Then, at the start of the second half, after Hoops left-back Emilio Izaguirre had been adjudged by referee Euan Norris to have fouled Motherwell skipper Keith Lasley in the box, Sutton blasted in the spot-kick for number two to hand the visitors their first defeat since they lost 2-0 at Hearts in November.

With Rangers beating St Johnstone 4-0 at Ibrox, Celtic’s lead over the champions at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League has been reduced to five points with the Light Blues having played two games fewer.

The Old Firm rivals meet at Parkhead on Wednesday night in their Scottish Cup fifth-round replay and Commons is looking forward to it.

“We have to get this out of our system quickly and it’s an ideal game for us to go into,” the Scotland international said.

“In football when you have a defeat that’s hard to take the best thing to do is play as soon as possible and we have the chance to play against our rivals on Wednesday night.

“So we will be fired up for that.

“The Motherwell defeat was a blow. Obviously the unbeaten run goes out the window so it’s important that we get back to winning ways.”

Motherwell looked a different side from the one which lost to St Mirren at home in midweek and manager Stuart McCall admits that the unlikely win over Celtic will raise his expectations.

He said: “Yes, that’s what we talked about in the dressing room and our main focus is now on Inverness next Saturday.

“Every manager is looking for consistency and that is what we are aiming for.

“You can’t guarantee good performances and great play but what you should be able to guarantee every week is the determination and effort and commitment that they showed and, in fairness, they have shown in the majority of games.”