Match date : Friday 2nd April 1998 Competition : Friendly Attendance : 1,500
MOTHERWELL gained a valuable confidence-boosting win over first-division strugglers Partick at a deserted Firhill on Friday evening. Both teams fielded full-strength line-ups, though Motherwell were missing a few first-team regulars and recent acquistion Mats Lundgren who had been injured the previous evening in a reserve outing.
After a quiet opening few minutes, Motherwell quickly took control and began to press Partick in search of the opener. With Stefan Lindqvist controlling the defence, early on Motherwell were rarely threatened. The Partick keeper, Lindsay Hamilton, almost gifted Motherwell the lead with a poor kick-out though Iain Ross's attempted volley fell the wrong side of the post. The impressive Stevie McMIllan then sent a terrific through ball for Owen Coyle, but the latter, who turned his marker brilliantly, saw his 16-yard effort well saved. Partick managed to put together their first attack in the 19th minute. A promising Motherwell attack broke down, and the home side swept forward. Partick's Lyons fired in a shot which whistled just past debutant Scott Thomson's goal. Lee McCulloch set up Owen Coyle who sent in a powerful header, but it was well saved. Motherwell were pushing Partick back, and after another great run from McMillan, Coyle's shot was desperately blocked for a fruitless corner. Good play by the home side saw Machlin clear on the right, and with only Thomson to beat he rounded the keeper only to hit his shot into the side netting when it would have been easier to score. The little spell of home pressure saw Henderson fire in a 30-yarder which Thomson held easily, and Partick were then made to pay for failing to score with some gift-wrapped defending. Watson's attempted header back to Hamilton sailed over the keeper's head and fell for Tommy Coyne, and from a tight angle he shot Motherwell ahead. It was almost two minutes later, Owen Coyle's shot took a wicked deflection and fell just the wrong side of the bar. The game then took a lull before the unlikely figure of Kevin Christie sparked life back into the game with a wonder goal. Great work by Simo Valakari allowed Christie to enter the box by the corner flag. Somehow, Christie then managed to score with a cross-cum-shot which looped over Hamilton and into the net. Undoubtedly the highlight of the match, and Christie almost repeated the effort early in the second half.
Half-Time Partick Thistle 0 Motherwell 2Motherwell began the second half with Shaun McSkimming on for Tommy Coyne, and the sub, impressing, made an immediate impact. Shrugging off several challaneges, McSkimming burst into the box to drive beyond the keeper and effectively finish the match as a contest. Soon after more good work by the super Sub saw Ross fire in an 18-yard shot which bounced inches past the post. On the our mark Motherwell made two further substitutions, the highly-impressive Lindqvist made way for the classy Garcin, and veteran John Philliben swapped places for Steven Craigan. The changes unsettled Motherwell for a spell, and Partick had their best moments at this point. Sub Dunne really should have done better than to head over from the penalty spot, then Stirling shot wildly over from an even better position as Motherwell struggled to adapt to the changes. However, normal service was soon resumed and a McSkimming drive scraped the post as Motherwell began to re-assert their authority. The miss of the match came on 67 minutes, and fortunately for Ian Ross, there was no television to record the incident. Great bulid-up play by Motherwell saw Garcin send Ross clear on goal. After rounding Hamilton, he then inexplicably dallied allowing several Partick defenders to get back to block his eventual attempted cross. McCulloch and Coyle then had shots which went close, before Coyle got his name on the scoresheet with Motherwell's fourth. Garcin, contiually prompting and probing, slipped through a perfect pass for Coyle to latch on to. Taking the ball in his stride he slotted it under Hamilton and into the back of the empty net. Partick almost pulled a goal back when a cross from Watson curled onto the post, but that was as close as Partick were to come. Right at the end Lee McCulloch almost scored with a 25-yard shot. The Referee brought proceedings to an end bang-on 90 minutes. A useful exercise for Motherwell, and credit to Partick for ensuring the match was played in a competative but good-spirited manner.
FULL TIME Partick Thistle 0 Motherwell 4