Motherwell 1
Dundee Utd 0
League (Premier Division)

Match Report

Neither side would wish to label this a dress-rehearsal for the Cup Final because it turned out to be a match with little goalmouth incident. Conditions didn't help with the pitch very hard and a bitingly cold wind blowing the length of Fir Park. During the early stages we forced a series of corners, but without threatening Maxwell in goal. Play stagnated in midfield until the 29th minutes when we provided our best move of the match. Ray McKinnon initiated matters deep inside his own half with a ball to Michael O'Neill. The Northern Ireland internationlist spread play out to Darren Jackson on the left and he played the ball into John Clark who charged forward, but Maxwell turned his shot from just outside thepenalty area round the post. Five minutes later however, we found ourselves a goal down. Ray McKinnon was adjudged to have pushed Steve Kirk to the ground as he awaited a Joe McLeod cross and a penalty was awarded. Our former striker Iain Ferguson was entrusted with the spot kick and duly obliged to score Motherwell's first goal against us in five outings this season.

From there on, few chances were created, although we probably had the bulk of the play. The nearest we came to scoring was in the last minute when Maurice Malpas sent Michael O'Neill away down the left and he cut inside and fired in a low drive which Maxwell saved at his near post. Towards the end, Motherwell featured more as an attacking force and O'Donnell and Dolan had efforts which were respectively blocked and saved by Alan Main at full stretch. Just before the end Davie Cooper demonstrated his prowess from dead ball situations when he curled a freekick fractionally over. So Motherwell recorded their first win of the season over us and one suspects, and hopes, that the Cup Final will be a totally different affair.