Sport

Lennon takes solace

Celtic 2 Motherwell 1: THIS will do little to erase the embarrassment lingering at Celtic after the weekend Scottish Cup semi…

EWAN MURRAY at Celtic Park
Wed Apr 14 2010 - 01:00

Celtic 2 Motherwell 1:THIS will do little to erase the embarrassment lingering at Celtic after the weekend Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Ross County. However, it meant two victories of sorts for Neil Lennon.

Rangers still need two wins to claim the title, which would not have been the case had Motherwell held on to their lead.

Lennon, the interim manager, can also take solace from his team’s recovery from that one-goal deficit. In these troubled times here, that is about as good as it gets.

The vast expanse of empty seats told the story. This was without question Celtic’s lowest home league crowd since they returned to the reconstructed Parkhead in 1995, and more than simply a protest at events at Hampden Park on Saturday.

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Those fans who did turn up were subjected to a drab opening half. Even if an eerie atmosphere could be used as a partial excuse for the hosts, they failed to create any chances worthy of the name.

Motherwell did, twice, with Jamie Murphy and Lukas Jutkiewicz denied by Celtic goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska.

The visitors endorsed Celtic’s vulnerability within four minutes of the restart. Mark Reynolds was the unlikely scorer, the central defender pouncing after Celtic failed to clear a routine free-kick.

Thankfully for Lennon, a response arrived within 60 seconds, thereby placating any sense of open revolt in the stands.

The source of this goal, too, was a surprising one, the teenage centre-half Josh Thompson drilling home after Scott Brown had headed a corner into his path.

A similar template led to the winner, Thompson again hardly challenged from a corner. This time, the defender headed straight into the Motherwell goal.

CELTIC: Zaluska, Wilson, Thompson, O’Dea, Naylor, McGinn (Fortune 76), Brown, N’Guemo, McGeady, Keane, Kamara. Subs not used: Boruc, Crosas, Rasmussen, Braafheid, Caddis, McGowan. Booked: Naylor.

MOTHERWELL: Fraser, Hateley, Craigan (Saunders 56), Reynolds, Hammell, O’Brien, Lasley (Coke 11), Jennings, Murphy, Jutkiewicz (Humphrey 81), Sutton. Subs not used: Hylsop, Darren Smith, Forbes, McHugh. Booked: O’Brien, Coke.

Referee: I Brines (Scotland).