Celtic cruised to another three points on Boxing Day.
It wasn’t easy in the first half, but eventually, Celtic recorded a 4-0 win over Motherwell and moved 12 points clear of second-placed Rangers in the table – this is before Rangers’ trip to St Mirren.
Whilst Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn and Reo Hatate helped themselves to goals in the second half, the opening goal came via the penalty spot.
The on-field referee judged that Yang Hyun-Jun was fouled by the opposing keeper, Aston Oxborough and he pointed to the spot.
Arne Engels was the calmest man in Parkhead, as he stepped up and opened the scoring for Celtic just before half-time.
But that moment or call didn’t sit well with the Motherwell manager, Stuart Kettlewell.
Stuart Kettlewell slams Yang Hyun-Jun after Celtic beat Motherwell
It needs to be noted that VAR checked the decision and backed up the call, but Kettlewell wasn’t a happy man after he saw a replay.
The Motherwell manager suggested there wasn’t much in the game, before the penalty went in and he thinks the call was ‘so soft, it’s not true’, as he told Motherwell’s YouTube channel.
Kettlewell noted how Yang went to ground far too easily and doesn’t think there was enough contact for his actions.
“I’ll be honest with you, until Celtic score their first goal, that’s how we are, that’s exactly the stage we are at in the game,” said Kettlewell.
“I thought we were looking like heading into half-time with a clean sheet. To galvanise ourselves and freshen up. Then the referee awards a penalty.
“From the angle I have seen, I just think it’s incredibly soft. I think it’s so soft, it’s not true. The one thing I can tell you is that, the contact or the lack of contact doesn’t signify how the player goes down and hits the ground. But that said, the referee has awarded it.”
Kettlewell praises Liam Scales
Liam Scales kept his place in Celtic’s XI, after returning to the side when Auston Trusty missed out on the trip to Tannadice before Christmas because of illness.
The Irishman was involved in the second goal when Maeda headed home from a corner.
Kettlewell noted Scales’ run at the near post and how Celtic do that ‘time and time again’, before Maeda came charging in from towards the penalty spot to score.
“The second one is a corner kick,” added Kettlewell. “It comes from the touch in the front area, which we spoke about and worked on.
“We know it’s possible with somebody like Scales, who is really, really good in the air. Trying to mark on that front side and protect that area. The big no, no for us is, I will namecheck Marvin (Kaleta). I thought he did very, very well in the game. He just drops Maeda peeling around the back. Again, a movement, we know Celtic use time and again.”
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