There were some significant events off the pitch. In January we learned that the club had recorded a loss of £181k despite enjoying a good league campaign. A poor cup run (sounds familiar?) and shortage of transfer income together with a sponsorless SPL tipped the balance.
In February the whole Motherwell family was saddened to learn of the passing of Andy Paton. His contribution to the club was huge and those with memories his feats in our defence were quick to remind others of his many qualities.
The Well Bois keep improving
Stevie Hammell celebrated his 500th appearance in claret and amber in April and we hope to see many more in the future. He responded to the many interviews in typically modest style but once again his on-field performance demonstrated why he has been a mainstay of the team.
Leeann Dempster announced that she was to leave her Chief Executive job and move to Easter Road. In six years at Fir Park she had earned the respect and appreciation of more than just Motherwell fans. Her drive to see the club embedded in the community resulted in the formation of several key projects and she leaves with our thanks and best wishes. Alan Burrows – ‘Flow’ to most of us – was promoted to General manager.
The fanzine One Step Beyond ceased publication following the 100th issue. Matt Johnstone has been synonymous with Motherwell’s fan culture for decades and his anti-establishment views found voice through OSB. All contributors to the fanzine deserve our thanks for their efforts over many years.
On the pitch the half dozen wins cemented us in third place. We lost to Celtic then dropped two points at the end of January when Aberdeen’s Anderson bundled the ball over the line with his arm in the last minute to steal a 2-2 draw. We were to exact sweet revenge in the final game of the season.
Nielsen's penalty save
An exciting 4-3 win over Partick Thistle was a fitting tribute as Fir Park delivered a tribute of Andy Paton. We breezed into the top six and stayed on the heels of Aberdeen, now official media darlings. There was a dramatic 3-3 draw with Celtic before a humbling 5-1 loss at Tannadice. With three games remaining the table show us in third place yet with a negative goal difference. Although our scoring rate was good we managed to concede even more.
It all came down to the last game in Aberdeen. A win and we would be second, anything else would have The Dons celebrating a recovery from years in the wilderness. There were more that 1,500 travelling fans in the 17,016 crowd and as the final seconds of the season ticked away and with the score at 0-0, Lasley delivered a free kick from our half into the opponents’ area. A scramble followed and Craig Reid slammed the ball into the net to spark wild scenes of celebration in the away support. The final whistle saw the home support vanish while Motherwell players and fans bounced and cheered. It was a fantastic end to a great season.
Best of the rest - again!
Manager McCall let it be known that seven of the squad had to have operations in the course of the season. Players had to play out of position and many had ignored injuries to play.
He said, "I'm so proud to be in charge of that group of lads in there. We might not be the best but we've scored lots of goals this season and we go right to the end. We've lost last-minute goals and we've scored last-minute goals, and today it ended up being an incredible result for us.
"The end of the season has been outstanding, it's eclipsed anything I've ever done as a manager."