Thrown in at deep end but Russ can handle call-up...
TALKING MOTHERWELL
IF ANYONE at Motherwell benefited from what turned into an abject disaster for the Steelmen at McDiarmid Park on Saturday, then it would have been substitute goalkeeper Russell Griffiths.
Thrown into the fray after No.1 Trevor Carson was controversially dismissed by referee Craig Thomson for handling outside of his area, Griffiths saved a penalty, and barring a successful appeal over Carson’s red card will surely start against Ross County this weekend.
It is the type of situation that a goalkeeping understudy is desperate for, with the nature of the position such that one goalie’s pain is another goalie’s gain.
But if anyone was in any doubt about the togetherness and team ethic of this Motherwell squad, they would only have to witness the hangdog expression sported by Griffiths in the aftermath of the match.
While he acknowledges that he will be looking to make the most of his opportunity, his main concern was that his team had suffered their second league defeat of the new season.
“With the suspensions, we have a lot of competition in the team, and the players are there to come into those positions and do a good job,” Griffiths said.
“Hopefully it gives me a chance. I haven’t started the season so now I should hopefully play next weekend and try to keep the shirt.
“In the last couple of games I haven’t been playing and it’s a difficult position to be in when you’re not playing, but I need to take my chance when I get it.
“Me and Trevor have a really good relationship. The GK unit is good and obviously the goalkeeping coach Craig Hinchcliffe is new in as well. But we’ve all struck up a great understanding and it seems to be working well.
“When I came in, I didn’t want to be seen as just a number two, I’m here to play games and that’s what I’m pushing to do.
“But I don’t take much solace from the penalty save. It’s nice to save a penalty, but at the end of the day we got beat and everyone in the dressing room was disappointed.
“Obviously the sending offs played a massive part in the defeat, but we just have to put that behind us now and get ready for Ross County on Saturday.
“We need to prepare this week and get our season going properly on Saturday now.”
GRIFFITHS had some words of consolation for team-mate Carson, who he believes made the right decision to come and take charge of the situation that led to his red card.
“It’s just one of them, no one is sure whether he was outside the box or not,” he said. “It happens to the best of goalkeepers, so Trevor will pick his head up and get ready to go.
“As a goalkeeper, you probably want your defenders to deal with that ball, but Trevor is a commanding goalkeeper and he likes to take charge of his box, so he made the right decision to come, but it’s a shame what happened.”
Despite their immediate disappointment after what ended as a heavy defeat, Griffiths believes that time will allow the Motherwell players to reflect on what was actually a decent performance in spells in Perth.
“It was never a 4-1 game, the red cards have killed it,” he said. “It was eight versus 11 and like attack versus defence at the end.
“You can’t take much from the score when we’ve had three players sent off. It’s going to be a tough week now, but we’ll put it behind us and get ready for Saturday.
“We’ve got a good set of lads here with some great character in the team.”