Motherwell have to pay severe penalty BRIAN MARJORIBANKS

THE forecasted 90-miles-per-hour winds failed to materialise. But Fir Park was rocked last night by a penalty storm as under-the-weather Aberdeen returned to muchneeded winning ways.

At first, all the festive staples were present here in Lanarkshire. A gift from Motherwell duo Craig Samson and Ben Heneghan for Graeme Shinnie’s opener. Then a real Christmas cracker from Scott McDonald for the leveller.

But Adam Rooney’s decision to go down in the box under minimal contact from keeper Samson drained all of the holiday spirit from within the Motherwell camp.

Fresh from serving a two-match touchline ban, manager Mark McGhee cut a furious figure as he stalked the touchline after Rooney missed the kick but lashed home the rebound.

Niall McGinn may have added gloss with a stoppage time third but by then Well were chasing the game and committing numbers forward. The penalty incident was, without doubt, the game’s big talking point.

And in stark contrast to McGhee’s fuming figure, this second win in six matches brought a broad smile across the face of Derek McInnes.

The Dons boss can now tuck into his turkey and trimmings tomorrow safe in the knowledge that his side are just four points behind secondplace rivals Rangers.

Motherwell boss McGhee made two changes from the side that drew 1-1 at St Johnstone last week.

Out dropped David Ferguson and Jack McMillan and in came Steven Hammell and Lee Lucas. On the bench was young striker Dylan Mackin as a reward for his two-goal show in the Under-20s’ remarkable 9-1 thumping of their Dons counterparts in Montrose in midweek.

Meanwhile, McInnes made four changes from the side that slumped Flashpoint: Rooney goes to ground under Samson’s challenge and (inset) celebrates netting for Dons to a dismal 2-1 defeat in Dingwall to ten-man Ross County.

Mark Reynolds and Ash Taylor were restored to central defence, with Anthony O’Connor left out.

Back in came danger men Niall McGinn and Adam Rooney while out dropped James Maddison, Wes Burns and Jayden Stockley.

Motherwell were first to threaten when Louis Moult sent in a cross and Craig Clay’s header found the side netting. But Aberdeen took the lead on six minutes after Samson put Heneghan in trouble with a poor kick-out.

Heneghan’s clearance up the line was intercepted by Kenny McLean, who cleverly played the ball into the space behind the out-ofposition Motherwell defender for Jonny Hayes to run on to.

The little Irish winger raced into the box before cutting back perfectly for Shinnie to crack the ball home from 10 yards.

It was just Shinnie’s second goal for Aberdeen, and his first in 16 months since opening his Dons account against Kilmarnock.

After a rare goal by the midfielder it was time for a goalline clearance by a striker. Up popped Rooney to save the day after Joe Lewis had misjudged a Richard Tait cross.

Motherwell upped the pressure and McGhee’s men were level thanks to a quite wonderful equaliser from McDonald.

Tait’s cross from the right found the Australian on the penalty spot with his back to goal.

There seemed little danger but he brilliantly volleyed the ball over his head and it soared past the rooted Lewis, going in off the underside of the bar.

The home fans were furious when McLean’s straightforward shot was spilled by Samson and Rooney tumbled after dragging the ball past the keeper.

Replays suggested Samson had caught the forward with his knee, causing him to go down but the contact looked minimal.

Samson duly saved the controversial spot-kick but Rooney reacted quickest to lash the loose ball high into the net to restore the lead.

As Motherwell fans chanted ‘cheat’ repeatedly, Madden had a word with McGhee on the touchline.

But Motherwell had a penalty of their own when Keith Lasley was felled by Reynolds.

After a two-minute delay while the Fir Park captain had treatment, the normally deadly Moult saw his kick saved by Lewis. Andrew Considine diverted Moult’s rebound on to his own post and McDonald’s follow-up was blocked.

The knock Lasley took for the penalty meant he failed to reappear after the break. His place went to Dom Thomas.

The second half was initially a more sedate affair than the frenzied, furious first.

But Aberdeen came close to putting the game beyond the hosts when Hayes fizzed a ball across goal from the left wing that Rooney narrowly failed to reach.

Up at the other end, though, Moult nearly made amends for his spot-kick miss but his header from a Steven Hammell free-kick cannoned back off the bar.

Aberdeen defender Considine then rose to crash a header off the Motherwell crossbar as this game continued to crackle with life.

Try as they might, Motherwell could not grab an equaliser and when McGinn blasted in a late third the relief on the faces of the Aberdeen players was palpable.

On a day when Storm Barbara had threatened to wash out this match, Aberdeen — with a great dollop of controversy — had ended up blowing Motherwell away.