Motherwell secured a place in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup with a 2-1 extra-time win over Greenock Morton.
The Championship side were left devastated as the lottery of a penalty shootout was snatched away thanks to Liam Donnelly’s powerful blast eight minutes from the end of play. The visitors had taken an unlikely lead at the end of the first additional half before Kevin Van Veen equalised from the spot. An avalanche of ‘Well pressure late on delivered the win.
Motherwell showed plenty of energy and determination but little else. The familiar tactic of cutting out the midfield in favour of defenders seeking out any of the three forwards resulted in a physical encounter with little in the way of flowing football.
Morton stuck to their guns and defended in depth with only occasional breaks to keep Liam Kelly interested. Goal attempts were restricted in the main to shots from distance. Jack Hamilton was saw plenty of the ball but it was not until Van Veen joined the game that the home fans began to anticipate a goal.
The Dutchman came off the bench after an hour and was awarded the Man of the Match award by the game sponsor. His ability to take on defenders and get a shot away lifted his team-mates.
Ross Tierney was added to the fray to make his claret and amber debut and showed a glimpse of the flair that made him a signing target.
We feared the worst when Robbie Muirhead found oceans of space on the right wing. The striker came into the box and beat Kelly by firing low to the far corner.
The lifeline came with a penalty and Van Veen converted. Motherwell piled on the pressure and the winning chance followed.
The ball fell to the midfielder just outside the box and his strike flew into the net to unleash celebrations on and off the pitch.
It was far from pretty but Motherwell will be in Saturday evening’s draw.
Motherwell 2 Morton 1 (aet)
Attendance 4,735 (623)
Team: Kelly, O’Donnell, Carroll, Solholm, McGinley, Maguire (Slattery 106), Donnelly, Goss, Roberts (Amaluzor 106), Woolery (Van Veen 59), Shields (Tierney 76)
Saturday 22 January 2022