Newell is primed to replace hero Moult
A 100-PER-CENT record. Completed, truth be told, in considerably less than top gear.
Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson had described a fourth win out of four in Group F of the Betfred Cup and a seeded spot in the last 16 as the ‘be-all and end-all’ and duly got what he desired thanks to a strike from substitute Elliott Frear eight minutes from time.
However, much of the first hour, in particular, was underwhelming and there was one outstanding negative to counteract the fact that Robinson is already beginning to harbour ambitious hopes he may have uncovered an eventual successor to striker Louis Moult whenever he happens to move on.
Stevie Hammell went off injured on six minutes to be replaced by matchwinner Frear. There are concerns he has torn his hamstring and he will certainly miss Sunday’s Premiership visit of Rangers.
However, the impending return of Ben Heneghan from injury eases personnel concerns and has left Robinson time to dwell on the impression left by 20-year-old George Newell, son of former Blackburn and Aberdeen forward Mike, since arriving at Fir Park from a spell at Bolton.
Given his debut as a replacement for Craig Tanner with 18 minutes to go, he was initially marked down for a place in the Under-20s squad, but is most certainly making his manager think twice.
‘George was terrific and sharp when he came on,’ said Robinson. ‘He is way ahead of where everyone thought he would be and he actually reminds me of Moulty.
‘He is of course very young and inexperienced, but he has talent, awareness and a real eye for goal.
‘We are not putting too much pressure on him, but we are delighted to have him.’
Robinson was somewhat less than delighted by Hammell’s predicament. ‘He had a slight niggle before the game and told everybody he was fit, so that is disappointing,’ said the Northern Irishman. Hammell’s early departure from the fray forced Robinson into a change of formation — taking Carl McHugh out of the centre of midfield and switching from a back three to a back four with Charles Dunne going out left.
Perhaps it was this unplanned switch that set Motherwell back.
Maybe it was just a case of players subconsciously putting the tools away with top spot in the group tied up before kick-off. Whatever the reason, Motherwell never really looked like going on the kind of goal sprees that marked their first two games in the competition.
They started with six of their summer arrivals with Alex Fisher also introduced to the play to replace Moult, still recovering from groin surgery, on the hour, but the game had descended into a little bit of a struggle by then.
Andrew Rose did see an early effort from a Chris Cadden corner cleared off the line, but Berwick had an opportunity of their own just before the quarter-hour mark when Aaron Murrell, something of a pest during his 65 minutes on the park, moved onto a long ball over the top and fluffed his shot from a good position inside the area.
Moult and Rose both put headers over the crossbar before the interval and, early in the second period, Moult saw a decent angled shot pushed wide by on-loan Rangers keeper Robby McCrorie.
Dunne saw a header from a Frear corner somehow nodded over by Darren Lavery and it looked like ending in stalemate when a shot from Cadden was deflected high into the air, outfoxed McCrorie under his own crossbar and was bundled into the net 11 minutes from time — only for referee Stephen Finnie to chalk off the goal for a foul on the keeper.
Frear was not to be denied, though, and was in the right place at the right time to convert from around 12 yards after a cross from the right from Cadden was pushed into his path by McCrorie.
The nippy winger could also have had a penalty towards the end.
It looked for all the world as though Fleming had brought him down in the area as he homed in on goal. Finnie and his linesman Kevin McElhinney disagreed.
‘There were a lot of positives, but there is still a lot more to come,’ said Robinson. ‘Elliott was terrific and changed the game. We put another load of crosses in and that is the pleasing aspect for me.
‘I think we’ve put in 80 or 90 crosses in the last two games.
‘We are getting the ball wide early, delivering them in and you just have to take your chances to make games easier.’