Motherwell 2, Hibernian 1
| Match Date: Saturday, February 8 2003 |
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| Competition: Scottish Premier League | |
| Attendance: 4,999 | |
| Motherwell Team (4-4-2): |
Dubourdeau, Corrigan, Vaughan, Partridge, Hammelll, Cowan, Adams,
Leitch (Fagan 7), Pearson, Clarkson, Craig (Khemas 70).
Subs not used: Woods, Lasley, Kinniburgh.
Motherwell scorers: Clarkson (31), Fagan (41).
Booked: Adams, Cowan, Fagan.
CHARLIE THE CHUMP CAN'T STOP THE 'WELL
Motherwell 2 Hibernian 1
MORE AWFUL REFEREEING FROM Charlie Richmond couldn't stop Motherwell
climbing off the bottom of the league with a hard-fought victory over Hibs.
Some of the decisions were baffling to say the least, especially in the second half, but there was no stopping the Fir Parkers taking the points.
Motherwell were dealt an early blow when, following some meaty challenges by
Fenwick on Clarkson then O'Neill on Leitch, the latter failed to recover and
was substituted by Sean Fagan. Neither challenge was deemed a foul by the
Referee who had begun how he meant to go on. Whilst the Fir Parkers were down to 10 men O'Neill played O'Connor into the box but his weak effort was
easily cleared. O'Neill then clattered into Hammell but somehow the Hibs man got the free kick. The cross was met by Paatelainen but he headed wide
though a corner was awarded. Former Motherwell man Townsley then made an attempted back header to his keeper but was met by cheers form the home fans
when he was woefully wide giving away a corner. Then a clumsy challenge on Clarkson by Townsley gave Motherwell a free kick which was cleared. There
was a yellow card for Derek Adam's first challenge, though the dramatic collapse by Brebner appeared to convince the Referee. Motherwell regained
possession with Hammell going wide and his dangerous cross was nicked away from Clarkson as Townsley made the clearance. Brebner picked up possession
and the ball was sent through to O'Connor who, looking well offside, was allowed to continue though Dubordeau made the save. Play swung upfield with
Adams sending Pearson wide but the poor cross failed to trouble Colgan. Stranger Refereeing followed when Clarkson was clearly unfairly fouled
inside the box by Fenwick but play failed to halt. There was uproar when Zambernardi made a quite ridiculous challenge on Cowan near the dugouts. A
red card would not have been out of order but there was only to be a yellow. Motherwell responded in the best possible fashion by taking the lead.
Hammell gathered possession out wide and his pass to Pearson sent the midfielder to the left hand side of the box. Sending in a superb cross
Clarkson met it with a brilliant header to give Colgan no chance. Clarkson was then the subject of a nasty Fenwick tackle though there was no yellow
when it should have been shown.
There was a nervous moment for Motherwell when a short pass back by Craig gave O'Neill a glimpse though Dubordeau was there to clear. David Cowan was next in the book for a tackle on Zambernardi and whilst it was certainly not worthy of a booking Referee Richmond clearly though it was retaliatory. It was Zambernardi's last involvement, Hibs Manager Williamson probably saving his player a red card. From the free kick sub James curled the ball from 30+ yards into the side netting. James then took Cowan out of play but Motherwell didn't use the free kick well. The tackles were flying in and next Jack flattened Fagan but play continued. Fenwick then took Pearson from the back after the Motherwell man had nutmegged him conceding a free kick. Cleared, Motherwell returned the ball and Paatelainen's attempted clearing header found Fagan inside the box and his viscous shot gave Colgan no chance putting Motherwell two-nil up. The visiting response was an angled shot from Murray which went well wide. The Corrigan did well to clear under severe pressure from O'Connor. Motherwell should have had a corner when Pearson knocked a cross off O'Neill though Referee Richmond thought otherwise. As half-time approached Partridge was caught late by O'Connor but play continued. Partridge recovered and sent Clarkson clear but he was wrongly flagged offside. And seconds later Clarkson again was sent racing away, this time by Fagan, but once more a poor decision by the linesman denied him.
Half-Time Motherwell 2 Hibernian 0
Right at the start of the second half Vaughan was sent flying by another
robust challenge from Paatelainen who received a mere short talk from the Referee. Hibs gathered the ball and won a corner when Cowan knocked
O'Connor's ball behind. Under pressure Vaughan conceded a second which Jack headed well past. One of the game's most baffling decisions came when an
attempted long ball forward from Murray clattered off Jack and this sent Craig racing away clear on goal. Somehow, the reason known only to the
linesman, an offside flag was raised. Hibs pushed forward and after O'Connor had beaten Vaughan to the
by-line his low cut back failed to find anyone and was hooked away. Motherwell responded and Fagan send Clarkson
wide but with options his poor cross troubled no one. Brebner gained possession and
sending O'Connor wide the finish was woefully wide. Three quick fouls by Hibs saw Motherwell creep up
the pitch until the third was cleared by Townsley to Fagan and his pass wide was only just too strong
before Pearson.. Hibs then passed up a great chance when the low cross from James was missed by both O'Connor and Paatelainen. They claimed a penalty
when a dramatic dive from Paatelainen as Vaughan challenged somehow failed to con Referee Richmond. However, moments later Brebner did virtually
the same as Pearson challenged and got the free kick 35 yards out. Dubordeau came but didn't collect and the shot from Orman was blocked. Sean Fagan was
then sent writing in agony after a brutal challenge from Jack who was lucky not to be sent off for afters, rushing up to verbally abuse the Motherwell
midfielder. Jack got a yellow when it could and perhaps should have been red. Motherwell then changed
up front with Kemas making his comeback in place of Craig.
The visitors pulled a goal back when O'Connor was allowed space in the box to drive home a loose ball. Minutes after his foul on Fagan Hibs defender
Jack was late on Adams but only conceded a free kick. Dubordeau then had to look sharp to deny O'Connor as he looked to connect with the header from
Paatelainen. A terrific run from Khaled Kemas almost put Motherwell out of sight, beating man after man
his finish fell just outside the far post with Colgan well beaten. Another change by the visitors saw Jack taken off,
probably for his own good, in place of Arpinon. It was almost all square when O'Connor missed a golden opportunity when Brebner sent the ball in.
Paatelainen then gave away a free kick 8 yards out as he brought down Kemas but this was cleared. Kemas then looked to have been fouled when Murray
pulled him back but somehow Hibs got the free kick. Then Corrigan looked to have beaten
Paatelainen to the ball and cleared but he received a yellow card for his troubles. The
free kick was whipped in but Dubordeau was fouled by Brebner and he required treatment before continuing. A long ball
from Adams then had Kemas scurrying towards goal but he was crowded out just outside the box.
Kemas was left in agony soon afterwards when Murray caught him late, earning the Hibs man a caution. There was a look of disbelief
when the fourth official showed an incredible 5 minutes of injury time. O'Neill was then booked for a bad tackle on Cowan and he should have had
another seconds later when he brought Corrigan down in similar fashion. Motherwell passed up a great chance when Pearsons' run into the box saw a
shot blocked by Colgan. The ball ran wide to Kemas but he rushed a shot high and wide with Clarkson clear at the back post. Hibs made a late, late
change with O'Connor limping off in place of Reid. In the last minute of injury time there were amazing scenes down at the main stand corner flag.
Townsley was booked for a push on Clarkson. However, as Clarkson held the ball to put it in
position for a free kick Hibs goalkeeper Colgan wrestled the Motherwell man to the ground to get the ball. That should have seen him
sent off, but the Referee decided at that point only to award a free kick. However, the Linesman flagged, but Referee Richmond decided that the away
Custodian should only be booked. Seconds later, after just under 8 minutes of injury time, the final whistle finally went.
Full-Time Motherwell 2
Hibernian 1
Match Report by Ricky Mullen