MOTHERWELL HAVE NO FEAR

No fear for Steelmen

STEPHEN ROBINSON insists Rangers will hold no fears for Motherwell after they roared into the Betfred Cup semi-finals with a powerful win over Aberdeen. Two goals from Louis Moult — subject of a failed summer bid by the Dons — and one from Peter Hartley convincingly

booked a last-four meeting with the Ibrox club. The other Hampden semi-final will see Hibernian manager Neil Lennon face former employers Celtic. The ties will be played on the weekend of October 21/22. ‘Listen, all the sides in the semi-finals are decent teams,’ said Motherwell boss Robinson. ‘But we don’t fear anyone at this moment in time. We will go there and enjoy the day but we are certainly not going to make the numbers up. ‘I thought we deserved to get there with this display. In a way, Ryan Bowman set the tone in the first minute when he chased down the kick-off and we didn’t stop chasing all night. The players worked ever so hard and they deserved this result. ‘This is the best result we have had since I came in. I thought the performance at Hibs was as good, but this obviously is a great reward.’ Robinson had asked Moult to show what Aberdeen were missing in his pre-match media comments. The striker delivered with an all-action display to help Motherwell reach a first major semi-final since 2011. ‘His second goal epitomised everything about us,’ added Robinson. ‘There was a ball played down the channel by Liam Grimshaw and he never gave up on it. The class was shown in his finishing when he got there.’ Moult’s opening goal was down to an error from Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis, who also looked unconvincing at Hartley’s header. The Pittodrie side, previously unbeaten domestically this season, are back at Fir Park on Sunday on Premiership business. ‘The better team won,’ said Dons boss Derek McInnes. ‘The first goal comes out of nothing but we should have dealt with it a lot better. ‘I’m not going to criticise Joe too much as he been outstanding since he came here. He has been flawless. He could have done better with a couple of the goals but their front two were up for it from the start. ‘It was a sore one for us and we will be looking for a response on Sunday. I know my players, they are honest and they work hard and they are hurting. ‘They should be, it’s the quarter-finals of the Cup.’