No style or guile as Staggies upstage
MOTHERWELL fans wer e somewhat spoiled last season as they reached two cup finals, but they better have cherished those memories. The closest manager Stephen Robinson will get to the national stadium this year is if he is cited again by the compliance officer.
The Premiership side were bundled out of the Scottish Cup by Championship leaders Ross County and, in truth, you would have thought it was the visitors to Fir Park who were the ones from the higher level.
A second-half double from Brian Graham gave the Staggies a win that was thoroughly deserved. Gone was the fight and the battle that became the hallmark of success for Robinson’s team last term, and Jake Hastie’s late consolation flattered them.
Robinson is attempting to alter the style of play that became his side’s hallmark for something a little easier on the eye, and there was a sense of anticipation in the air to see what new signings Gboly Ariyibi and, in particular, Ross McCormack could bring to the Steelmen. What the home crowd witnessed, though, was a mish-mash of those philosophies that ended up producing neither.
“We’re trying to do things a little bit differently and we’ve brought players in that will hopefully be able to implement that as we go on,” said Robinson. “But you could have put Ronaldo and Messi up front, and if the service into them isn’t good enough and people don’t take responsibility to get on the ball, then it’s difficult.
“It’s up to me to get that combination right and we didn’t today, so I’ll take the blame.
“We took massive steps last year. I’m a victim of my own success and the club’s success. Expectations have gone way above and beyond what they should be.”
County started much the sharper, with Michael Gardyne in particular posing problems for the Motherwell backline. But there was very little to get excited about in the opening 45.
The home fans were dealt a blow with the news that McCormack had to go off at the interval, with Curtis Main coming on for the ring-rusty attacker.