Celtic’s 3-1 comeback victory over Motherwell at Parkhead didn’t just keep their Scottish Premiership title charge alive — it also highlighted the growing importance of Yang Hyun-jun in Martin O’Neill’s side.
The South Korean winger was once again at the heart of the action, scoring as the Hoops fought back from an early setback to secure three massive points. The goal took Yang’s tally to eight for the season and underlined his transformation into one of Celtic’s most reliable attacking outlets.
What makes his rise even more remarkable is how close he came to leaving the club last summer. Yang had actually been granted permission to travel to complete a move to Birmingham City before the transfer collapsed — a twist that now looks like a blessing in disguise for Celtic.
Following the match, Kieran Tierney was among the first to highlight just how valuable the winger has become to the team.
“He’s been brilliant,” Tierney said post-match. “I think this season, the consistency that he’s shown, the amount of games that he’s played, and the effort that he puts in is unbelievable.
“I think if you go and you look at the numbers side of things, and see what he’s producing every week, it’s unbelievable. He got his reward today, and I’m buzzing for him.”
Yang’s energy and work rate were evident throughout the match, constantly stretching Motherwell’s defence and giving the Celtic crowd plenty to get behind as the home side ramped up the pressure in the second half.
Another key moment in the game came when Tomas Cvancara stepped up to take a crucial penalty under intense pressure — and Tierney revealed he had complete confidence in the Czech striker’s ability to deliver.
“He showed last week that he can deal with pressure and penalties. So I was fully confident going up, and he wanted to take the penalty, which shows the character he is. He wants to help the team, and I’m delighted for him again.”
The performances of both Yang and Cvancara reflected the mentality within the Celtic squad — a team that continues to fight for every point as the title race intensifies.
Tierney believes the squad’s resilience has been a defining feature of their campaign so far.
“I think even if you look back at the course of the season, the amount of last-minute winners we’ve scored and points won late in the games, it shows the mentality of the squad.
“It was a big win. I think at this stage of the season, every win is going to be big, and the next game’s going to be the biggest.”
The atmosphere at Celtic Park played its part too. The stands swung from frustration in the early stages to full-throttle support as the Hoops wrestled control of the game.
Tierney admitted the players fed off the energy from the crowd as they pushed for the comeback.
“I think even in the second half you could see it more so, and that’s down to us because we gave them more to get behind,” Tierney reflected. “We were attacking better, we were pressing better, and I think the second half is how it should be going forward.
“We’ve spoken about disconnecting and all that and all the stuff that’s been going on, but it felt as if everybody was taking it on. I think you can see the benefit of that. The players want all the fans behind us. We want the atmosphere to be brilliant. It’s Celtic Park, it’s what it’s known for, so we’re delighted when it’s like that.”
Despite the result, Motherwell once again showed why they’ve earned so much praise this season. Their energetic pressing and confident spells of possession caused Celtic problems early on, and Tierney was quick to acknowledge the challenge they posed.
“Motherwell are a great footballing team,” he said. “I think everybody’s probably said or watched them a lot of times and seen how good they’ve been, and what they’ve done this season is brilliant. So we knew coming here it was going to be a tough, tough game in the first half, especially as they made it really tough for us. But I think when they scored, we reacted really well and performed well after that as well.”
The victory also came at the end of a demanding run of fixtures for Celtic, who have battled through five intense matches in just 16 days — including trips to Stuttgart, Rangers and Aberdeen.
With the schedule finally beginning to ease, Tierney believes the squad will benefit from some breathing space as the season enters its decisive phase.
“It’s good because the schedule from the last international break has been a season’s worth of games in four months. I think we’ll hopefully feel the benefit of getting the rest and not playing every two or three days, which as a footballer you do love doing. But of course, it takes its toll on your body. It’ll be good.”
With momentum building and the title race tightening, Celtic’s ability to dig deep in moments like this could prove decisive in the weeks ahead.