Manager Graham Alexander admits there was little his Motherwell side could do to prevent Tom Rogic’s wondergoal in Sunday’s 4-0 home defeat to Celtic at Fir Park, speaking to the ‘Well website.
Four days after Ange Postecoglou’s free-scoring Hoops turned a 1-0 lead into a 3-0 scoreline in the blink of an eye during the midweek Old Firm derby thrashing of Rangers, it was Motherwell, this time, on the receiving end of a ferocious Celtic flurry, a rapid-fire one-two leaving their hosts dizzied, dazed and slumping on the canvas.
In the space of three first-half minutes, the visitors snapped Motherwell’s resistance and took the game beyond Alexander’s side.
The ever-improving Liel Abada followed up his midweek tap-in with the opener at Fir Park, his 14th of a remarkable debut season coming via a pin-point Reo Hatate assist.
That was in the 28th minute.
By the time the clock struck 31, Celtic were 2-0 up and cruising.
Much has been made of Matt O’Riley’s excellent start to life north of the border. But, after returning from international duty, Rogic offered a timely reminder of his mercurial talents, picking out the top-corner with a trademark left-footed curler from outside the box.
One step closer to glory for Postecoglou’s Celtic
“We were beaten by the better team, you’ve got to be honest. They were excellent,” admits Alexander.
“Everyone’s seen the quality they’ve got. Everyone saw it live on TV on Wednesday. We saw it again today. We tried to play at the level we have previously at Fir Park. I thought we did that for the first spell (of the game).
“I thought we were probably having our best spell of the game when they scored their first goal. The first goal is crucial in these games. They grow into it. They can relax a little bit more. The extra quality showed today.
“The first goal, which is a vital goal in a game like this, was very defendable. The second goal, that’s (the quality) they’ve got. We’ve already seen that this season. That’s the quality to score in the top corner from 25 yards. You’ve got to hold your hands up.
“They’ve got a lot of quality and they used it today.”
Is Tom Rogic the best in the league?
Rogic doubled his tally on the brink of half-time, set up by Abada’s 11th assist in Celtic colours. And while the second ’45 was somewhat low-key by comparison, there was still time for Daizen Maeda to score his second goal since his January arrival from Japanese football.
The Hoops even moved four points clear at the top, for a few hours at least. The gap was cut back to one thanks to Rangers’ 5-0 thrashing of Hearts later on Sunday afternoon.
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