Although most Motherwell fans would have been happy to accept a draw before kick off there was a feeling of an opportunity missed after the game. Not to win the game having been twice in the lead was careless and we could pay dearly for the lack in concentration that led to the second equaliser.
Hateley has a bash
Nevertheless, a draw was a fair result. Both managers paid due respect to their opponents after the match and it was no surprise that Goodwillie’s acrobatics earned lots of praise. McCall said it was a “really good cup tie, I enjoyed it”. He said the “we gave it a go” and expressed his disappointment given that we were ahead twice.
When asked if Motherwell would be favourites for the replay at Fir Park he was quick to reply “No way”, a sentiment that echoed the thoughts of the fans who were on the way back to the central belt.
Many of those supporters made the same journey in 1994 when a late thunderbolt from John Philliben secured a 2-2 draw in the last cup meeting of the teams at Tannadice. Motherwell were a real force at that time and finished that season in third place in the league. Despite that we contrived to lose the replay 1-0 in front of over 13,000 at Fir Park.
The SFA’s plan to hold the replay on Tuesday 29 March may be frustrated by the proximity of the international games. Scotland play Brazil on Sunday 27th and, among others, Northern Ireland play Slovenia on the 29th when a full round of European Championship Qualifying matches take place.