Motherwell 4
Dundee Utd 2
League (SPL)

Match Report

A good crowd at Fir Park was to see the game played out in a full array of Scottish weather conditions. The four corner flags were blowing in different directions – a telling sign of how the weather would influence the game. The United fans were in the lower tier of the South Stand and in good voice, ably accompanied by two tambourines! United boss Ian McCall restored Club captain Derek McInnes to the starting XI with Billy Dodds dropping to the bench. Motherwell were able to file the same line-up for the third successive outing with ex-United man Jim Paterson getting a place on the bench alongside former team mate David Partridge.

Both teams started hesitantly with the gusting wind making things difficult for both sets of players. Motherwell appeared to settle quicker though and soon tried to assert their authority on their own turf. ‘Well striker Scott McDonald was the first to blaze a shot wide. Good work by Kerr gave McIntyre a crossing opportunity, which was blocked giving United their first corner. Motherwell carved a good opening on the right but McBride’s low cross went beyond the onrushing attackers. The ball seemed to hang in the wind and this was proving to be a frustrating afternoon for the strikers as the big central defenders on both sides were dominant. Grady found himself in the referee’s book, although Iain Brines along with most of the crowd seemed to miss the incident, his far side assistant brought an infringement to his attention. The wind continued to pose problems for the players, a long ball forward hung in the wind as it ran through to Bullock who was caught by Clarkson’s flying boot as he went to clear. The keeper was evidently hurt in the clash but the referee saw no foul. Play had to be stopped for the goalkeeper to get attention much to the upset of the home fans. Bullock’s head and right shoulder seemed to be the areas causing most concern, but he was allowed to continue. Motherwell continued to try and assert their authority on the match and Kerr was also yellow carded for obstruction as they mounted another attach from midfield. Brebner set Grady free but the striker was unfortunate to be judged offside. Robson then took the initiative and made some probing runs, often being rather roughly dealt with by the ‘Well defence. From a resulting free kick, Mark Wilson sent a shot just over. Robson continued to be United’s main threat with his direct running and good interplay with Archibald which saw the ‘Well defence scramble a cross away. As the 4th Official signalled for 2 minutes of stoppage time to be played, Grady pounced on a defensive error to finish emphatically. A long ball upfield by Bullock wasn’t dealt with by the ‘Well rearguard and the James Grady took no time in smashing the ball past Marshall.

United opened with good passages of play which saw Grady and Robson go close with headers before the move of the match saw Jim McIntyre dive in to head a Grady cross just over. How United would rue passing up this chance a few moments later. Four minutes of drama saw ‘Well draw level through Scott MacDonald’s free header in 53 minutes then a fine strike by McBride was parried by Bullock only for David Clarkson to fire the loose ball into the net. Motherwell had retaken the lead and were very much in the ascendancy. The United keeper was obviously still suffering from the effect of Clarkson’s first half challenge and was soon replaced in goal by Hirschfeld who made his first team debut in the worst possible circumstances. United players and fans then endured a torrid few minutes as Motherwell piled on the pressure and freezing rain was blown into the faces of the Arabs who had made the journey to the west. Ian McCall introduced McLaren for McInnes and it was an inspired move as the first thing he did was to celebrate a goal. Jim McIntyre rocketed a shot past Marshall after Innes had knocked down a Robson free kick into his path. The level pegging was short lived however as Scott McDonald had scored past his second goalkeeper of the afternoon after poor defending had allowed him to run deep into the heart of the United defence. Innes was very aware of the threat that McDonald posed and was also added to the referee’s list of cautions for a crunching challenge on the striker. United tried hard to get back level with Scotland being thrown into the mix to freshen the United attack up but it was to no avail. Paterson was put on as stoppage time approached and it was his driving run forward that created space for Clarkson to cross and Alex Burns to seal the victory with a spectacular flying header.

Match report written by Grant Letham