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Motherwell FC News
| March 2001 |
| Saturday, March 17 |
Speaking after this afternoon's match, Billy Davies said:
"At half time I thought we were unlucky not to have scored two or three
but after the break we allowed Rangers to get on top of us. We stood off
Fernandes and allowed him to get a shot in but you have got to accept that from
younger players. I said to them that they higher up they go the more
concentrated they have got to be. They have got to learn quickly and we will
continue encouraging them as much as we can."
When asked about the performance of new signing Said Chibba, BD
added:
"He's a fair player, let's put it that way. We are obviously going to
get one or two experienced players who can keep talking to the younger players,
getting them in the right position."
Rangers won 2-1 at Fir Park this afternoon, a victory they barely deserved. As if we didn't have enough selection problems with Adams, Townsley and Kemble all suspended, both Stevie Hammel and Kevin Twaddle missed out through injury leaving Billy Davies to field a very young team. Recent signings James Okoli and Said Chibba both played the full 90 mins and can be pleased with their debuts, especially Okoli who played in defence and appears to be a bit of a long-throw specialist. Just a minute into the match, we had a good penalty claim turned down by the referee when Goodman went down in the box. However, the same player put Motherwell ahead shortly afterwards when he headed home a Chibba free-kick. Chibba himself nearly made it two when his shot was deflected onto the post. We went on to have the better of the first half and were seldom troubled by a poor Rangers side, the only disappointment being that we didn't manage to increase our lead before the interval. Early in the second half Porrini missed an absolute sitter for Rangers, and it really looked as if it was going to be our day. However, substitute Ferdandes equalised after 59 mins when the defence backed off and allowed him the space and time to send a 20-yarder past Andy Goram. Both teams went looking for a winner and we had another good penalty claim turned down Goodman was hauled back in the box. It looked like we would have to settle for a point, which was the least we deserved, but then disaster struck in the last minute. A Rangers corner wasn't properly cleared and Robert Malcolm scored from close range to give the away side an undeserved victory. Despite the defeat, there were still plenty of positives to take from the match, not least the performances of Lasley, Ramsay and McFadden in midfield and the debut of James Okoli at the back. However, with Dunfermline beating Hibs this afternoon, out chances of reaching the top six seem to have all but vanished.
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