Match date : Saturday 7th February 1998 Competition : Premier League Attendance : 6,532
WELL GIFT UNITED WIN IN DRAB AFFAIR
Dundee United 1 Motherwell 0MOTHERWELL stuttered to another Tayside defeat on Saturday against a Dundee United side who must have thought it was their lucky day. After last week's emphatic display against Hibs, Motherwell were at their worst and the only surprise was that they didn't lose by more, mainly thanks to Stevie Woods.
The first half was the most boring affair for quite some time with neither side seemingly capable of producing anything remotely like silky football. Motherwell began with Coyne, Arnott and Coyle up front, but the spark they ignited a week before failed to light up, the whole thing being summed up perfectly when, in a rare glimpse of football, Coyne whipped a ball forward for Arnott who was clear. The conditions were far from perfect, and the normally dependable Arnott slipped at the vital moment and could only watch in anguish as the ball raced beyond him. United, playing the interestingly-named Jean Jacques Misse-Misse, did have slightly more possession than their Lanarkshire rivals, but even they could not threaten with any real conviction, either contriving to run the ball out of play or shooting wildly over the bar. Any serious attempts on goal fell mainly to United, Winters passed up an early opportunity when Woods did well to block his shot. Misse-Misse, showing good control, then had a header float just past as United broke forward at every opportunity. Olofsson then had a 25-yard free-kick, awarded rather harshly, creep just past the post. Motherwell, although able to advance towards Uniteds' goal, could not create anything remotely dangerous, and it was no surprise United broke forward again. This time Zetterlund could only head past from 10 yards out when it would have been easier to score. Skoldmark and Winters then passed up further chances, but at the interval it remained goal-less, surely encouraging Motherwell to break out of their defensive first-half mode.
Half-Time Dundee United 0 Motherwell 0IT was much the same fare for the second half when the play resumed, though United appeared more and more desperate as time went on. Winters, in great position, dallied too long in possesion allowing Newman to boot clear under pressure. It was no surprise when Winters was eventually substitued by McLaren, but before he went he had one final chance to break the stalemate. Iain Ross's back pass caught Woods out, and although Winters was first to the ball his attempted lob over the Motherwell keeper sailed high and wide of the upright. Motherwell then created their only attempt on goals during the hugely dissapointing 90 minutes. McCulloch, on for Dougie Arnott, whipped in a cross which Falconer was able to glance on wards and over Sieb Dykstra. Unfortunately for Motherwell, there was veteran defender Malaps on the line to head clear from right on the line. That was that as far as Motherwell were concerned, and to compound matters further they then contrived to gift United all three points. A long, hopeful punt up the park looked completely harmless, Eddie May looking to shepherd the ball back towards Woods. However, Woods came rushing out of his goal, and as both players almost collided with each other the ball bounced off May's shin, giving Olofsson the easiest of chances to roll the ball into the unguarded net. The ball should have been resting in row Z of the nearby Dens Park Main Stand, but nestled in the back of the Motherwell net. Misse-Misse then had an overhead kick well saved by Woods, whilst Olofsson nearly doubled his tally thanks to a great pass from Misse-Misse, but Woods again was on hand to save. That, as they say, was that, and United comfortably saw out the remaining time with Motherwell hugely disappointing after such an impressive display the week before.
FULL TIME Dundee United 1 Motherwell 0