Watching the action unfold from the Motherwell bench, Andy Halliday admitted he was taken aback by an uncharacteristic tactical shift from Celtic over the weekend.
Speaking on the Open Goal podcast, the midfielder highlighted the exact adjustment that caught his eye: “Every goal kick was long. I have never seen Celtic do that either.”
The catalyst for this sudden abandonment of their usual patient build-up play was a costly error from Reo Hatate.
His mistake playing out from the back was ruthlessly punished by Elijah Just’s early first-half strike, which handed the Steelmen the lead.
Determined to avoid a repeat of that blunder under Motherwell’s aggressive press, Celtic immediately altered their strategy, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Martin O’Neill had a big part to play in it, given that it’s Shaun Maloney and his coaching staff doing the work on the training pitch.
Rather than risking possession near their own penalty area, they simply went direct, and that change worked because Celtic would beat ten-man Motherwell 3-1.
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Celtic’s long-ball tactic after Elijah Just’s goal for Motherwell
Halliday detailed his observation of this surprisingly pragmatic response from the Scottish champions, noting how the tactical tweak eventually paid off.
For a side so synonymous with dominating possession, resorting to long goal kicks and playing on the counter-attack at home proved to be a rare yet ultimately effective adjustment.
It wasn’t just Halliday’s opposition view that was surprised by Celtic’s tactics on home soil; it even left boyhood fan Si Ferry stunned, as they stated on Open Goal.
Ferry gave his flowers to Jens Berthel Askou, and how well the much-respected Motherwell boss is performing this season.
Halliday: “I did think Celtic were a lot better at the start of the second half. Even in the first half, to be fair, I thought Celtic were dangerous on the counter-attack. Second half, aye (the press from Celtic was good).”
Fraser Fyvie: “The first time I have seen them play counter-attack at home, though.”
Halliday: “Nothing wrong with it, but after they make the mistake for the goal. Every goal kick was long. I have never seen Celtic do that either.
“But they get the goal from it, to be fair. They get the third goal from it.”
Ferry: “How much more respect does the Motherwell manager need that Celtic are playing like that against his team? You have never seen it. I have never seen it. I have never seen Celtic sit and play on the counter-attack.”
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