Motherwell win at Easter Road to
secure fourth place and a spot in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers.
The Steelmen got the win their performance
deserved after a Lukas Fadinger goal gave them a first half lead. Stout defending was required in the second
half but the defence protected Matty Connelly’s goal following a red card for Elliot Watt.
The stand-in ‘keeper had an easier
afternoon than he would have expected as the home side were blunt in
attack. Motherwell dominated the first
half with their usual confident passing game and they should have had a bigger
advantage by the break.
Eli Just, Emmanuel Longelo and
Tawanda Maswanhise all saw their goal attempts narrowly miss the target as the ‘Well
flooded into the home half. The opener
followed a typical Motherwell attack.
Camped in the last third the ball was switched from flank to flank in
between probing forward passes. It fell
to Fadinger at the edge of the box and with the help of a deflection Salinger was
beaten.
Hibs had a shot high and wide after
half an hour and a couple of corners but Connelly was untroubled.
The smooth flowing action of the
first half was replaced by a bit of a roughhouse in the second. Nick Welsh discovered his yellow card and
flashed it on ten occasions including a second to Watt. Motherwell made changes to regroup and faced
the last quarter of the match with ten men.
Stephen Welsh’s goal celebration was
cut short. He had the ball in the net
from a corner but the VAR intervened and the referee was persuaded that the
goal could not stand.
Defence became the priority although
Hibs were threatened in the remaining minutes.
Tom Sparrow cleared from his goal line and wave after wave was
repulsed.
The big travelling support kept up
the noise throughout and a the board flashed for eight additional minutes the
choruses about a European tour grew louder.
The players, manager, coaches and all
the backroom staff came together for an extended love-in with the fans. The songs were loud and heartfelt and several
players were picked out for a special cheer.
Motherwell fans can get their diaries
out. The draw for Q2 is on June 17 and
we will take to the field on July 23 and July 30.
What a season. Well done all. The Mighty ‘Well are back in Europe.
Hibs 0 Motherwell 1
Attendance
19,109
Team:
Connelly, Longelo (O’Donnell 85), Gordon, Welsh, Fadinger, Watt, Sparrow, Slattery
(Koutroumbis 72), Just (Said 72), Charles-Cook (Priestman 72), Maswanhise
(Hendry 83)
Saturday
16 May 2026
