COLE IS A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK
Motherwell star shrugs off miss to score like dad Andy
DEVANTE COLE admits he momentarily ‘lost his head’ after one of the misses of the Premiership season. Thankfully for Motherwell, the striker just as quickly found his feet again. The on-loan Wigan Athletic forward was in danger of being the story of this match for all the wrong reasons following a mishap that drew gasps of disbelief and howls of derision from those present at McDiarmid Park.
Scooping up and over the bar from barely two yards out, the 24-year-old admitted he allowed the howler to knock him off his stride in the immediate aftermath.
After regaining his poise, however, he began to look more like his famous dad, Andy Cole.
Displaying the former Manchester United predator’s knack for being in the right place at the right time, he bundled in the winner for the Steelmen from point-blank range just before half-time.
It moved Stephen Robinson’s side up to third place and, with his confidence freshly restored, Cole predicted that Motherwell are ready to give their rivals a run for their money in the battle to finish Best of the Rest behind the Old Firm.
‘It was a hard-fought win,’ conceded the former England Under-19s international after scoring his first goal for the Fir Park side since his arrival on a six-month deal in the summer. ‘We deserved it in the end. St Johnstone had a few chances but we were the better team and we deserved it.’
As for that fluffed opportunity, Cole remained philosophical. And rightly proud of the fact that he didn’t let it get to him. Eventually.
‘Missed chances happen,’ he added. ‘I’ve missed it but you’ve just got to think that you’ll get another chance and that you’ll take it. I managed to do just that.
‘It was a relief to get off the mark and, now that I’ve done that, hopefully it will continue.
‘I was determined to get a goal. I think if anybody misses a chance, then you just want to go again and hope you can get another one.
‘I’ve missed it and I kind of lost my head for five or ten minutes. I just had to come back from that and I got a goal. That’s what you’ve got to do because these things happen in football.’
Cole’s redemption aside, this was an important win for Motherwell, just a week after their fine early-season run was surprisingly halted by a defeat at home to Ross County.
There is clearly a long way to go in a campaign that will see many twists and turns ahead, but Cole believes the Steelmen have what it takes to compete at the top end of the table after moving two points above Aberdeen and Ross County.
‘The manager spoke to me before I arrived,’ he said. ‘As soon as I got here and saw all the boys, played a couple of games, I thought: “Why can’t we challenge higher up?” We’ve got more than enough to give it a good go.
‘If you look at all of us, we’ve got pace, we’ve got ability and we will score goals.’
They have 13 in all for the league season so far, behind only Celtic and Rangers in the goalscoring stats after seven games.
While Motherwell are scoring goals, however, St Johnstone are leaking them.
This certainly was not the time for Tommy Wright’s men to squander a penalty, but that’s what happened on Saturday.
Defeat kept the Perth side rooted to the foot of the Premiership, without a league victory and with only one win in 11 matches this season.
In fact, their only scalp has been League Two strugglers Brechin City in the Betfred Cup in July. That is also the only occasion when they have kept a clean sheet.
They were not without their
opportunities here. Especially when a spot-kick was awarded after Richard Tait was adjudged to have nudged Murray Davidson as the midfielder sought to head goalwards.
However, Scott Tanser could not get the better of Motherwell goalkeeper Mark Gillespie from 12 yards out, adding to the full-back’s frustration — and the general sense of anguish around McDiarmid Park — after the Fir Park No1 had also kept out his earlier free-kick.
St Johnstone’s Davidson headed over when he should have done better with a late Matty Kennedy cross, while Stevie May, ineffectual for most of the game, almost poked in a last-minute equaliser from the same source, only for Gillespie to come to the rescue for Steelmen yet again.
Motherwell’s delight was temporarily halted when Liam Donnelly received a red card in stoppage-time for an alleged stamp on Chris Kane, but it came too late to have any effect on proceedings and the Steelmen are likely to appeal.
‘Of course this is not a nice position to be in,’ admitted Saints’ on-loan Rangers midfielder Jason Holt. ‘We need to cut the simple errors out of our game. We need to be solid and keep a clean sheet to give ourselves a base to go and win a game of football.
‘Going behind in games makes it very difficult to win, let alone even pick up a point.
‘The overall feeling in the dressing room is one of frustration. The one positive we can take is that we are creating chances.
‘I am sure that, if we keep doing that, the goals will come. But, first
and foremost, we have to get that solid base to give ourselves a chance.’
ST JOHNSTONE (4-1-4-1): Clark 6; Ralston 6, Kerr 6, Gordon 5, Tanser 5; McCann 6 (Swanson 67); Wright 5 (Kane 75), Holt 6, Davidson 6, O’Halloran 5 (Kennedy 63); May 5. Subs not used: Parish, Duffy, Booth, Wotherspoon. Booked: Davidson.
MOTHERWELL (4-1-4-1): Gillespie 7; Grimshaw 6, Gallagher 8, Hartley 6, Tait 6; Donnelly 6; Scott 6 (Ilic 67), Campbell 6, Polworth 6, Seedorf 5 (Hylton 46) 5; Cole 6 (Long 83). Scott. Subs not used: Carson, Maguire, O’Hara, Mugabi. Booked: Hartley, Polworth, Tait. Sent off: Donnelly.
Man of the match: Declan Gallagher. Referee: Gavin Duncan. Attendance: 2,949.