Ange Postecoglou reacts to rare dropped points at Celtic Park

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Celtic are 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership after a frustrating 1-1 draw at home to Motherwell this afternoon.

Callum McGregor opened the scoring for the Bhoys with a deflected long-range shot that was fired past Liam Kelly. Kevin van Veen eventually punished Celtic wastefulness in the final third with a fine second-half equaliser, following a one-on-one tussle with Greg Taylor.

The Steelmen dug in with a defensive outlook, alongside some time-wasting tactics, and managed to hold on for a big point that keeps them clear of relegation trouble in seventh place. It’s the first time that Celtic have dropped points at home for almost a year. No doubt it was a difficult afternoon.

Ange Postecoglou has his say on Celtic draw with Motherwell

Postecoglou said post-match [BBC Radio Scotland, 17:19]: “Obviously it was a disappointing outcome. The performance was probably not at the level we have been reaching. The first half was okay, we controlled the game really well and scored our goal. We had some opportunities to get a second but we conceded a really disappointing and poor goal.

“From there we still had the chance to win but there was a bit of desperation around our game and we weren’t able to get the goal we needed. When you concede a goal like we did today that gives the opposition some encouragement and energy to defend. We just lacked that little bit of composure.

“We created chances we’ve been pretty good at taking but we didn’t take them today. That’s the game of football. We need to lick our wounds, review it and move on.

“The players, this is what they want. They want to be a team that sets standards and keeps pushing to new levels. When you do that, there are going to be times you stumble but you have to get up and go again. We’ll review it and get back on the training ground and prepare for a big game next week.”

Celtic now move on to a massive Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers next Sunday afternoon.

In the grand scheme of things, the draw against Motherwell didn’t matter all too much – we’ll still go on to win the league. But the Hampden clash undoubtedly has consequences attached so the team will have to play far better than they did today.

In other news, Celtic advertise for promising new coaching role.