Long shot cup win for Well
Hat-trick hero seals last 16 clash with St Mirren
DUNDEE ................................................ 0 MOTHERWELL ..................................... 3 Motherwell striker Chris Long was the star of the show as the Steelmen cruised to Scottish Cup victory in Dundee.
Stephen Robinson’s side dumped Dundee at Dens Park last night to bag their place in the Scottish Cup last 16.
Frontman Chris Long did the damage with a hat-trick and the Steelmen held firm when the hosts went for broke after the break.
Dundee made a fist of it but the tie was already out of reach thanks to brute force, a touch of finesse and a hint of farce.
Long dismantled the Dens’ wall with a free-kick for the opener then curled in a cracker for the second.
He was gifted a third after keeper Jack Hamilton’s howler to leave the huge away support dreaming of another run to the National Stadium.
Well fans remember 1991 and the Final a couple of years ago.
The current crop look in decent shape for a crack this time around and not many sides will fancy meeting them in the next round – with St Mirren waiting following the draw.
A Saturday night game in Dundee in January might not float everyone’s boat but Lanarkshire punters were certainly up for it.
They piled up the M9 in huge numbers – and it was the Dee punters who seemingly settled for an evening on the sofa instead.
The Steelmen almost out- numbered their hosts and the big backing gave the visitors the boost to start off on the front foot.
Well were taking their time in applying the pressure, waiting for the gaps to appear to give them a sight of goal.
Liam Polworth found a pocket deep inside the Dundee box and was picked out by Richard Tait’s cross but the playmaker couldn’t find the power needed to trouble keeper Hamilton.
James Scott began getting his foot on the ball and he superbly skipped inside his man before letting fly with a curler that wasn’t far off finding the inside of the post.
The Dens men can’t say they weren’t warned and the inevitable breakthrough arrived after just 22 minutes when Shaun Byrne clipped Scott on the edge of the Dundee D.
Long rammed his laces through the ball and smashed it right through the wall, taking a nick on the way past Hamilton on the way in to the net.
Going behind sparked a reaction from the home side though and they nearly hit back in jig time
It was Motherwell who looked ragged at the back as Tait was forced to hook off the line after Kane Hemmings beat Mark Gillespie in the air after a botched clearance.
But the fightback was shortlived as Robinson’s side went two up.
Long did the damage again but this time the finish was cute rather than a clobber.
The hitman found himself racing clear after Allan Campbell and Polworth’s neat link-up play and he superbly curled the ball into the far corner.
It was no more than Motherwell deserved. Dundee were putting in the yards but struggling to do much when they did take possession.
They nearly had something to cheer after the break when Hemmings hit his header from a Graham Dorrans freekick off the bar.
Declan McDaid skimmed a 20-yard drive inches wide and Dundee had shown more purpose in 120 seconds than they did in the opening 45 minutes.
Motherwell held firm and Long killed the tie when he let fly from 25 yards and Hamilton messed up.
The swerving effort should have been bread and butter but it was butter fingers instead as the ball squirmed through his hands and into the net.