Well, well. What a second half that was for the Celtic fans. For much of the 90 minutes against Motherwell, we all thought we were going to fall further behind in the title race.
At 1-1 with ten minutes to go, there were real fears that Rangers could be stretching their lead at the top of the table to four points until Adam Idah and Luis Palma popped up with two late goals to seal a 3-1 win for Celtic.
However, it wasn’t all plain sailing as the Hoops toiled in an opening 45 first-half minutes that saw a Blair Spittal opener give Motherwell the lead heading into half-time.
Like many Celtic supporters, I too was wondering where the inspiration was going to come from as the Hoops’ erratic form continued today.
Well, it seems that Rodgers’ half-time team talk inspired the players as the Celtic manager revealed what he told his team.
Rodgers said [Sky Sports], “In the first half there was a wee bit of anxiety at the beginning and we weren’t connecting the game well enough.
“The passes were too long and too easy to cut out so we weren’t quite in flow and then obviously we we conceded a poor goal from the throw-in.
“But I said the players are halftime, ‘Listen, just relax, we just play our game, we just have to shorten the passes, connect the game.
“And I thought in the second half, so much credit to the guys, I thought they were absolutely brilliant in the second half.
“We scored three and could have had one or two more so we’re really pleased.”
It certainly worked as it did seem that the team played with a little bit more freedom and confidence. Obviously, the early Adam Idah equaliser helped but credit where it is due.
This Celtic team showed some battling qualities that have been sorely missed of late as they keep the pressure on Rangers at the top of the table.
In other news, Brendan Rodgers says Celtic will ‘write their own story’ in message to media after Motherwell win
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