Stephen O’Donnell is frustrated Motherwell didn’t turn their early dominance into goals against Celtic, but insists there are plenty of positives to take from Sunday’s 3-0 defeat.
The Steelmen started so brightly against the Hoops with a hat-trick of big chances for Lennon Miller being spurned. The teenager found the side netting athe back post with a header before the hosts then pounced on a Paulo Bernardo slip which saw Miller strike the post with a shot. Within 60 seconds, Miller hit the woodwork again with a fine effort from a free-kick.
But Luke McCowan’s opener for the Hoops took the wind out of Motherwell’s sails and the visitors sealed the points in the second half with goals from Alistair Johnston and Adam Idah. A Liam Gordon red card in stoppage time only added to Motherwell’s misery.
O’Donnell, though, sees positives to take into Wednesday’s Premiership trip to Dundee United, which comes ahead of a Hampden semi-final with Rangers in the League Cup on Sunday.
He told Lanarkshire Live Sport: “We started the game well. Celtic obviously bring a strong team and a big support, so you are always looking to frustrate them both – and I think we did that early on.
“We kept them both very quiet, they didn’t create much and we had a few chances ourselves, but you need to defend.
“Sometimes you maybe get a bit too comfortable and that’s when they can punish you and that’s what they did.
“It is frustrating but I thought we looked a threat, we created chances and moved the ball well.
“There’s a wee bit of fortune and then a good finish from McCowan, and then it starts to become a bit more difficult. The second goal kills it and makes it a real uphill task against a very good side.
“There’s lots of positives compared to the Dundee game [a 1-0 defeat], where we didn’t really lay a glove on them.
“I have been on the end of games where we have got results from Celtic and we’ve had far less of the ball and far less opportunities.
“But you’ve got to take these chances. Every team will have a spell in the game, but you know against Celtic they are going to have a big chunk of the ball, they tire you and create opportunities, so you need the concentration to not switch off.
“It is always a big task but we play the game because we want to compete at the highest level and I think we did that for large spells of the game.
“There were a lot of players out there with their first game against Celtic, their first experience of it, and they’ll do nothing but get stronger from it.
“We go to Dundee United now and hopefully we get back to winning ways.”
There was controversy at the end when Gordon saw an initial yellow card from referee David Dickinson for a late tackle on Adam Idah upgraded to red, following a VAR check.
The defender will now be suspended for Motherwell’s next two league games and O”Donnell added: “I Liam tries to get the ball and ends up catching him high. He has done well since he came in but it is an opportunity for someone to come in and stake a claim.
“There’s big games coming up and that’s what a squad is for. It is the same with Paul McGinn, our captain [who is out injured]. We miss him but if someone comes in and they are good enough, you go in.”