Match date : Wednesday 8th October 1997 Competition : Premier League Attendance :
Motherwell scorer : Eliphas Shivute.
'WELL SLUMP AS KILLIE TAKE THE POINTS
Kilmarnock 2 Motherwell 1A LARGELY inept performance from a Motherwell side still smarting after Saturday's heavy home defeat to Hearts meant the Fir Park lost their unbeaten away record, and fell further towards the danger zone of the Premier League.
Missing influential regulars Brian Martin (injured heel) and Simo Valakari (on International Duty with Finland) Boss Alex McLeish chose to place young striker Lee McCulloch in an experimental deep midfield role. Things began well for the visitors, and in 17 minutes Motherwell swept into a deserved lead with the first real concerted effort on goal by either side. Mickey Weir played an intelligent pass out wide to Willie Falconer, and, looking up, picked out Namibian Striker Eliphas Shivute at the far side of the box. Shivute lurched forward to send a looping, powerful header over pre-match injury-doubt Lekovic in the Kilmarnock goal, and Motherwell were one-up. John Henry of Kilmarnock then almost drew his side level a bit against the run of play. Poor defensive work by McMillan allowed Nevin to set up Henry, but a brilliant save by Woods kept the Rugby Park team out on this occasion. Minutes later Motherwell should have been two goals to the good. Lady Luck decided to lay down with Kilmarnock as Tommy Coyne's first-time volley from another excellent Falconer cross smacked off the far post and away to safety. At this point there would have been little hope for Kilmarnock, however, the let-off clearly gave them a boost and seemed to deflate Motherwell. Shocking marking in the Motherwell defence allowed Burke to fire in a low cross which the unmarked Vareille, giving the defence a hard time of it, managed to knock into the net from close range. The dis-organisation of the Motherwell back four was made even clearer just six minutes later. Burke was allowed to approach the box, curl in a clever shot which cracked off the crossbar. Nevin, standing unguarded, gathered with ease, and fed the eager Burke who must have been beginning to hate wood with a vengeance as the Motherwell variety this time produced a stunning close-range save. However, being all alone in a crowded box, Burke was able to make it third-time lucky and put his team ahead. With Motherwell in total disarray, Kilmarnock almost trebled their lead just before half-time, but Wright's poor effort was saved by Woods. The Fir Parkers must have been glad to see half-time as they had gone from being in total control to hanging on.
Half-Time Kilmarnock 2 Motherwell 1Twice in the opening stages of the second-half Motherwell could and should have levelled as Alex McLeish's harsh half-time talk was still fresh in their minds. Shivute was the culprit of the wasted chances on both occasions. Firstly, he showed amazing skill inside the box to turn inside two Kilmarnock defenders, but with only Lekovic to beat, admittedly from a tight angle, he chose to curl the ball towards the far corner on the net but got too much height on the shot and it creeped agonisingly over the cross-bar. Not long afterwards, with Kilamarnock being forced into defence, Shivute found the ball at his feet 10 yards from goal, but he delayed his shot and the home rearguard was able to clear unceremoniously. Kilmarnock broke forward, but Hamilton's low cross just eluded Paul Wright as the ball sped across an empty goal. Motherwell made a double-substition on the hour mark, replacing out-of-sorts Owen Coyle and Stevie McMillan with Ian Ross and John Hendry. This lifted Motherwell somewhat, and within 7 minutes Hendry wasn't far away as Weir's cross tantilisingly fell beyond the Motherwell forward after the ex-Hibs winger had dispossessed Kerr. Near the end of the match Motherwell almost levelled, Weir again the provider as he fed Hendry 20 yards out. A former team-mate of Jurgen Kilnsmann, Hendry turned sharply to fire in a low grounder which just crept the wrong side of the post with Lekovic well beaten. That was that as far as Motherwell were concerned, though Kilmarnock wasted a great opportunity when Wright, in front of an open goal, ballooned the ball way over when some cool thinking would have seen him trap the ball, and roll it over the line. Right at the close Motherwell forced a couple of corners, but the home defence held out for a crucial win, and Motherwell trooped off to a barrowload of disenchantment from their weary fans.
Full-Time Kilmarnock 2 Motherwell 1