Andy Halliday has lifted the lid on the belief within the Motherwell camp going into Sunday’s clash at Celtic Park and how close they came to pulling off what would’ve been a massive result in the Premiership.
The experienced midfielder was on the bench for the match but spoke afterwards about the clear message manager Jens Berthel-Askou had been drilling into the squad all week: they weren’t just going to Glasgow to contain Celtic, they were going there to win.
And they very nearly did. A mistake at the back saw Celtic pull themselves level, before Daizen Maeda headed home in stoppage time.
Motherwell took an aggressive tactical approach, opting to press Celtic man-for-man, particularly during goal kicks and out-of-possession phases, the home side were struggling.
“I wouldn’t say we deserved to win the game, but I think we’ve definitely done enough to take something from it,” Halliday said on Open Goal. “That was the gaffer’s message [that we could win at Celtic Park] before it.
“Went man for man for goal kicks. Tried to press man for man out of possession as well. Starting a 4-4-2 kind of mid block and then shuffling to man for man, I thought it worked first half especially.”
Even after falling behind to Kelechi Iheanacho’s penalty, which Halliday admitted was “probably” the right call, Motherwell responded superbly and led 2-1 with time ticking down.
“I thought we played through the thirds well… Celtic get the goal but then we come back and I thought from then on to make it 2-1, I think we were the better team.”
Yet, as so often happens at Celtic Park, that final push from the hosts proved decisive. Maeda’s late header broke Motherwell hearts, and Halliday hinted at the inevitability of the pressure Celtic apply late on.
It was a brutally honest reflection from Halliday, who knows the demands of playing at Celtic Park. Motherwell’s game plan was bold, and for long spells it worked. But in the end, as Celtic so often do, they found a way.
