Super Eagles striker Kelechi Iheanacho was on hand to convert a last-minute penalty to help Celtic overcome Motherwell 3-2 at Fir Park on Wednesday night to keep hopes of a 56th Scottish Premiership triumph alive, Footynaija.com reports.
In a high tempo encounter that held significant ramifications for both sides, Elliot Watt fired Motherwell ahead in the 17th minute. But Daizen Maeda and Benjamin Nygren inspired Celtic’s comeback with strikes in the 41st and 58th minutes respectively.
Liam Gordon later restored parity for the home side with five minutes of normal time left to play, but referee John Beaton handed Celtic a huge lifeline late on after ruling with the help of VAR that Sam Nicholson had either elbowed Austin Trusty or handled the ball in the box.
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Iheanacho, who came into the game as a 70th minute substitute stepped up, kept his composure and coolly converted the spot-kick with 99 minutes on the clock to spark wild celebrations from the away fans.
Speaking after the game, the Nigeria international was understandably elated following yet another decisive contribution in Celtic’s title push.
“To be fair, I don’t have words, I don’t know how, but we’ve done it,” Iheanacho told Sky Sports via BBC.
“As you can see, the fans are still shouting, and we’re happy, and we have one more to go. We need to get back now and focus on that.”
Reflecting on the pressure of taking the decisive spot-kick, the Nigerian striker added: “I just kept cool, and it’s scary, but thankfully we got the victory, so we’re happy.”
The Scottish Premiership title race between Celtic and Hearts will now go down to the wire. Hearts beat Falkirk 3-0 in their own game to maintain their single point lead at the summit.
Celtic, with home advantage, must win next time out to secure what will be their fifth consecutive league triumph while any result other than a defeat will see Hearts win their first Scottish Premiership title since 1960.
