Motherwell 1 Celtic 1: More penalty drama as Scott Sinclair returns to haunt Steelmen again

Once again, Motherwell felt officialdom had done them out of a place in history, with referee Willie Collum this time being cursed for awarding the 88th minute penalty for a bump by Andy Rose on Callum McGregor which allowed them to equalise a Mikael Lustig own goal and leave town with their 66-match invincible domestic record intact.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers: Willie Collum called late penalty right - and I never doubted Scott Sinclair would score it

It was merely the final twist of the knife that the man who stepped up to steer it into the top corner was Scott Sinclair, already the pantomime villain for what they felt was something similar on Sunday.

Echoes of the first match were everywhere – Cedric Kipre was booed by the visiting fans, not least when he crunched James Forrest from behind early on, while Sinclair’s arrival from the bench was greeted with uproar – but like all good sequels, a couple of new characters were introduced into the plotline too. The ankle injury committed by Kipre and sustained by Moussa Dembele limited Celtic’s French striker to a watching brief, while Sinclair was taken out of the firing line, at least until his late intervention. Brendan Rodgers brought in Leigh Griffiths and Patrick Roberts, while his countryman Stephen Robinson brought Allan Campbell into the midfield mix and introduced wide men Deimnatas Petravicius and Elliott Frear. Collum was another ingredient to throw into this heady mix.

Rodgers may have got the better of things at Hampden Park but you can only admire the job his countryman is doing in Lanarkshire. With the possible exception of themselves, this time last season, quite simply no-one in Scotland has gone closer to ending Celtic’ record. They started well, with a Carl McHugh header dropping onto the roof of the net, while a deflected Griffiths shot dropped beyond the post at the other end. Roberts had departed the fray injured after crumpling in innocuous fashion on the halfway line by the time the first genuine chance came along. His replacement Tom Rogic found Griffiths with an inspired cross-field pass, and it was laid back to McGregor, whose right foot shot was kicked clear by Trevor Carson, the first save of an inspired night by the goalkeeper.

Read more: Motherwell's Andy Rose accuses Celtic's Callum McGregor of "flopping over" to win late penalty​

As much as Celtic dominated territory and possession,they had little to show for a first half where they were made to feel decidedly uncomfortable. Gordon rashly slapped away a free-kick – it led to a Kipre shot which was blocked – while a number of coins appeared to rain down on Scott Brown as he tussled with the likes of Campbell and Moult in front of the East Stand.

There was much to admire about the home side’s display but just occasionally Celtic come up with quality that no-one can live with. So it was in first half stoppage time when the ball was sweetly threaded to through to Kieran Tierney as a third-man running. From all of eight yards, was anticipating the ball hitting the back of the net until Trevor Carson stuck out a paw, deflecting the ball downwards and over the bar, a save as vital as Gordon's on Moult was on Sunday.

Perhaps strung by spurning such a close-range opening, Tierney emerged like a man possessed, fizzing two balls across goal which deserved a better fate. Next McGregor fired in a left foot daisy cutter which Carson again did superbly to save.

But still Robinson bravely committed men to forward positions to force Celtic to go long, then dominated aerially when Gordon was forced to make a longer pass from the back. When the goalkeeper went walkabout, he only found Chris Cadden, who in turn found Moult, the striker’s acrobatic volley narrowly over.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers: Willie Collum called late penalty right - and I never doubted Scott Sinclair would score it

McGregor benefited from a rare Kipre mistake to pile on and fire a shot wide, then home substitute Craig Tanner twice found room down the left, heading over then firing a shot too close to Gordon.

Sinclair arrived to the predictable dogs’ abuse from the home fans, with Robinson throwing Ryan Bowman into the mix in a smart attacking change just for good measure. This was a signal that Motherwell weren’t prepared to just defend and they got their reward, Tanner firing over a free kick and the luckless Mikael Lustig diverting it past the helpless Gordon.

There was still time for a Celtic equaliser, and like their 4-3 win here last season, they pushed on to try to break Motherwell hearts late on. Luck wasn’t on their side though: a Rogic drive struck a post and bounced into the hands of Carson. Rogic then played in McGregor, who was defied twice more by Carson before the contact in the box which saw Collum point to the spot. The remonstrations of the likes of Cadden were in vain as Sinclair hit the top corner to keep Celtic’s run intact. Let’s just say it should be some match when these two side get together again to complete the hat-trick on Saturday.