Falkirk - 24h on

The 291 who stumped up to sit in the away stand Westfield had little to cheer throughout the afternoon. Our opponents were first to the ball, more determined and their up 'n at 'em game set them up with far more goal scoring chances than the score suggests.

291 away fans

In its defence, the loss of Craigan, Quinn and O'Brien did force changes on the team but none of the replacements could be termed novices. At times the lack of control and loose passing was awful - and on a good surface too! The manager suggested post-match that he would not judge his players on the basis of this game because of the selection problems. He suggested that we might be at full strength for next week's trip to Paisley.

The only glimmer of light was the spark provided by Murphy. He had almost forty minutes of the second half and did his future prospects no harm.

The cut price gate at St Mirren Park next week might tempt a bigger Motherwell support to travel but another inept showing will not be what they expect. Season ticket letters will soon be arriving and there is no better way to encourage renewals than to have an entertaining team on the park. The players should have no need for an inspirational team talk. A reminder of our Scottish Cup exit and the loss of the top six qualifier should be enough.