Those Who Think Celtic “Scraped A Win” On Saturday Were Watching A Different Game.

After I posted my first article today, I thought that it was time I tackled some of the media’s ridiculous narrative in the aftermath of the game at the weekend. There are a number of aspects to their coverage which simply don’t stand up to scrutiny.

First is the idea that Motherwell were unlucky. Second is the idea that we, conversely, were fortunate to win.

There is no truth to either argument.

The stats should be awful reading if you’re a Motherwell fan.

We gifted a goal to them and other than our spectacular mess with the equaliser they registered a meagre two shots on target.

Their possession was 30%.

Their version of football was to kick everything in a Celtic shirt, get men behind the ball and waste as much time as possible.

I am tired of teams like this playing what’s not even spoiler football but anti-football and getting praise from a media which has clearly forgotten what the real stuff is supposed to look like.

Our own stats offer a brutal contrast with theirs.

70% possession. 17 shots, six of which were on target. We hit the crossbar twice.

We scored two and should have had more.

I was amazed at the stats on fouls; the ref awarded ten against us to their nine, which is ludicrous if you watched the game, but sums up the abysmal performance of an official who shouldn’t be near Celtic Park far less officiating there.

The numbers don’t lie and neither does the evidence of our own eyes, and I was there and saw that only one side was trying to win the match and that was us.

The media might not like it, and the Motherwell manager may make a desperate effort to spin against it, but it’s true and everyone who seeks to be taken seriously as a neutral knows it.