Killie are undone as Moult strikes at the death
MOTHERWELL’S top scorer Louis Moult came off the bench to snatch all three points for the Steelmen with the only goal of the game two minutes from the end of a dreary encounter with Kilmarnock.
It was a clinical finish out of keeping with much of what had gone before, but he insisted it was child’s play after dedicating the goal — his sixth of the campaign — to his daughter, Isla, who was at Rugby Park to watch her father score on her first birthday.
‘I looked up and saw her laughing at me,’ he grinned. ‘I’m delighted to get the goal on her birthday — I’m buzzing with that. I thought we deserved the win.
‘I’m also delighted to score because there is a lot of competition for places here and, when you come on as a sub, you feel that you need to make an impact.
‘We have six or seven strikers at the club, so you have to make your mark when you have the chance.
‘I think we have momentum now. We should have beaten Aberdeen at Pittodrie last week, so this was sweet. There’s a new-found confidence among the boys.’
The hosts started on the front foot and Kevin McHattie tested Connor Ripley with a low drive, while Josh Magennis went close with a looping header inside the first five minutes.
Spraying the ball around with confidence, they stretched the visitors and captain Rory McKenzie saw a netbound drive deflected behind by Joe Chalmers.
By and large, though, it was an uneventful first half played at a snail’s pace and it came as a surprise when, nine minutes from the interval, Kilmarnock full-back McHattie and Motherwell winger Lionel Ainsworth were both cautioned for squaring up to each other.
Occasionally, a game of football threatened to break out.
McKenzie and Motherwell striker Scott McDonald both had efforts on target from distance and the Australian was agonisingly close to converting a Josh Law cross at the far post in the 50th minute.
Jamaican target man Theo Robinson was fortunate to remain on the pitch when he appeared to headbutt Killie defender Stuart Findlay in the 55th minute.
Referee Bobby Madden and his assistant Alastair Mather failed to spot the incident and they further incensed the home support by booking the Celtic loanee for his reaction to the original offence.
Motherwell’s Chalmers joined him in the referee’s notebook when he took the legs from McKenzie.
Kilmarnock created their first opening of the second half in the 65th minute when Magennis knocked the ball down for Kallum Higginbotham, whose full-blooded 20-yarder was parried by Ripley.
Magennis had been the man in form coming into this game but the Northern Ireland star headed wide from six yards after Higginbotham had nodded on a cross from sub Tope Obadeyi in the 74th minute.
He was even more unfortunate when Mr Madden booked him for diving when he appeared to have his legs taken from under him on the edge of the penalty area.
The sense of grievance among the Ayrshire club’s players and fans intensified two minutes from time when Moult sealed all three points.
Stephen Pearson’s initial shot was blocked but it spun into the path of the substitute and his first-time shot from 15 yards beat keeper Jamie MacDonald low to his left.
That was cruel on Killie and manager Gary Locke made no attempt to hide his dismay.
‘It was a sore one to take,’ he said. ‘It was a scrappy game, but we dominated it and, if one team was going to win, I thought it would have been us.
‘Obviously, we’re disappointed to lose to such a late goal. But we could have done better in the final third, especially with the final cross, but I was delighted with our effort and the commitment we showed.
‘We tried to play football and to move the ball quickly and we put a lot into the game to end up taking nothing from it.’
In fairness to Locke, he did not attempt to hide behind some controversial decisions by the match officials.
‘Referees have a hard job and I’m not going to get involved in that,’ he added. ‘You do get frustrated when you think that not many decisions are going your way, but you just need to get on with it.
‘I saw the two of them going head-to-head and it’s important that we don’t become involved in these situations because we’re picking up yellow cards and they eventually lead to suspensions.’
His opposite number, Mark McGhee, was considerably happier after recording his first win since replacing Ian Baraclough as manager last month.
‘The three points has to be the be-all and end-all, but I’m still in a learning curve with these players and that’s why I took out two strikers and put in the other two, to give an opportunity,’ he said.
‘I need to learn as much as I can about them as quickly as I can. So to come away from home and get a win during that process is a bonus.
‘The clean sheet was also pleasing. We set ourselves up in a basic 4-4-2 and, at half-time, I told the lads: “Listen, if it finishes 0-0, then we’ll look at why we didn’t score but let’s not lose the game by trying to win it”.
‘We had a discipline about us and that gave us the platform to go on and win it. Game by game, I’m learning more about this squad.’