GOALS FROM JAPANESE forwards Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda maintained Celtic’s seven-point lead in the cinch Premiership thanks to a 2-1 win at Motherwell.
Furuhashi struck early on but Motherwell made a game of it against the champions and had chances themselves before substitute Maeda scored with six minutes left.
Irish U21 international Ross Tierney scored two minutes later to create a grandstand finish but Motherwell could not carve out another opportunity.
Motherwell were not opened up before conceding a soft goal in the 15th minute. Callum Slattery initially tracked back well and dispossessed Matt O’Riley but then dallied on the ball and the Celtic midfielder won it back with a sliding challenge. O’Riley drilled in a low cross which Furuhashi knocked home from inside the six-yard box.
Celtic doubled their lead in the second half when Matt Penney’s throw-in went straight to former Motherwell midfielder David Turnbull. The substitute played a perfect ball over the top and Maeda drilled an effort underneath Liam Kelly.
The home side claimed there had been an infringement when Penney was taking the throw but referee Collum was not called to his monitor by video assistant referee David Dickinson.
Ross Tierney pulled one back two minutes later when he ran on to Slattery’s lofted free-kick and volleyed home from 12 yards but Celtic saw out the win.
Elsewhere, Malik Tillman’s second-half strike gave Rangers a narrow 1-0 win over Hearts at Ibrox and eased some pressure on Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
The under-fire Gers boss came in for further scrutiny following the away defeat to St Johnstone on Sunday with improvement demanded by fed-up Light Blues fans.
A first-half performance bereft of confidence and creativity ended goalless and it got no better after the break until the 66th minute when midfielder Tillman, on loan from Bayern Munich, prodded the ball in from 12 yards.
The Govan side remain seven points behind Old Firm rivals Celtic at the top of the table with an away game at St Mirren to come at the weekend before the break for the World Cup.
Finally, Jamie McGrath was among the goalscorers in Dundee United’s 4-0 hammering of Kilmarnock, while Graham Carey scored a penalty for St Johnston in a dramatic 2-2 draw away to St Mirren, secured by a 96th-minute equaliser by Nicky Clark.
