First half goals from Tawanda Maswanhise and Tom Sparrow put Motherwell in control and they ran out worthy winners (2-1) against St Johnstone.
The game was never close to a classic but two well worked goals put Stuart Kettlewell’s team in charge after the first half hour. St Johnstone had plenty of the ball but rarely caused the home defence much discomfort.
Tom Sparrow joined the line-up as Liam Gordon completed his two match suspension. Steve Seddon found himself on the left of the back three.
Aston Oxborough looked comfortable as he collected an early corner and that early pressure was to be an indication of the early flow. The visitors were comfortable on the ball but they were unable to make any telling impression.
The opener came after 20 minutes when Seddon delivered a long ball on the left flank. Marvin Kaleta collected at the edge of the area and found Tawanda Maswanhise free at the far post where the header found the net.
A second followed when Maswanhise supplied Sparrow 20 yards out. After a few strides the midfielder drove low to beat Joshua Rae at his right hand post.
Simo Valakari made two changes at the break and his side got lucky when a VAR intervention resulted in a handball penalty against Andy Halliday. Nicky Clark fired the dead ball into the net.
The game rarely had moments of quality but St Johnstone carried little threat. Motherwell had a few breaks and might have scored a third.
It seemed that two points had been dropped when Jack Sanders got the ball into the ‘Well net in added time but on this occasion VAR identified a hand ball and the points were secured for the home side.
Fears of a post-Hampden hangover were unfounded and the squad can enjoy the latest international break as they share third place in the league table.
Motherwell 2 St Johnstone 1
Attendance
Team: Oxborough, Kaleta, Balmer, Casey, Seddon, Wilson, Halliday (Watt 67), Maswanhise (Ebiye 75), Miller, Sparrow (Paton 82), Stamatelopoulos (Zdravkovski 67)
Saturday 9 November 2024