Martin O'Neill did as promised, and rung the changes throughout the Celtic squad. The only survivors from Thursday night's UEFA Cup tie with Barcelona were Bobo Balde, Stan Varga, Stan Petrov, Stephen Pearson and Craig Beattie. In came David Marshall in goal, John Kennedy, Jamie Smith, Paul Lambert, Momo Sylla and Ross Wallace. Celtic substitutes included Henrik Larsson and Didier Agathe.
Today's game was always going to be an anti-climax, following a Scottish Cup tie against Rangers and a UEFA Cup match against Barcelona, and at times in the first half, the atmosphere resembled a Sunday-League game at Glasgow Green.
Bobo Balde charged forward, and after exchanging passes with Craig Beattie, chipped a shot just over Gordon Marshall. Beattie himself had a headed chance saved by the Motherwell 'keeper.
Motherwell looked confident, and fair play to them for their attacking approach. They took a deserved lead on 26 minutes, when for the third time in the early stages of the match, one of their players was left open and unchallenged at the edge of the Celtic area. This time it was Derek Adams, who rifled home a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box.
Match official Tom Brown showed us exactly what is wrong with Scottish refereeing with several bizzare decisions throughout the game.
Celtic continued to look for the equaliser, but with Momo Sylla and Craig Beattie playing as if they had never met each other up-front, we were always going to struggle. Jamie Smith and Ross Wallace were trying their best on the wings, but they do not seem to know when to stop dribbling and get rid of the ball.
There were no changes in Celtic's line-up after the half time interval, as Celtic emerged on the offensive. Paul Lambert smacked a shot which resembled his New Year strike against Rangers in 1998. This time though, his effort came back off the post.
There was a welcome raise in the noise level when Henrik Larsson replaced Craig Beattie around the hour mark, and it was the Super Swede who grabbed Celtic's leveller. Ross Wallace was the provider from a corner kick, and Henrik Larsson got the final touch for his 28th goal of the season.
Momo Sylla appeared to be fouled inside the Motherwell area, but the referee waved play on. Sylla should possibly have looked more to play the ball, instead of looking for the penalty. Nevertheless, it was another poor decision from the ref.
Stephen Pearson was unlucky to score against his old club, as he hit the crossbar, as Celtic threw on Didier Agathe in an attempt to grab a winner.
However, it wasn't to be, and Henrik Larsson was the only player to come close, with a late shot which trickled past the post.
It was no surprise when the fourth official signalled only 3 minutes of stopage time at the end of the game. There should have been at least 5 but the decision summed up Brown's day.
Today, Motherwell followed Inverness Calledonian Thistle and Hibs in showing up our fringe players. There are too many who are average footballers and will never make it into the Celtic first team. Taking a few regulars away from the starting eleven, it is quite clear that we are simply not good enough. Games like today show just what Neil Lennon, Chris Sutton and Alan Thompson mean to the club.
We now travel to Dundee on Wednesday night, and await a decision from the SFA as to whether we will play at Easter Road at the weekend.
Celtic:
Marshall - 8
Balde - 8
Varga - 7
Kennedy - 7
Petrov - 6
Pearson - 6
Wallace - 8 (Agathe - 5)
Lambert - 6
Smith - 6
Beattie - 6 (Larsson - 8)
Sylla - 7
Celtic-Mad Man of the Match: Bobo Balde
Celtic-Mad Moment to Remember: Not many today, but having the luxury of Henrik Larsson as a second half substitute was quite refreshing.
Celtic-Mad Moment to Forget: The half time announcer's pathetic attempt at singing 'Happy Birthday' to the 100 year old fan who drew the Paradise Windfall.