Celtic find unlikely peacemaker amid breathless chaos and board banners

Supporters’ representatives and members of the board are set to sit down on Monday to discuss the running of the club, a gathering that looked set to be fuelled by anger and frustration when Brendan Rodgers’ side appeared to be on course for a fourth successive game without a victory.

Trailing to a Motherwell side eyeing up a first win in this fixture for a decade, Celtic rallied to find first an equaliser through Benjamin Nygren and then, in the dying embers of the match, a winner from Maeda.

That was cruel on the visitors who had played with bravery and conviction to contribute significantly to a compelling contest but had the effect of transforming the atmosphere around Parkhead, frustration giving way to joy and relief at seeing their heroes somehow battling their way to a victory when all hope had again looked lost.

Scoring three times to cut the gap behind Hearts to two points will take some of the edge off matters heading into the international break, although the off-field discontent could rumble on for some time yet.

Two banners were held up by the Green Brigade before and at the end of the match, one declaring the Celtic board “unfit for purpose.” The second was more vulgar and to the point: “**** the meeting, resign”, a facsimile raised in front of the directors box late in the contest.

Winning would clearly help situation

Winning more matches would help dial down some of that simmering rage but that’s something Celtic have struggled with of late, even if they did find a way to prosper on this occasion.

Hibs had stolen away from Parkhead the previous weekend with a point gained through unglamorous but effective defensive toil. That would seem the perfect blueprint for others to follow but not Motherwell under Jens Berthel Askou who tend to treat defending as something to be undertaken only when strictly necessary.

Within the first minute they were advancing into the Celtic penalty box, their unwavering commitment to attack imbuing the contest with a frantic, helter-skelter feel, Motherwell pressing Celtic with such collective intensity that mistakes began to crop up from which they would eventually capitalise.

Opposite sides used to meekly fold after falling behind here but Motherwell showed significant resolve to not wither after conceding first. After all the furore over the handball that wasn’t in Celtic’s midweek Europa League defeat to Braga, a similar call in their favour presented them with the chance to move in front midway through the first half.

Callum McGregor slammed a shot into the ground that bounced up and onto the outstretched arm of Regan Charles-Cook. Referee Calum Scott initially played advantage before returning to give the penalty that VAR quickly rubber stamped. Kelechi Iheanacho made up for the goal he was denied on Thursday night by rolling his shot past Calum Ward.

If that was unfortunate from Motherwell’s perspective then they didn’t buckle and fashioned an equaliser before the first half was out. The modern-day predilection for playing the ball out from the back can often turn into a hazardous venture if those attempting to undertake it aren’t quite up to the task.

Motherwell pounce on sloppy defending

Anthony Ralston found as much to his cost, his sloppy play creating a Motherwell turnover. Ibrahim Said spun before feeding a ball wide to Tawanda Maswanhise whose cross was met by Apostolos Stamatelopoulos who planted a low header beyond Kasper Schmeichel.

Motherwell began the second half in similar fashion and found themselves ahead just 10 minutes in. Again it came from the penalty spot after Marcelo Saracchi was adjudged to have trod on Maswanhise’s foot as the pair contested Emmanuel Longelo’s cut back. Stamatelopoulos lifted the ball just high enough over Schmeichel’s outstretched arm to give Motherwell an unlikely but deserved lead.

That prompted Rodgers to make a triple change and one of those replacements, Nygren, spurned two golden chances to equalise. It was third time lucky, then, for the Swede who could scarcely believe his good fortune when Ward squirted a pass straight to him. Nygren was never going to miss from that range and this breathless, chaotic encounter had taken yet another twist with the teams knotted up again with 20 minutes to go.

It took until injury-time before the outcome was settled. Arne Engels slipped a pass to Michel-Ange Balikwisha and his cross was headed low beyond Ward by Maeda.