Match date : Saturday 25th October 1997 Competition : Premier league Attendance : 6,065
Motherwell scorer : Billy Davies (62).
FOUR-IN-A-ROW 'WELL HIT ROCK BOTTOM
Motherwell 1 Aberdeen 2MOTHERWELL suffered their fourth straight defeat to free-fall to the bottom of the Premier League after Aberdeen snatched a controversial late winner at Fir Park.
The home side were minus Tommy Coyne who was with Eire, whilst Brain Martin, Willie Falconer, Eddie May and Shaun McSkimming joined Dougie Arnott on the treatment table. This forced Manager McLeish to field Trialist Gunni Johnnson from I A Akranes of Iceland alongside John Philliben in central defence. The first-half was a major disappointment for the home support who have suffered of late, with Aberdeen having the best of possession and missing a number of chances. Early on Rowson had a shot from 18 yards which Woods saved well, but this merely delayed the opener which came on 9 minutes. Motherwell lost possession when Owen Coyle's attempted pass to Weir fell short, allowing Glass to play a long ball to Windass. Despite being the only Dons player in attack, he cut inside Philliben to slot the ball wide of Woods. Windass then showed the ugly side of his game, and he can count himself lucky not to have been red-carded when, following a tackle by Johnnson, the former Hull striker deliberately kicked the Icelander in the face as he lay on the ground. Amazingly, Johnnson was booked for what was his first real challenge which, although a touch late, was not a serious tackle, whereas Windass was certainly guilty of intent. Aberdeen continued to attack as Motherwell failed to lift their game, Anderson shooting narrowly past with Windass just failing to connect. Some more poor defending by Motherwell gave Windass a great chance following a Glass cross, but his effort flew just over as Aberdeen attempted to finish the match. A rare Motherwell attack saw Christie send Hendry off up the wing, but the reliable Tzetanov intercepted to clear. The visitors swept up the park, and following a foul on Glass, Windass sent the kick inches past from 30 yards out. All the Aberdeen chances appeared to be falling to Windass, though he should have done better than to send his next effort into the side netting from Jess's cross. Motherwell appeared to perk up somewhat when Shivute was introduced for the injured Weir on 39 minutes, adding some much-needed speed and bite to the relatively quiet Motherwell attack. Philliben's long ball was looped goal-wards by Coyle, and though Leighton collected, Hendry received Leighton's wrath when the former Tottenham man snapped away, and to be fair to Hendry the ball was still on the ground. The final effort of a hugely disappointing half for the Motherwell support fell unsurprisingly to Aberdeen, Woods making a good save from Rowsons' long-ranger.
Half-Time Motherwell 0 Aberdeen 1
THe half-time pep-talk seemed to have worked wonders for Motherwell as they came out a transformed side. Indeed, they won the ball within seconds of Aberdeen kicking-off. McMillan supplied Shivute, and only a timely tackle by Glass stopped the Namibian Ace from a clear run on goal. The leniency of Referee Allison towards Aberdeen continued when Bernard's challenge on McCulloch was only punished with a free-kick when Bernard should have been at least cautioned. >From the award, Shivute's head-flick was only cleared by the Away defence as far as Hendry, and he was only prevented from scoring his first Fir Park goal by the acrobatics of Jim Leighton. Motherwell continued to press, with Shivute at the heart of most things. Picking the ball up on the touchline, 30 yards inside his own half, he sped down the wing evading successive desparing challenges before his low cross was booted clear by Koumbarre for a throw. It was all Motherwell at this point, and the introduction of Davies added to the problems Motherwell were causing for Aberdeen. Philliben picked out Coyle at the far side of the box, and his low cross in was met by Leighton just before Hendry was able to pounce. It was Aberdeen's turn to have a rare attack, and from the free-kick awarded following Valakari's challenge on Glass, Windass almost squeezed the ball through for Jess but Woods saved. Johnnson, playing well in his centre-back role, combined with McMillan and Shivute to give McCulloch a shooting chance, but his 25 yard shot was beaten down by Leighton. The gangly keeper then excelled himself by tipping over Coyle's curler as Motherwell turned the screw. However, Motherwell's hard efforts were to be rewarded on 62 minutes. Shivute sped down the wing after a Hendry pass, and as he cut inside Smith, Davies slammed home the resultant pass inside to level the match. Seconds later Motherwell almost sensationally took the lead. Valakari's free-kick was flapped at by Leighton, and Colye, who reacted almost instantaneously, saw his shot blocked by the keeper when he could have taken the time which was available. Gilles, on for Newell, almost put Aberdeen ahead again when his shot cracked off the post and was cleared. Miller then shot greedily over as Aberdeen attempted to regain the lead, closely followed by a Windass shot which he blazed over from a great position. A draw would have been just about right given Aberdeen's domination of the first-half and Motherwell's spirited comeback in the second, but a controversial award in the 5th minute of injury time (where the Referee had got this from is anyone's guess as there were no serious injuries second-half) handed the Granite City men all three points. Windass, on the edge of the box, cut inside Johnnson and as the Icelander challenged again Windass went down like the proverbial stack of bricks. His fall was convincing, and a penalty was awarded, though from the side it looked dubious. Windass himself took the kick, and whilst Woods blocked, the Englishman followed up to steal victory. Several Aberdeen players jumped the perimeter advertising but despite this previously leading to an automatic booking, the Referee totally ignored this. The game ended on an ugly note when a Motherwell "fan" ran onto the park and allegedly struck Jim Leighton. Thankfully, Leighton recoverd and received a round of applause from the Home support.
FULL TIME Motherwell 1 Aberdeen 2