Celtic fans have been looking for a turning point in their 2023/24 season and they will be hoping the last minute heroics at Fir Park this afternoon will have provided just that.
Blair Spittal opened the scoring with an extraordinary strike just before half-time but it was cancelled out by Adam Idah, who was brought on at the break for Kyogo Furuhashi.
The Irishman struck again in the 93rd minute to put Celtic ahead, with Luis Palma adding a third shortly after to make the points safe.
Here are A Celtic State of Mind’s player ratings from the last-gasp victory against the Steelmen.
Joe Hart – 7: The Englishman continued to come up trumps for Celtic as he made a vital save to deny Lennon Miller at a very decisive moment in the game.
Alistair Johnston – 6: Johnston returned to the line-up and provided the all-important assist for Adam Idah’s second of the game. Donning a protective mask that he threw to the wayside following Motherwell’s opener, Johnston was effective on the right-flank going forward in the second-half.
Maik Nawrocki – 6: The Pole was caught out on a few occasions with the through balls in behind in the first-half but he made a great intervention to deny Jack Vale getting on the scoresheet.
Liam Scales – 5: Theo Bair caused havoc for Scales and the offside flag saved his blushes early on. He had a chaotic 90 minutes and struggled to really settle in the game.
Greg Taylor – 6: Adam Devine got in behind far too often down Taylor’s side but he floated in a brilliant assist for Idah’s equaliser.
Matt O’Riley – 5: The Dane wasn’t able to have his usual influence on the team as his poor recent run of form continued at Fir Park.
Tomoki Iwata – 6: Iwata had a solid game where he cleared up a lot of the danger that Motherwell’s midfield posed. His substitution for Paulo Bernardo on 60 minutes was booed by supporters who didn’t want to see him leave the field.
Callum McGregor – 6: The captain couldn’t get his usual control on the game but he was able to cut open the Motherwell defence with a few passes. He won’t want to see Motherwell’s opener as he was well and truly ‘done’ by Lennon Miller.
Nicolas Kuhn – 4: The German was anonymous on the flank as whenever he got a hold of the ball he always seemed to lose possession.
Kyogo Furuhashi – 5: Kyogo was hooked at half-time as he continues to struggle in Rodgers system, with his only real chance being easily saved by Liam Kelly.
Substitutes:
Adam Idah – 8: It was a statement of intent from the bench from Adam Idah as he answered the Celtic SOS for the second time away from home this season with another brace to secure the three points.
Yang Hyun-jun – 6:The Korean was bright on the right flank as he provided an assist for Luis Palma and should have had a goal of his own had it not been for a lack of balance.
Cameron Carter-Vickers – 5: The American returned from injury and will be eager to get up to speed for the two games next week.
Paulo Bernardo – 5: The Benfica loanee kept things moving for Celtic as they went in search of a winner.
Luis Palma – 5: Palma was in the right place at the right time to slot in Celtic’s third.
James McKenzie // @JamesWHMcKenzie
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