Well boss blasts SFA for late Covid call-offs
May (pen, 34) O’hara (17)
Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson has hit out at a lack of common sense and branded the communication from the Scottish FA a “joke” after he was denied the services of Allan Campbell and Barry Maguire for the draw with St Johnstone.
Mark O’hara’s 17th minute opener for the Fir Park side was cancelled out by Stevie May’s leveller nine minutes from the interval – the striker’s third penalty in two games and his ninth goal of a campaign finally catching alight.
But the day was overshadowed for the Steelmen by the absence of their two Scotland under-21 internationalists following positive Covid-19 cases within the squad after they returned from Greece in midweek.
Robinson was only informed late on Friday of a possibility the duo – who tested negative – would be forced into selfisolation, with the decision only confirmed four hours before yesterday’s kick-off.
“Obviously it wasn’t ideal; that’s an understatement,” he said. “We had named the team and were ready to go.
“But I got a phone call round about 11 o’clock from the chief executive to tell me the two boys couldn’t play – and a double punishment that they can’t play next week.
“I know that other clubs found out early in the day on Friday after they had tested. So, the communication was poor, really, really poor. It’s got to be better than that when you go into an elite performance environment, allegedly.
“It’s affected us badly, Allan Campbell is arguably my best player. Two out of the three midfielders that started the last three games were missing.
“I don’t usually jump on people because this is a situation that is hard and we all make mistakes. But common sense wasn’t used and the communication was a joke.”
The Steelmen initially brushed off the absences to make the early breakthrough.
They picked their way delicately down the right flank, a swift interchange of passes freeing Liam Polworth for a shot. Jason Kerr dived in to block but the rebound fell perfectly for O’hara, who drilled in from 12 yards out.
Saints recovered from the loss of Murray Davidson to a serious injury to haul themselves level in the 34th minute.
There was little danger imminent as May headed away from goal on the left side of the area but ‘ Well defender Bevis Mugabi was tempted to throw out a lazy boot and brought down the striker. May picked himself up to lash in the penalty to follow on from his double success from the spot in the Betfred Cup victory over Peterhead last weekend.
Devante Cole’s shot on the turn was held at the second attempt by home keeper Zander Clark as Motherwell sought a second just before half-time, but after the break it was St Johnstone who did most of the running in search of a winner.
May could not squeeze a Jason Kerr header over the line from a David Wotherspoon corner and substitute Chris Kane blazed wide from an acute angle as time slipped away.
“We didn’t play as well as we could have,” added Robinson. “Yes, it (Campbell and Maguire’s absence) might have affected the team selection but we can be better than that.
“It was a scrappy affair. The one bit of quality was our goal. Other than that, the decisionmaking from both sides wasn’t great, which told in the lack of goalmouth action.
“There’ll be a lot better performances than that, individually and collectively, and we’ll reset ourselves again.”