Scotland on Sunday
April2, 1995, Sunday
Celticsuffer a spot of futility

BYLINE:Kevin Mccarra

SOME matches are so lacking in plot that the spectator feels he has turned up at an avant-garde movie by mistake. Presumably the referee, Alastair Huett, was not prepared to tolerate the shortage of incident. His decision, four minutes after the interval, to awardMotherwella whimsical penalty, may not have produced spontaneous outpouring of gratitude from theCelticsupport, but it did wrench the game out of its blandness.Much-needed mayhem, and with it entertainment, was introduced once the visitors had taken the lead. An afternoon which began with method and ended in fever, however, changed nothing.

Apart from eating up another Saturday, it had no effect whatever on the search for a Uefa Cup place, which is more of a plod than a race. Nor did the action alter any opinions you had taken to Hampden.Motherwellare the kind of well-constructed team which will prove sturdy even when given a buffeting at away grounds. There is no other side in Scotland whose composition can be guessed with such ease.
In fact, it was almost jarring to find an intruder in a rearguard as settled as an old firm of family solicitors. There, at the heart of the team, was a muscular figure with a curly-head.
Mitchel van der Gaag, signed from PSV Eindhoven for £ 400,000, takes the place of the injured captain Chris McCart, who is out for the rest of the season. This, on the flimsy evidence of 90 minutes, is not one of those unshakeably meticulous Dutchman. His distribution was haphazard at times, but his challenges and determination suggest robust effectiveness.
TheMotherwellside, though, are slightly limited by a neatness which sometimes takes the place of verve. An excellent midfield contains no one who is likely to score on a regular basis and Tommy Coyne up front, valiantly though he accepts the task, often appears the lone finisher.
Alex McLeish's decision to off-load Stevie Kirk and Paul McGrillen, in the move which brought Eddie May to Fir Park, suggested he had little faith in the forwards he inherited at the club. Replacing them, of course, will be an exacting business.
Others too lack incisiveness in attack. Tommy Burns is in possession of a team which hardly ever loses and rarely wins. This, their 17th draw in the Premier Division, once again toyed with the crowd's emotions. TheCelticperformance took them on a journey from one variety of frustration to another. Until Coyne had putMotherwellahead, those fans had to put up with an innocuous display.
The manager has been met with incredulity and scorn for dropping Paul McStay and John Collins in previous matches, but you can readily understand his desire to jostle a midfield lacking in verve.
With many passes,Celticin the first half worked their way carefully towards futility. Brian McLaughlin seemed the one man eager to burst past defenders, but had one of those afternoon's where the ball proves disobedient.
ACelticside required to find an equaliser proved to have far more gusto than one laboriously trying to score the first goal of the match. Before the interval Burns' team had just one serious chance. In 28 minutes Andy Walker's adroit flick let Pierre van Hooijdonk strike a volley too straight, and it was fended off by Steve Woods.
Attempts to score were far more numerous and convincing once a goal became an absolute necessity.Celticinduced disorder inMotherwell'sdefence as men were poured forward with abandon. Phil O'Donnell and Walker both had chances but couldn't make clean contact.
When the equaliser came, it began with the zest of Rudi Vata.
The Albanian surged on the right and received Paul McStay's pass before swinging the ball to the near post where Walker scored assertively with a flying header. The forward may have some wry thoughts as he watches his old team, Bolton Wanderers, play the Coca-Cola Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley today, but the sharpness of his finish here proved that there can still be major occasions for him withCeltic.
Once Walker had struck, there was a new form of exasperation for fans as his team-mates made and missed chances. The most blatant, in the last minute, came as Woods palmed down another ball from Vata and McLaughlin's mis-struck shot bobbled beyond the post. The late loss of composure inMotherwell'sdefence was unexpected.
The visitors had been entirely measured earlier in the match, when a good tackle often set up the fine Paul Lambert to break forward or measure an acute pass. The episode when, deep in concentration over the taking of a corner, he stepped back and fell over a hoarding, may have been the only moment when the midfielder lacked poise.
Motherwellcould have been ahead in 14 minutes but Pat Bonner made a fine save from Coyne's header low at the post.
Their goal, however, was ludicrous.
Vata and Alex Burns made the kind of contact you regularly see when two players pursue the ball, but theMotherwellsubstitute went down. Mr Huett gave the spot-kick and Coyne took it sweetly. Burns was asked what he made of this penalty. "It wasn't," he said, with a pungency still lacking in his team.