STEEL THE SPOTLIGHT
LATE-NIGHT SPECIAL ROBINSON’S JOY Fir Park fringe men take all the plaudits as Well prove they have strength and depth
MOTHERWELL were compared to WWE wrestlers before kick-off but after this the only thing Stephen Robinson will be grappling with is team selection after his reserves rocketed his side into third place.
Fringe men Craig Tanner, Elliott Frear and Alex Fisher were left out of their starting 11 for the big Betfred Cup semi-final at Hampden on Sunday.
But last night they came in from the cold to inspire Well’s eighth win in 10 games to show the Steelmen have depth as well as strength.
Tanner was the goal hero, grabbing the only goal of the game after just five minutes. It was enough to clinch their first win at Dens Park since Nicky Law and Michael Higdon scored in a 3-0 win four-and-a-half years before.
But more importantly, with Rangers slumping to a draw at home to Kilmarnock, it saw them leapfrog the Ibrox side into third spot.
Talk about rubbing salt in the wounds that so enraged Gers with their sustained jibes about Well’s physical style in the wake of that Hampden cup clash.
The hangovers have probably only just subsided for the Motherwell fans after the celebrations of booking their final spot but the after-effects from that bruising battle lingered.
Star striker Louis Moult was kept safely on the bench, presumably to protect the cut above his eye that required stitches at the weekend after a clash with Fabio Cardoso.
That’ll be the same guy who used last night’s match programme at Ibrox to launch another verbal blast at Well saying “this is football, not wrestling.”
Others rested were Chris Cadden, Andy Rose and Allan Campbell, replaced by Gael Bigirimana and Tanner. Fisher replaced Moult up top beside Ryan Bowman.
Dundee had declared themselves ready to cope with Well’s physical strength and they beefed up their starting line up with Marcus Haber in for A-Jay Leitch-Smith and Roarie Deacon replacing Paul McGowan.
But it was Motherwell’s fresh faces who made the biggest impact just five minutes into the game.
Frear cleverly nodding on a long ball into the path of Tanner to send him scampering through Dundee’s rearguard before jabbing a sweet finish beyond the keeper.
They nearly doubled their lead on 16 minutes when Frear’s dash down the left and low cutback was touched on by Fisher straight at Scott Bain.
The goalie didn’t seem to know much about that stop as it crashed off him at point-blank range – but his next save two minutes later deserved all the credit, flying to his right to claw away another effort by Fisher.
Well were the ones on the receiving end of some tough treatment. On 28 minutes, Deacon copped the first yellow card for catching Tanner high and late. He was followed two minutes later by Darren O’Dea for a blatant body check on the same man.
The Dee skipper only lasted a minute longer, forced off with a face knock. He was replaced by Kerr Waddell. Dundee’s first serious chance came courtesy of a Well mix-up when keeper Trevor Carson picked up what was judged to be a passback from Carl McHugh.
Amid their furious protests Well defender Peter Hartley was booked for dissent but he needn’t have worried as the indirect free-kick was blasted wide by Deacon.
There was more frustration for the home side when they finally found the net four minutes from the break, only to see it chopped off because Sofien Moussa had shoved Hartley to earn the space to make his finish.
Good solo work by Frear, cutting in from the right to carve through Dundee’s rearguard, forced Bain to stand tall to prevent Well extending their lead on 52 minutes.
Then both sides made early changes with Bowman ending a subdued night, replaced by Cadden, while Dundee bolstered their midfield with McGowan on for Deacon.
Moult followed after the hour replacing Tanner, before Liam Grimshaw and Leitch-Smith were pitched in for Hartley and Moussa.
Referee Stephen Finnie was having a tough time keeping a lid on such a fiercely-contested match.
Moussa had already seen yellow before he was hooked and with 20 minutes left Cadden’s name was taken – to sarcastic cheers from home fans.
But with 10 minutes to go came a lovely moment of cultured invention amid the battle. Moult’s clever backheel played in Bigirimana and his cute turn outside his man earned the space to clip a low shot well saved again by Bain.
No matter. Robinson’s men had done enough already to keep the good times rolling at Motherwell. THAT Motherwell were able to rest key men like Moult and Cadden at the start and have their replacements shine says much about the strength of Robinson’s squad. They’ll fancy a serious push for Europe now. YOU sense teams will try to use Well’s physical reputation now to influence referees but truth is the Dark Blues used just as much muscle in a full-blooded clash. THIS was always going to be a hard game for Ryan Bowman after a torrid few days put him in the spotlight. No surprise then after a subdued showing he was given an early rest by his boss. No doubt the striker will be back to normal soon though.