Late Scobbie header gives Motherwell a hint of déjà vu
FOR the first time on Saturday, as Tam Scobbie’s last-gasp header gave St Johnstone victory over Motherwell at McDiarmid Park, Mark McGhee and his players conceded that there might be more than just serendipity about their propensity to concede last-gasp goals.
There was certainly a sense of the inevitable as Simon Lappin lined up his free-kick delivery from the left flank, and it was no real surprise as the sixth last-minute goal shipped by Motherwell in just 10 matches settled in Connor Ripley’s onion bag via Scobbie’s head.
Until now, there has almost been a reluctance to admit the pattern that was undoubtedly emerging, perhaps out of a sense of preventing it becoming a selffulfilling prophecy. Now though, there is no doubt that this weakness must be addressed head-on if the Lanarkshire side are to drag themselves away from the looming spectre of a second-successive relegation play-off.
It had all started so well for the visitors as Louis Moult’s header from James McFadden’s corner gave them the lead after half an hour, but the striker’s 11th league goal of the season was but a distant memory by the time he dejectedly slouched in to address the press after the game. His body language spoke volumes as the frustration of where his side might currently be sitting in the table if they were able to bolt the back door in added time hit home.
He said: “I have looked at it and we would be in the top four if we hadn’t conceded those late goals.
“There’s no point in saying that as anyone can say that, it’s what happens on the pitch that matters.
“It’s happened to us quite a few times this season and it’s been happening often in the last few weeks.
“It’s a horrible, horrible feeling and makes me sick to the stomach.
“If the gaffer thinks it’s a mental thing when it happens that often then maybe it is. As a player you need to keep going until the final whistles blows.
“There are a few things which have led to the goal and it comes down to game management. We need to be cleverer in what we do.
“It was a sense of ‘here we go again’. It’s happened in so many weeks on the trot with the exception of the Dundee United game and it’s not a nice feeling.”
There seemed to be many inside the ground who sensed that when St Johnstone were presented with the set-piece situation late on, there was only going to be one outcome. Moult denied though that the Motherwell players were among them.
“It’s never in my head that we are going to concede as I’m always positive,” he said. “If you think you are going to concede then you more or less will.
“I don’t think any of the lads were thinking that as we always back ourselves but it just wasn’t to be.”
There were no such worries for St Johnstone, who showed great character to come back and snatch what was perhaps a deserved victory in the end considering the miserable run they themselves have endured recently.
This was the first time they had tasted victory in 10 matches, and it was thanks in no small part to a man-of-the-match performance from David Wotherspoon, who smacked in a wonderful swerving effort from the edge of the box to drag his side level just before half time.
In between the goals, the quality of the game rested somewhere south of mediocrity, but for Scobbie and his teammates that mattered little as they chalked up their first home triumph since early November.
“It was an unbelievable feeling to get that goal, the three points, and get that monkey right off our backs,” he said.
“You never go through a season that’s all plain sailing, it always ebbs and flows and you get ups and downs.
“Today’s game was massive, and when you look at the other results as well it keeps us in the hunt behind Ross County.
“From a personal point of view it was my man that scored for Motherwell, so I felt I had to redeem myself and pull us out of the s**t, you might say.
“It was a great result for us, especially considering the run we were on, so hopefully this can kick us on going into Tuesday against Partick Thistle and the rest of the season.
“It was a huge relief and the manager said that after the game as well. To go one down, especially considering the run we were on, a lot of teams might have crumbled and gone two or three behind.
“With the characters we have in the dressing room and the experience we have we knew how to get out of it. We could have sat back and taken the draw, but we felt that we could go on and win the game.”