Not many teams have a go at Celtic, especially at Parkhead, but Motherwell tried to do that over the weekend.
Jens Berthel Askou is the new man in the Motherwell dugout, and he tasked his side to try and beat the champions of Scotland in their backyard.
At one point, Motherwell were leading 2-1, but then, Brendan Rodgers’ side turned the screw, and Daizen Maeda netted a stoppage-time winner for Celtic.
Andy Halliday was on Motherwell’s bench, and he provided an insight into how his team set up, as well as how they viewed Celtic’s tactics.
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Andy Halliday on Celtic and Motherwell’s tactics
You could see it in Motherwell’s play, but Halliday shared that the message from their coach was to ‘try and win the game.’
In the end, The Steelmen fell short, as Halliday told Open Goal that he thinks his side deserved much more from the match.
Halliday also touched upon Celtic’s tactics, and especially their press, and how they seemingly weren’t aggressive enough in the first half, but then went ‘man-for-man’ after the break.
“I think we definitely done enough to take something out of it,” said Halliday. “That was the gaffer’s message before the game: ‘we are going to (try and) win the game.’
“Went man-for-man. Went man-for-man at goal kicks. Tried to press man-for-man out of possession as well. Starting at 4-4-2. Midblock and the shuffling man-to-man. I thought it worked. The first half, especially.
“You correct me if I am wrong, but I thought Celtic didn’t even look like scoring in that first half. I thought we were really good. Dangerous in the counter-attacks. I thought we played through the thirds well.
“Then you come to the penalties, it’s one of them ones, I think it is a penalty, but it kind of comes from nothing, and Celtic get the goal. We then come back. I thought from then on, up until we scored to make it 2-1, I thought we were the better team.
“I think it’s more off the ball. Celtic pressed us from minute one. But it wasn’t to press to make contact, and win the ball back. It was just kind of being in an area. We were brilliant at finding the spare player. We just kept finding the spare player to attack. Celtic then go man-for-man in the second half.”
Halliday on what Celtic have been good at for ‘such a long period of time’
When looking at the campaign as a whole, and whilst it is still early days, Celtic still aren’t playing at their best, and a lot still needs to change.
Some of that is down to new signings bedding in, but also previous star performers, such as Daizen Maeda, Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate needing to fix up and showcase their worth again.
But despite that lack of bite in Celtic’s game, Halliday explained how the Hoops, time and time again, can still secure maximum points without playing well.
“That’s one thing Celtic have been good at for such a long period of time, for years, even when they aren’t playing well,” said Halliday.
“They just find a way to win games. You always know that they are going to get a chance at the end of the game.
“I thought, from Celtic’s point of view, it was a really well-worked goal. It’s a sickener for us.
“Celtic played some good stuff, to be fair. I think there are times when they are too passive. Celtic, at their best, it’s quick attacking and intense football. I think this season, they haven’t clicked into gear, in terms of it has been quite passive and slow.”
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