A thrilling afternoon at Fir Park delivered three points for Motherwell in a contest that ended 10 v 10.
Motherwell lost an early goal but a couple from Lennon Miller saw them ahead at the break. St Mirren had the better of the second period and the home defence were severely tested. Aston Oxborough produced a penalty save to preserve the lead and send the ‘Well to fourth place in the table.
Moses Ebiye was given a start ahead of Tawanda Maswanhise as Stuart Kettlewell made a rare adjustment to his starting eleven.
St Mirren kicked the game off and piled forward. Their pressing game forced Motherwell play quickly but their passing in defence matched the threat. That lasted until Liam Gordon produced a slack ball to offer his opponents a chance that was well executed. Killian Phillips produced a turn and shot that beat Oxborough at his right hand post.
The visitors almost matched the error as Ebiye pounced on a slack ball and he charged in on goal. His shot hit the side net to the frustration of Miller who was free in the centre. But the midfielder was to have a chance to score from the spot a few minutes later. Following a corner Marcus Fraser was judged to have blocked Dan Casey and the referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty. Miller converted his second spot kick in consecutive game.
The game flowed from end to end with chances popping up for both teams. Miller claimed his brace in the 45th minute. He managed to place the ball beyond the ‘keeper but a long VAR check followed as the officials determined whether there was contact with his arm before he scored. The goal was given and after eight added minutes the half ended.
The opening period has provided plenty of entertainment and the second half matched it for action and incident.
Two minutes has passed before St Mirren had a great chance. Dan Casey seemed to have produced a terrific block but the referee interpreted the block as a hand ball and issued the marching order. ‘Well old boy Maek O’Hara stepped up but Oxborough anticipated correctly and made the save.
The one man advantage spurred the visitors and they camped in front of the South Stand goal. For fifteen minutes crosses into the box both high and low poured into the Motherwell box but without success. Just after the hour Tanser was given a dubious second yellow card and his dismissal meant we had a 10 v 10 contest for the last half hour.
Both sides turned to their benches but the visitors continued to hold the upper hand. It seemed inevitable that they would equalise but the defence stood firm.
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos came close to relieving the tension with a close range header the that was well saved by Balcombe.
Another eight minutes were added but the home side survived to claim a wonderful win.
Next up is a trip to Easter Road next week.
Motherwell 2 St Mirren 1
Attendance
Team: Oxborough, O’Donnell (Kaleta 70), Casey, Gordon, McGinn, Wilson, Zdravkovski (Sparrow 84), Hallliday (Stamatelopolus 70), Miller, Ebiye, Robinson (Watt 70)
Saturday 28 September 2024