Robinson’s like cat with the cream as his Steelmen purr
MOTHERWELL won a third successive Premiership match for the first time in 17 months as they put a lethargic Kilmarnock side to the sword.
The Steelmen made it eight victories from 10 league and cup fixtures in a contest where they could easily have had a far greater winning margin.
Afterwards manager Stephen Robinson looked like a man who would need to have his grin surgically removed as he heaped praise upon his players.
‘I thought we dominated the whole game if I’m being honest,’ he claimed. ‘Our decision-making in the first half wasn’t as good, I was trying to get them to be a little more patient and make that extra pass because we were hitting too many diagonal balls.
‘But we corrected that at half time and our substitutes made a big impact. My players were winning all the second balls but we added quality to that in the second half.
‘It’s not me who makes the difference during games — it’s the players who come on. We have a squad that I can turn round and do something different with.
‘Last season, I felt our team picked itself at times, which isn’t healthy. You need competition to keep people on top of their game.’
Ryan Bowman had an early opportunity to break the deadlock but he failed to gain enough purchase on his diving header, which drifted wide.
At the other end, former Well winger Dom Thomas wreaked havoc down the left flank and cut the ball back for Eamonn Brophy, whose low drive was parried superbly by Trevor Carson.
Killie came even closer in the 36th minute when Gordon Greer’s header slammed back off the bar.
It was a different story when the teams returned after the break. Well took control, with Moult showing why he is one of the most coveted strikers in the league.
He was denied twice by the quick reactions of Jamie MacDonald, once from a free-kick and again from a Richard Tait cutback, while another volley was just inches wide of the far post.
Kilmarnock could not hold out indefinitely, however, and fell behind midway through the second period.
Well substitute Gael Bigirimana produced a defence-splitting pass which Bowman latched on to before firing high past a helpless MacDonald from inside the box.
The visitors never looked like levelling and Motherwell gave the scoreline a more accurate reflection when they added a second in the dying moments.
Chris Cadden’s galloping run down the right was about to be tapped home by Bowman when Iain Wilson brought him down.
Bobby Madden immediately pointed to the spot and Moult stepped up to slam home his fifth goal of the season.
Kilmarnock manager Lee McCulloch made no attempt to dress up what had been a substandard display.
He said: ‘Motherwell were the better team, they were more aggressive and won second balls.
‘We came back into the game without creating any chances. The second half performance wasn’t really good enough.’