OCH AYE THE NOU CAMP
Robbo: Accies hero would play for Barca if he topped that strike
Stephen Robinson insis ts dominant Motherwell were sunk by a wonder goal fit to grace the Nou Camp.
The Steelmen boss refused to be downbeat after derby defeat and reckons matchwinner Steven Boyd will never hit a better strike – because if he did he’d be starring for Barcelona instead of Accies.
Boyd volleyed a 25- yard screamer into the top corner in 68 minutes with his first touch after f e l low sub Ros s Cunningham smacked a free-kick into the wall.
It leaves bottom club Well still searching for their first goal and points of the season but Robinson saw plenty positives.
However, he revealed he’s ready to rip up his strike pairing after Curtis Main and Conor Sammon drew a blank for the second game in a row.
Rob i n s on said: “We dominated most of the game
“It is an incredible strike from the boy but it is a stupid free-kick to give away and we did the same last week against Hibs and lost a goal.
“It is difficult to be harsh on the players as they gave me everything. There were lots of good points and we looked solid.
“Will their boy ever hit a better goal?
“I doubt it very much because if he did he wouldn’t be here, he’d be playing for Barcelona. It’s an incredible goal.
“I need to work out the best combination up front as our decision-making and final pass wasn’t good enough at times.
“Danny Johnson’s been knocking on my door begging for a chance and he’ll get it now.”
Well bossed the first half and Chris Cadden was a constant danger down the right. He broke free early on and curled a lovely teasing ball low into the box but Gary Woods gathered just before Main could connect.
Accies had a rare sight of goal when Tom Aldred’s header fell to Rakish Bingham 30 yards but his shot was straight at Trevor Carson. Another super Cadden delivery saw Gael Bigirimana’s header parried away by Woods before Sammon was lucky to only be booked for a blatant elbow on Ziggy Gordon.
The Irish hitman nearly made the most of his let-off, heading the ball into Main who could only poke wide.
Main should have broken the deadlock four minutes into the second ha l f , scuffing an effort past the post after great work from Allan Campbel l . The striker was rack- ing up the misses and fired into the side-netting from a tight angle when the cutback was on as Steelmen turned the screw. Robinson made a double switch, Johnson for Campbell and Elliott Frear for Richard Ta it in 62 minutes. Cann ing followed suit , Boyd and Cunningham replacing Sam Kelly and Mickel Miller and it was an inspired change. Aldred sent Mi l ler sprawling 30 yards from goal and Boyd’s brilliant volley on the rebound gave Accies a shock lead.
It could have ended up more comfortable as Cunningham blazed over from 10 yards out before hitting the post in injury time with the goal at his mercy.
Canning revealed he sent on Cunningham for his free-kick expertise and he felt he would net from the set-piece not Boyd.
The Accies gaffer said: “It’s nice when your substitutions work. Cunningham is fantastic with free-kicks so we sent him on to see if he could produce a bit of magic.
“But Boyd ended up producing a goal worthy of winning any game. He has magic in him – it’s just a question of getting it out.”