It's been a privilege to have followed Motherwell this season. The bare facts include 22 league wins, a record breaking 70 points and a second place finish but there's no way to quantify the unbounded delight that exploded in the away section of the Pittodrie south stand on Sunday afternoon.
After ninety minutes under the cosh it seemed certain that we would fail to get the win needed to overtake Aberdeen in the final game. With seconds remaining captain Lasley delivered a 50 yard free kick into the danger area. After a scramble the ball finished in the net and the Motherwell players wheeled to the travelling fans as the party started.
The final kick off
The cheery eruption that engulfed the Motherwell fans was even sweeter as it came in the face of the widespread expectation fuelled by all the 'experts' that Derek McInness had transformed his team into best of the rest. The reality is that Aberdeen have not beaten Motherwell at home since 2008 and for half a decade we’ve finished above them in the league table.
Many Motherwell fans have expressed the view that Sunday afternoon was the best fan experience since Tom Boyd lifted the Scottish Cup in 1991. The current set of players and their brilliant manager found it hard to express their delight at the season’s success but we wish them happy holidays and hope to see many of them back next season.
Derek Weir and Leeann Dempster saw the game not from the Pittodrie posh seats, instead they stood close to the Well Bois drum and like the rest of us, they were in the air when Reid forced the ball into the net.
The close season will be a busy time behind the scenes at Fir Park but if we can keep our manager and the bulk of the players there’s every reason the look forward to our sixth European campaign in seven years in mid-July.