20 yards out and dinked it back towards the six-yard box.
It was a hopeful ball, not really aimed at a team-mate. Something to try to cause a bit of consternation. It certainly did that.
As the ball dropped out of the sky, Juranovic motioned to cushion it back to Hart. However, he clearly misjudged the keeper’s position, which had to be called into question. In the end, it all just became a costly mess.
Juranovic chested the ball well to the left of Hart, who then had to scramble back towards his goal in a desperate attempt to stop it crossing the line. He got a hand to it, but it wasn’t enough. The visitors were level.
Juranovic, eager to atone, fizzed an effort just over and then Furuhashi had the ball in the net in the dying moments of the first half — only to be ruled offside. Hatate, clearly just getting his eye in, had hit Kelly’s post with a thunderbolt of a shot before his countryman dived to head home the rebound. But linesman Dougie Potter had raised his flag for an infringement.
Celtic had their chances in the second period, too. Furuhashi headed wide from a brilliant position after connecting with substitute Liel Abada’s cross and the home side should have had a penalty when Ricki Lamie, already on a booking, appeared to handle in his own area.
Down to 10 men by the death, though, they were happy just to get over the line.
CELTIC (4-3-3): Hart; Juranovic, Welsh, Jenz, Taylor; O’Riley (Turnbull 65), McGregor, Hatate (Abildgaard 90); Maeda (Abada 64), Furuhashi (Haksabanovic 80), Jota (Mooy 90).
Subs (not used): Siegrist, Bernabei, Forrest, Ralston. Booked: Welsh. Sent off: McGregor.
MOTHERWELL (4-2-3-1): Kelly; McGinn, Solholm Johansen, Lamie, Penney; Maguire, Goss (Morris 80); Shields, Cornelius (McKinstry 69), Spittal (Tierney 80); Van Veen (Moult 69). Subs (not used): Oxborough, O’Donnell, Mugabi, Miller, Ross. Booked: Lamie, Van Veen, Shields, Penney. Referee: John Beaton. Attendance: 58,407.