If winning with ten men is an art then winning against ten is a different challenge altogether.

And where Celtic were bold and imaginative as they took the game to Rangers at Ibrox last weekend, it was a far more staid performance as the Parkhead side found themselves held against Motherwell.

Cedric Kipre’s red-card four minutes before the interval gave Celtic a numerical advantage that they were unable to exploit in the second period of this encounter.

It was not until the latter stages of the game that Celtic injected some urgency into the affair with a number of chances in the final stages, the best of which fell to Scott Sinclair who had come on early in the second period.

As Curtis Main appealed for a penalty after going down under the close attention of Jack Hendry, Celtic broke at speed. Callum McGregor supplied Moussa Dembele and the striker’s ball out to Sinclair looked like it would supply the sucker punch to a Fir Park side who defended resolutely in the second period.

But with Patrick Roberts and Tom Rogic both waiting inside, Sinclair went for goal and Richard Tait’s timely intervention denied him a clean effort.

It was symptomatic of a game in which Celtic seemed to struggle to find the impetus to go for the jugular.

There was truth in Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson’s comments that the red-card ruined the game. It meant that a Fir Park side who had been adventurous in taking the game to Celtic then sat back and defended for the majority of the second period as they looked to suffocate the Parkhead side.

He was right too in his belief that a yellow card would have sufficed for both Brown and Kipre. The Motherwell defender was guilty of petulance and stupidity in that he offered a referee who has sent off five Fir Park players already this season.

As soon as he lifted his boot off the ground he gave Craig Thomson a decision to make but to the fury of the Motherwell players. As both Kipre and Brown had tangled, Brown has shoved the defender, Kipre had retaliated and it was the intent rather than the crime that saw him receive his marching order much to the chagrin of the Lanarkshire side.

Prior to that the Fir Park side had acquitted themselves in the opening period with Celtic’s back three still ill at ease at times. Dedryck Boyata retained his place but continues to look off it at the heart of the Hoops defence.

It said much about the early stages of the encounter that it was Scott Bain, who held onto the gloves after his debut at Ibrox last weekend, was the busier of the two goalkeepers. The stopper was forced to palm away a ferocious free-kick from Curtis Main.

Prior to that a half-volley from Ryan Bowman had caused some consternation in the Hoops backline.

As Celtic slowly came into the game it was Tom Rogic who looked the most likely candidate to inflict any damage.

Trevor Carson, playing against Celtic for the first time since the Parkhead club tried to sign him in January, had a decent stop from James Forrest but it was Rogic who looked most dangerous whenever he took the ball.

As Celtic turned the screw in the second period Carson had a decent stop from the Australian internationalist, a chance that irked Moussa Dembele who was screaming for the ball in the middle of the box.

The dup combined shortly after with Rogic curling in a cross from which Dembele nodded narrowly over.

In between times Celtic brought on Sinclair and Stuart Armstrong as they looked to utilise the space but Motherwell remained dogged.

Patrick Roberts followed at their back as Celtic tried to break down the Fir Park side. It was Roberts’ first appearance since limping off at Fir Park back in November and the winger will look to kick on now in the finale to a season in which he has not had the chance to make the same kind of impact that he did last term.

Roberts almost broke the deadlock after taking a pass from Brown, cutting inside and lifting his shot just off the crossbar.

Armstrong thought he had clinched it at the death with a curling effort that had Carson scrambling across his goalmouth but his effort inched just wide of the target.

Sinclair ought to have come closer still after Celtic broke forward at pace but his hesitancy in deciding whether to shoot or pass allowed Tait to make the block and the chance was lost. It was perhaps indicative of Sinclair’s season that something which would have been instinctive this time a year ago seemed to create a ponderousness in him.

There was one final chance for Celtic as Dembele had effort tipped over by Carson as Motherwell hung on for a share of the points.