Revitalised Watt has final say as Steelmen prevail
TONY WATT’S colourful career has doubtless featured a few rounds of showdown talks with managers. A 10-club tour suggests not all of them have worked.
But one frank recent discussion with Graham Alexander appears to have had the desired effect.
The impact of the heart-to-heart over Watt’s exclusion from the starting line-up is a goal rush that’s helped Motherwell soar to third in the Premiership.
Watt’s fifth goal of the campaign extended their unbeaten league run to six matches and claimed three points which, for large parts of the game, looked more likely to be heading north.
‘We had a good honest chat about six weeks ago when he wasn’t in the team but he was so determined to get back in,’ explained Alexander.
‘I told him the reasons why he wasn’t in the team and to work on that and he has done everything I asked of him.
‘He’s hitting the target a lot more and he has a real intent to score goals. He’s taken his threat from the training ground into games. That was a really great finish.’
With 10 minutes to play, the visitors in the ascendancy and Motherwell unable to get a handle on County winger Joe Hungbo, a point wouldn’t have been the worst outcome for the hosts.
But Ricki Lamie’s superb 40-yard diagonal was brilliantly taken in stride by Watt, who fired an unstoppable finish past Ashley Maynard-Brewer.
The 27-year-old is always capable of such flashes of quality. Doing it on a regular basis has often been the issue. However, his contentment at Motherwell is plain to see and if he keeps up this form then their top-six challenge is not going to be an early-season false dawn.
‘We had to grind it out in the second half and I don’t think it was a champagne performance from us,’ noted Alexander.
‘But we had enough quality at both ends of the pitch that enabled us to go and score the decisive goal.
‘The players have shown a real winning mentality. Long may that continue.
‘I knew this would be our toughest fixture of the season because of all the factors around it. I’m delighted to keep this run going.’
Within two minutes, Stephen O’Donnell’s long throw wasn’t adequately cleared and Callum Slattery displayed the composure lacking in the visiting defence.
From 22 yards, he controlled well then sent a terrific right-foot shot sailing into the top corner.
The ex-Southampton prospect’s first goal in league football initially appeared the trigger for Motherwell to go for the throat.
Watt flashed a drive just over and Kaiyne Woolery was a persistent danger cutting in from the right.
But County settled and the game became a wide-open affair and the visitors grew into a serious threat.
Blair Spittal was the chief source of that first-period menace with four efforts on goal, three of them repelled by Liam Kelly. The pick was a volley at the back post blocked well by the Scotland squad man.
Much of Spittal’s work stemmed from the right. But Charles-Cook was trouble on the left, too, and unhinged Motherwell’s defences to snare a merited equaliser.
His wickedly delivered inswinger was one of those horrible ones in between defender and keeper. Neither department coped.
As Jordan White and Ross Callachan advanced to sniff out a toe-poke touch, they weren’t needed as Charles-Cook’s ball bounded beyond the stretch of Kelly and in at the far post.
The Grenadian international was suffering from a tight hamstring and replaced by Hungbo. The sub was an ever greater nuisance.
Drifting in from the right, he took over from Callachan to steal in behind and clip the top of the bar.
He went on to give Nathan McGinley nightmares down the flank with his creative trickery.
Motherwell had been first to threaten in the second period, Maynard-Brewer spreading himself to deny Woolery, then Watt’s header hitting woodwork.
Watt kept on grafting for his next chance and he made no mistake when it arrived late on, leaving County manager Malky Mackay frustrated.
‘We probably gave our best performance of the season,’ he said. ‘So I have got to be happy with the way we played. I realise you’ve got to turn those chances into goals but, if we keep playing the way we are, then we’ll be okay.’
MOTHERWELL (4-3-3): Kelly; O’Donnell, Ojala, Lamie, McGinley; Grimshaw (Donnelly 63), Slattery, O’Hara; Woolery (Roberts 63), Van Veen (Carroll 82), Watt. Subs (not used):
Fox, Maguire, Amaluzor, Crawford. Booked: Slattery, Watt, O’Donnell. ROSS COUNTY (4-2-3-1): MaynardBrewer; Watson (Clarke 52), Baldwin, Iacovitti, Burroughs; H Paton (Robertson 81), Tillson; Spittal, Callachan, Charles-Cook (Hungbo 46); White. Subs (not used):
Laidlaw, Cancola, Samuel, B Paton. Booked: H Paton, Charles-Cook, Watson, Callachan. Referee: Craig Napier. Attendance: 4,477.