Celtic staged another impressive comeback at Parkhead as Tomas Cvancara converted a crucial second-half penalty to help the Hoops defeat Motherwell 3-1 in a dramatic Scottish Premiership clash.
The Czech striker kept his cool from the spot in the 72nd minute, following up his Scottish Cup shoot-out heroics at Ibrox with another big moment in green and white. The decisive goal arrived after a major VAR intervention that completely changed the flow of the match.
Referee John Beaton had initially awarded Motherwell a goal kick after Daizen Maeda went down while attempting to meet a corner. However, VAR official Kevin Clancy instructed Beaton to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.
After a lengthy look at the replay, the referee awarded Celtic a penalty and showed Emmanuel Longelo a red card for his challenge on Maeda. Cvancara stepped up and confidently dispatched the spot-kick, giving Celtic the lead and putting the 10-man visitors under immense pressure.
The match had already been played at a frantic pace before the turning point. Motherwell struck first through Elijah Just after forcing a mistake with intense pressing high up the pitch.
Celtic responded quickly. Yang Hyun-jun levelled the score soon after, finishing off a swift attacking move to restore parity and energise the home crowd.
With Motherwell reduced to 10 men following the VAR decision, the visitors were forced to take risks late on. Celtic capitalised on the extra space, and Yang grabbed his second of the afternoon to wrap up a vital 3-1 victory.
The win continues a strong run of form for Martin O’Neill’s side, who have now secured three consecutive victories at a crucial stage of the season.
Celtic assistant manager Shaun Maloney was visibly delighted at the final whistle and made a point of congratulating every player as they left the pitch following the emphatic result.
The Bhoys’ victory proved even more significant later in the evening when Hearts suffered a defeat to Kilmarnock, meaning Celtic have now closed the gap at the top of the William Hill Premiership to just two points.
With momentum clearly building, the atmosphere around the squad is beginning to resemble that of a title-winning side.
“What did Martin O’Neill say?”
“It was a great win, a great win for us,” said Celtic manager Martin O’Neill post-match. “Naturally, I’m delighted with it. I thought it was a really good game of football.
“Motherwell are very fine footballing side, no question about that, and it was one of those where you just felt it was going to be really open and so it proved to be.
“Motherwell were very dangerous throughout the game, and we fought back brilliantly to win, so it was great.”
Celtic will now turn their focus to their next challenge as they travel to Tannadice next Sunday to face Dundee United, with the title race heating up at the perfect time for the Hoops.