Alistair Johnston wowed by Celtic star who showed his quality ‘from the get-go’ at Motherwell

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Celtic asserted their dominance by beating Motherwell 3-0 at Fir Park on Sunday.

After the exhaustion and emotional toil of Celtic’s impressive performance against Atalanta, this game was always going to be extra difficult.

Especially given the fact that, in recent times, Stuart Kettlewell has pushed the champions right to death to try and win the game against his side.

But this time around, it was a far more comfortable victory for Brendan Rodgers, with Luke McCowan opening the scoring for the Bhoys, and Alistair Johnston also getting on the scoresheet, alongside striker Adam Idah.

Rodgers made changes to his XI, some forced, with Callum McGregor absent through injury, but it allowed the squad players to prove their worth.

Johnston understands the difficult nature of Celtic having to play so many games in such a hectic period, but he thinks they have what not many in Scotland have and that’s squad depth.

Alistair Johnston hails Luke McCowan’s quality after Celtic beat Motherwell

McGregor’s issue is minor, but it still meant that he had to sit out the trip to Fir Park, but that opened the door for others.

McCowan started to the delight of the Celtic fans because he has made an outstanding start to life at Parkhead following his summer transfer from Dundee.

Johnston thinks ‘from the get-go’ against Motherwell, McCowan showcased his quality and it was a ‘lovely individual effort’ for his goal, as he told Celtic TV.

“Definitely difficult, but that’s why you build a squad like we have,” said Johnston about the heavy fixture load.

“We have quality littered throughout the squad. You saw it (against Motherwell). Bringing in guys like Luke (McCowan). You see the quality he had right from the get-go. It was a lovely individual effort to get that first goal and get us going there.

“That’s the really important thing, no matter how hectic the schedule gets. We have built a squad that has depth in quality to be able to manage that. And not every team in this country can say that. So, it’s something we need to use to our advantage. We have shown it here (against Motherwell) and I think we will continue to show it throughout these next couple of weeks because you said it, it’s really busy. Big match after big match, especially with how tight it is at the top right now. You can’t really drop points.”

McCowan’s stats for Celtic against Motherwell

It was a strong showing from McCowan, but one that shouldn’t be a surprise because he has fitted in like a glove since arriving.

The 26-year-old is becoming a bit of a fan favourite, and in truth, McGregor not playing was a bit of a blessing in disguise because it pushed the new boy into the limelight.

WhoScored rated McCowan’s game a brilliant 8.07, with the midfielder involved all over the shop, including having 72 touches of the ball and scoring that all-important opening goal.