Celtic Fall To Second After Drawing At Fir Park

Motherwell 1 Celtic 1

Celtic fell to second in the Scottish Premier League on goal-difference after drawing with Motherwell in a sodden Fir Park.

Despite being clearly the better team, Celtic were unable to take advantage of their many chances and Scott McDonald's 60th minute strike was cancelled out in the 81st minute when Paul Quinn equalized from 16 yards out.

Much of this was due to the excellent performance of Motherwell's 'keeper Graeme Smith who foiled several attempts on goal from the visitors.

Rangers home-win against Kilmarnock on Saturday leaves them tied on points but with a substantial lead in goal-difference.

Manager Gordon Strachan was obviously disappointed with the draw, saying, "I couldn't see Motherwell scoring today. They tried hard but didn't have a shot on target apart from the goal.

"We were playing well at the time they scored. At this moment we're not scoring enough goals.

"If we'd have taken half our chances today it could've been 5-0.

"We had about four or five opportunities in the first half. We need to start scoring goals and that will make it easier for us to retain the league.

"If we don't score goals then it's going to be a problem as we saw today."

On Tuesday, Liverpool teen John Marsden signed a three-year contract with Celtic.

He expressed his delight with the deal, telling BBC Radio Merseyside that, "The deal Celtic offered me was better than any English club could have done.

"You can turn professional at 16 up in Scotland, which is not the case in England as you have to wait until you are 17."

Marsden, who was previously a trainee at Wigan Athletic, was realistic about his chances of seeing First Team football, saying, "My target for this season is to get fit and play a few games for the under-19s and hopefully next season you'll see the best of me."

He will first have to return to full-fitness, as he recovers from a metatarsal injury.

Celtic's profits may have fallen in the last half of 2008 (from £10 million to £8.3 million) but Chief Executive Peter Lawwell was happy to report that the club's debts have also fallen (from £3.6 million to £0.97 million) and that turnover had risen by over 10% to £46.7 million.

"We're very pleased with these results, but results on the field remain key to the success of the club," he said.

"We''ve won three league titles in a row and remain in contention for all three domestic trophies this season."

He also addressed criticisms that the club had not spent money in the January transfer window saying that, "There was real frustration at not being able to add to the squad in January, but there was a lack of real quality available in a very stagnant market.

"The resources were there to fund players coming in but we, like many other clubs, were left frustrated at the availability of players who could realistically bring something to our squad."