Devine:Wedon’thave totakethescenicroute
PARTICK Thistle’s league position may look a lot more pleasing on the eye today but Jags defender Danny Devine insists he’s quite happy to keep winning ugly.
Alan Archibald’s men capped off a profitable seven days at the weekend when they edged out St Johnstone and made it seven points from nine in their last three matches, a haul which lifted them off the bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership and into 10th spot in a tight division.
Miles Storey, who earned Thistle’s first league victory of the season with his dramatic late show against Dundee last Saturday, was the match winner again at the weekend as his surging run and classy finish saw off Saints.
Devine was delighted with the industry and organisation that the Firhill men showed to keep the visitors at bay. It may not have been the most alluring spectacle but the 25-year-old was happy to see his team-mates roll up the sleeves and safeguard a lead.
Devine said: “The run we had been on knocked us a little bit but hopefully that’s behind us now. It’s good to have the other side in that we can win ugly.
“It wasn’t the best of games and it was scrappy but we got the three points. It’s never nice being bottom of the table and we always stayed positive but it’s good to be off there now.
“We have a long way to go, it’s still early in the season but teams around us have picked up points in their games.
“It will be tough but we just have to concentrate on what we are doing and not worry about anyone else. We have had a lot of games this season when we have played better and not won.
“We have shown character, grit and determination to recover from the bad start and we had to stick together. We had to get ourselves out of the mess that we put ourselves in and it’s good it’s turned around.”
DEVINE added: “This was our second clean sheet in the league, we would like to have had a lot more by this stage but hopefully we can build on this. It worked out for us against St Johnstone as a back three.
“Two of us could match them up and have the other as a sweeper and I thought we dealt with their high balls really well.
“A few games ago we were too open for and we have worked on it at training and the manager tweaked a few things and we have looked more solid since.”
After a largely unfulfilling stint at Aberdeen last season, goal scorer Storey is rejuvenating himself in Maryhill.
Devine added: “Miles had a tough year last season but he has shown what he is all about with his goal, pace and power.
“Any team that does well always has a goal scorer. We have Miles, Connor (Sammon) and Kris (Doolan) now and I think they blend well together.” PETER HARTLEY refused to look for excuses as Motherwell were finally brought back down to earth with a bump.
The Steelmen have been sitting on Cloud Nine for the last seven days, a heavenly state brought about by their Betfred Cup semi-final win over Rangers as well as a dominant display at Dens Park in midweek.
However, all things have to come to an end and that’s just what happened on Saturday. With Hibs coming to Fir Park on a high themselves from beating Hearts in the Edinburgh derby, the visitors battled their way to all three points courtesy of a Martin Boyle goal on 27 minutes.
The manner of the strike had a touch of calamity about it as Motherwell defender Cedric Kipre misjudged a long ball forward to allow Boyle to nip in and score, but fellow Well defender Hartley says there is no pointing of fingers or moaning in the Fir Park camp.
“There’s no excuses at all. On another day we probably could have got a point or won the game but it didn’t fall for us and that’s football,” he said.
“That wasn’t us today. We weren’t the Motherwell everyone has seen in the last four or five weeks but you can’t win every game.
“We brush ourselves down and go again next week at Ross County. We set the bar high in the dressing room, we have high standards and expectations.
“But when we win we’re together and when we lose we’re together. The boys will take on board what the gaffer said and we have to look in the mirror and be honest with ourselves.”
Motherwell were certainly a shadow of the team they have been in recent weeks and they simply looked dysfunctional during a frustrating first half played out in front of 4300 home supporters.
Indeed, it was the travelling 1700 or so that were rejoicing as their side gained in early upper hand without loosening their grip. While Motherwell have shown their muscle and combative edge since the start of the season, they were hustled out of the game by an Easter Road side that simply stopped them playing their own game.
“I thought Hibs did a job on us,” added Hartley. “It was very similar to the way Aberdeen played against us. They sat Marvin Bartley in front of Louis Moult and Ryan Bowman and we didn’t get much joy.
“The difference between winning and losing each week is inches and they covered those inches better.
“They picked a lot of second balls up but we stayed in the game and had chances to get something but it didn’t quite happen for us.”
Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson added: “We got what we deserved. We lacked a spark. Hibs did to us what we did to other teams, we lost the physical battle and they came out with every second ball.
“People talk about what a good football team Hibs are but they did all the graft today. They won every tackle and header and deserved their win.”