Alexander is denied a perfect start by McGrath’s spot-kick
GRAHAM ALEXANDER may not have been able to provide Motherwell with their first win in 11 games in his debut as their manager, although it looked for long enough as though he would do just that — but at least he was able to prevent them from slipping to a third successive defeat.
The draw also moved the Fir Park club out of the relegation places, hoisting them above second-bottom Hamilton on goal difference, which makes it a positive enough start for the 49-year-old.
Saints, by contrast, dropped to eighth place after being leapfrogged by Kilmarnock, having avoided that fate with a last-minute equaliser at Rugby Park the previous weekend.
Even though they were without joint-top scorer Jon Obika, they elected to leave Eamonn Brophy, the former Scotland striker signed on loan from Kilmarnock on Friday, on the bench.
The visiting side started brightly and it took a perfectly-timed goalsaving block from Saints captain Joe Shaughnessy to divert Devante Cole’s netbound drive behind.
Holding midfielder Mark O’Hara was walking on eggshells from the 14th minute after lunging in on Dylan Connolly just outside the area. Referee Bobby Madden had little option but to show the Motherwell man a yellow card.
Even so, Alexander will have been encouraged by how diligently his new charges pressed and pushed forward at every opportunity, spraying the ball around with a confidence which belied the fact they had gone nine games without a win.
Motherwell should have broken the deadlock midway through the first half. Liam Polworth’s deep cross from the left was perfection itself and found Tony Watt inside the six-yard box.
The former Celtic forward had plenty of goal to aim at but sent his header straight at Jak Alnwick.
It began to look as though, once again, it would not be Motherwell’s day when Cole was allowed a free shot from 15 yards, only to drag his angled drive wide of the far post.
However, the Steelmen’s grip on proceedings was finally rewarded.
On this occasion, they capitalised on some lax home defending, with Watt turning provider, nodding down for Cole to sweep the ball into the net from point-blank range.
The hosts responded by going on the front foot and Connolly might have equalised had Stephen O’Donnell’s sliding tackle not nicked the ball away from him just as he was about to pull the trigger.
The Buddies continued to struggle to get behind the visitors’ back four in the second half. That led to a lack of service for their front men and, eventually, to Brophy’s introduction when he replaced Kyle McAllister 12 minutes after the restart.
His arrival did inject some urgency into their attack, although he wasn’t directly involved when Ethan Erhahon missed a sitter just after the hour mark.
For once, Jamie McGrath managed to get to the byeline and his cutback found Erhahon 12 yards out and with time and space to spare. However, the midfielder — who has scored just three times in 52 appearances, fired wide of debutant Liam Kelly’s post.
Kelly still hadn’t been forced to make a save of note but Motherwell were no longer the dominant force they had been in the first half.
The home side were throwing men forward in an attempt to salvage at least a draw from this encounter.
Alexander brought on target man Jordan White for Rangers loanee Jake Hastie, switching to a 4-3-3 in an attempt to revitalise his flagging team, as though they — and not Saints — had been chasing the game.
It was a bold move but it backfired when they conceded a penalty 11 minutes from time. Bevis Mugabi’s attempted clearance saw him connect with Lee Erwin.
There was a definite thud when contact was made and that appeared to make up Madden’s mind as he took a second before pointing to the spot.
McGrath stepped up to send Kelly the wrong way from 12 yards and claim his seventh goal of the campaign, nudging him ahead of Obika in Paisley’s scoring charts. Kelly finally made a save — and a good one, at full stretch — to turn behind a venomous free-kick from substitute Ilkay Durmus three minutes later but Alnwick trumped that, twisting in mid-air to fingertip a swerving effort from O’Hara out from underneath his crossbar.
It was a compelling end to a captivating contest, one which rose above the sub-zero temperature and lack of atmosphere to provide some genuine entertainment for those who paid to watch from the comfort of their own homes.