Let us begin by agreeing that all of the Motherwell players can be praised for their effort and commitment. It was clear from the kick off that they were in the correct frame of mind and that, whatever the outcome, lack of endeavour would not be used as a reason to criticise them.
Kaiser Corrigan – another superb performance
Both teams pressed hard for the ball to such an extent that neither team was able to settle in possession and the quality of football on show was poor. The play swung to and fro, up and down the length of the park and at great pace. The ball seemed to be in the air more than on the ground.
Kaiser Corrigan was, again, outstanding. A wonderful defensive display was capped by a couple of occasions when he sallied forward from the halfway line and scythed through the Killie midfield and found himself with the chance of a shot on goal only to be let down by his lack of shooting boots. As Mitch said on the FPC messageboard, “He has been amazing this season. He is already POTY in my opinion. If he played with the Old Firm he would be a Scotland player by now.”
At half time the consensus in the pies stalls was that we were not making much headway up front and that the goalie was due his chance and seemed to be gaining pass marks. It looked like the first goal would be the winner.
After a further forty-five minute’s punishment the ball had still not crossed the goal line and a share of the points looked likely. Then came Boyd’s free kick. Those of us who were able to peer into the gloom in front of the South Stand (those floodlights are in desperate need of realignment) saw the ball squirm into the ‘keepers left hand corner.
The away support celebrated, the home stands started to empty and the shell shocked team made one last forlorn attempt at attacking Marshall’s goal. The whistle blew and the lads trailed off the park.
If the fans felt gutted it must have been worse for the players. They had given everything and seen the game snatched in the last minute.
At the post match debriefing TB reflected the feeling in the dressing room. Phrases like, “it was a real kick in the stomach in the last minute”, “it’s just the way things are going at the minute”, “they players gave everything again”, “it must turn for us sometime” and “we showed a lot of passion and fought for every ball” expressed his mood.
What can the fans do to help? It seems obvious. We have to turn up at Fir Park next Saturday and be the twelfth man. We have to offer lots of positive support and encouragement to let the boys know that we are all in this together.