Motherwell manager Stevie Hammell was left ‘massively disappointed’ by the manner of his side’s defeat to Celtic on Wednesday night as Ange Postecoglou’s Bhoys hit top form.
Goals from Liel Abada, Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi powered Celtic to a 4-0 Premier Sports Cup victory that sets up a big Hampden semi-final clash against Kilmarnock, with Rangers and Aberdeen also left in the tournament.
After the match, Hammell was left despondent by the gap between his side and the Bhoys, feeling that his team were sunk by the time the second goal had gone in.
As quoted by The Daily Record, he said: “It’s disappointing. We came here to do well and the way it played out it’s still a little bit fresh but we’re massively disappointed. I thought for large parts of the first half we did OK, we were in the game, we were strong, and wanted to get after them.
“We’ve come up against a very good team, there’s no getting away from that, it’s a team that’s on a certain level that we can’t compete with. But we wanted to make this game as competitive as we could and I think we did for a large part of the first half.
“As everyone knows that’s associated with football that time, and the time we lose the goal, which was avoidable and probably consistent with the other goals we ended up losing as well. Losing games is a concern. We came up against a good team in a good moment, they’re playing well, you almost need to be perfect to come away from here with anything. We’re disappointed with the way it has played out.
“The second goal takes the life out of us, it takes the life out of the stadium, it deflated us a little bit, lifts them, lets them make some changes and be a little bit more free in their play. The second goal is the disappointing one. It’s a good goal from their point of view, but from our point of view it’s absolutely avoidable.”
Celtic are undoubtedly a daunting prospect for teams up and down the country right now. The off day against St Mirren aside, teams in the Scottish Premiership have barely laid a finger on Postecoglou’s side over the last year.
When the players hit top form, opponents can’t really cope, regardless of the game time they come into the match with. Those are the standards the manager has brought to Celtic.
In other news, Video: Brilliant post-match scenes as Ange insists Kyogo faces Celtic supporters.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
