Motherwell 1, Hibernian 3
| Match Date: Saturday, September 8 2001 |
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| Competition: Scottish Premier League | |
| Attendance: 5,784 | |
| Motherwell Team (3-5-2): |
Brown, Ready, Corrigan, Forrest, Twaddle (Hammell 46), Adams (Nicholas 46),
Leitch, Pearson, Dow, Kelly (Tarrant 75), Elliott.
Subs not used: Woods, Lasley.
Motherwell scorer: Kelly (13 pen).
Yellow Cards: Twaddle, Nicholas.
MOTHERWELL LOST FOR THE FIRST TIME At Fir Park this season in a game, on chances missed, they should have taken something from. Those squandered chances and some questionable refereeing combined to send them to their seventh game without a win, with the pressure on Manager Billy Davies increasing.
It was Motherwell who came close inside the first minute but there were no takers for Kelly's flick on to the cross from Twaddle. Soon after Hibs had a corner when De La Cruz fired in a 25 yarder which deflected of Ready. Brewster in acres of space managed to mis-hit his shot leaving Mark Brown with little difficulty in turning the ball over the bar. David Kelly was to have quite a game, mainly for the wrong reasons, and he passed up a great opportunity to give the home side the lead when, clear in the box, he chose to pass inside instead of forcing at least a save from the keeper and the ball was knocked behind for a corner. Motherwell were taking the game to Hibs with the impressive Pearson battling in midfield. He set up Leitch for a 25-yard effort which was well held by Colgan. High feet by O'Neill was ignored by Referee Dougall allowing Hibs to break with De La Cruz's eventual shot going wide. It was, however, Motherwell, who took a deserved lead on 13 minutes. Stuart Elliott was hauled back in the box by Smith giving Dougall no alternative but to point to the spot. Up stepped Kelly and he made no mistake with the penalty kick. The lead was somewhat short-lived and it was another penalty which levelled the scoreline. Laursen raced into the box and as Kevin Twaddle challenged Laursen needed no second offer to crash to the ground. Dougall immediately awarded a penalty and the silky Sauzee scored low to Brown's left. Hibs began to take the advantage, forcing a couple of corners. Hesitation by Corrigan allowed McManus to make his way into the box though Karl Ready was able to get across in time to block and clear. Space afforded to Laursen saw him slip the ball to De La Cruz and his shot was well held by Brown. Motherwell had some respite when Smith brought Elliott down near the corner flag. Andy Dow set up Twaddle but his shot from the edge of the box went over. A poor clearance by Smith fell to Dow soon after but with time to pull the ball down he chose to hit it first time and it went well over. A dive by Jack then conned Dougall into booking Twaddle, with Sauzee curling a long-range shot just past though Brown had it covered. Just after the half-hour Hibs were awarded another penalty. It was Jack again, challenged by an outstretched leg from Leitch and whilst there looked to have been little if any contact the fall again convinced Dougall. However, justice was done when Sauzee's take was brilliantly blocked by Brown and cleared. There was anger soon after when McManus appeared to lead with the elbow in an arial challenge with Leitch. Both players went down injured, though McManus came off worse and was stretchered off to be replaced by Luna, Leitch recovering after treatment. Dow was then forced to concede a corner following Orman's run out wide. Corrigan cleared to Pearson and his pass found Elliott, but the low ball was turned behind by Laursen though that corner also came to nothing. Motherwell should have regained the lead five minutes from the interval but an awful miss ended up costing them dearly. Leitch sent Elliott wide and his cross was sent behind by Kelly from just yards out with the goal gaping. De La Cruz then made the by-line as Hibs attacked though the resultant Brewster header was over. The home defence were still keen on giving the visitors room though H11 should have done better than seeing Brown gather his header. Hesitancy by Sauzee gave Kelly a chance just on the interval but the eventual cross from Adams was cleared by Fenwick.
The Fir Parkers made a double substitution to begin the second half, Twaddle and Adams making way for Nicholas and Hammel. The kick-off had to be taken three times due the encroaching of Brewster, though he escaped a booking. Motherwell had the first chance from a free-kick but Elliott headed over the bar. Three minutes into the half and another contentious decision gave Hibs the lead. It looked to have been a fair challenge by Ready to win the ball from Brewster but Referee Dougall thought otherwise. Perfect distance for Sauzee, and no-one could argue with his finish from the free-kick to give his team the lead. A minute later Jack's luck ran out when one dive too many, as he tried to gain a third penalty, saw him gather a yellow card. Brewster, however, continued to run lucky and his blatant trip on Hammel only carried a free-kick award. Dow crossed long for Ready to knock into the path of Kelly who, despite turning well, again missed badly from near the goal. Hibs pushed forward though Orman should have been penalised for a tug on Hammel. Play was waved on with Ready having to make the important interception to clear. O'Neill was then lucky to stay on the park when his studs-in challenge on Nicholas carried only yellow. A run by De La Cruz, with players backing off, took him over 50 yards though eventually Ready got in a clearance. A neat one-two with De La Cruz and Luna was only broken up with the intervention of Dow who conceded the corner as Hibs looked to step things up. Another soft free-kick. Given when Orman made the most of a Corrigan challenge, gave Hibs a healthy advantage. The cross in broke off Luna right into the path of Fenwick and he drilled a low shot beyond Brown for 1-3. Brewster then shot wide from 25 yards and it was his last involvement as Smart took his place on the field, Motherwell then replacing the off-form Kelly with Neil Tarrant. From another away corner De La Cruz got the break of the ball near the box and his shot was well held by Brown in goal. A loose back-pass by Fenwick almost gave Elliott a chance though Colgan was quick to race from his goal to knock the ball out wide. There was a booking for Fenwick after his late tackle on Elliott though once again the free-kick was wasted. Another rash tackle, this time from Sauzee, gave Motherwell another opportunity and only the bar stopped them taking advantage of the situation. Nicholas picked up the loose ball inside the box and his shot cracked off the crossbar with the rebound striking Sauzee on the arm before being claimed by Colgan, though had a penalty been awarded it would have been somewhat soft. Hibs then had a chance when Smart shot from 25 yards but Brown held well. The last opportunity fell to Motherwell, Smith bringing down Elliott on the run but in keeping with most things in the match communication let the home team down.