Moussa & the Wizard at the double as Celts go Hawaiian…
Scott Sinclair would get his first Celtic start in midweek, one of four changes from Tynecastle as Mark McGhee brought his Motherwell side to Parkhead for the Last 16 tie in the League Cup. The former Celt’s heart must have sunk when he heard the draw, his Steelmen having conceded seven without reply in Ronny Deila’s final game in charge of the Hoops, just three months earlier. It would be only slightly less painful tonight. Back into the home side came Saidy Janko, Emilio Izaguirre and Tom Rogic, whilst Kolo Toure, Kieran Tierney, Stuart Armstrong and the suspended Leigh Griffiths dropped out.
Celtic were up for it from the outset, in front of a sparse crowd of around 20,000, clicking quickly through the gears to open the scoring within 20 minutes. Callum McGregor’s lovely disguised chip found Rogic alone in the box, his deft touch to control followed by a powerful left-foot volley past the helpless Craig Samson.
Just after the half-hour, it was 2-0, Sinclair going past full-back Richard Tait for fun before being pushed to the ground, Moussa Dembele showing variation in his spot kicks by clipping this one high to his left. The one-way procession continued into the second period.
First Sinclair scored his first home goal on the hour, with the curling right-footed finish coming in from the left flank which would become his trademark, then Dembele added a fourth from close range minutes later, after his initial effort had been saved. With 15 minutes to play, Rogic also claimed a brace, tapping home with his ‘standing foot’ after keeper Samson had parried a James Forrest shot. It was 5-0 going on 10-0 to be truthful.
A really comfortable night had also allowed the Celtic manager the bonus of giving some of his younger players a run out. Central defender, Jamie McCart, his father a former pivot at Motherwell and now a youth coach at Celtic Park, made his debut with 20 minutes remaining, quickly followed by Liam Henderson and Anthony Ralston. With Eoghan O’Connell, Callum McGregor and James Forrest seeing out the 90 minutes, Celtic ended the match with no fewer than six Academy graduates on the field for a major cup-tie, surely some sort of record.
It was a much needed and welcome break from the pressures of the Champions League for those of us supporters fortunate enough to be there. It was also the night I first thought that this could be a very special season for Celtic. Both Dembele and Sinclair were already looking like money well-spent and others seemed to be thriving from playing around them, notably Rogic and Forrest. Early days, absolutely, however, it augured well.
Brendan Rodgers agreed.
“In the first half, some of our attacking game at speed was excellent and in the second half we counter-pressed very well, which allowed us to create more chances. All round, from the first minute to the end it was fantastic. The level of performance at this stage of the season was very good. Scott Sinclair will make other players better. We are very fortunate to have him. He is a Premier League player down south. He is so fast and dynamic and gets you off your feet. He had a wonderful first game here.”
Whilst Motherwell boss Mark McGhee sounded like the man trying to get the hell out of Dodge. Alive.
“We were totally outclassed. Celtic were flying. Rogic and their wide players were brilliant at times, but we weren’t as good as we can be. There was a lot of energy expended just chasing them and whenever we did win the ball back, we weren’t able to keep it for long because we were fatigued. We have to move on quickly.”
Matt Corr
This extract is from Invincible by Matt Corr, published by The Celtic Star earlier this year.
