 |
|
| |
|
St Johnstone 1, Motherwell 1
Match date : Saturday, January 22 2000 Competition : Premier League Attendance : 4,158
Motherwell Team:
Goram, Doesburg (Corrigan 34), Denham, Kemble, McMillan, Townsley (Nevin 45), Davies, Valakari, Twaddle (Nicholas 66), Goodman, Spencer.Motherwell scorer: McMillan (85).
STEVIE'S SCREAMER SNATCHES SCORE-DRAW FOR WELL
Saint Johnstone 1 Motherwell 1A THUNDERBOLT FROM STEVIE McMillan gained a valuable point for Motherwell in their quest for a UEFA Cup place. As time began to drift away the full-back strode forward to leave Main with no chance to leave honours even.
Motherwell began the match in positive fashion, and John Spencer was denied only by a timely interception by Griffin as he looked certain to strike. Griffin then was slack with a forward ball and Denham nicked into supply Davies. His ball to Spencer was flicked in the direction of Goodman but he was behind the ball and the chance was lost. The Perth side attacked with Lowndes threatening, but on this occasion the dependable Kemble made a good clearance. A poor clearance by McMillan looked like being taken by Lowndes, but he in turn was denied by Denham's tackle. A moment of controversy saw Spencer's flick knocked high by Griffin into Main's arms, but with Motherwell claiming a pass-back Referee Brown waved play-on. Spencer then made a well-timed run from behind Griffin and onto McMillan's long-ball only for the stand-side linesman to raise his flag incorrectly. New-boy Jones was booked when he was very late with a challenge on Townsely on the half-way line. Another wrongly given offside decision denied Spencer as once again he beat the offside trap but was hauled back. Saint Johnstone broke forward but just as it looked like the move was about to break down McMillan's weak clearance was pounced upon by Lowndes. His shot was well saved by Goram. Play swept to the other end and after McCluskey had allowed a pass to go astray Motherwell took a quick throw-in. Twaddle raced to the bye-line and his cross-cum-shot was very well taken by Main. The home keeper then had to look sharp as Weir's poor pass-back only just evaded Goodman. Motherwell were on top at this point and Twaddle raced clear of the defence. Just when a shot was on he supplied Spencer and he was blocked by McBride's lunge at the expense of a corner. Main punched the effort out, though Goodman flicked back in for Spencer, and as he tried to turn in the box Griffin cleared. On the quarter-hour a finger tip clearance by Main denied a certain Spencer goal as the ball was crossed in by Twaddle. Play swung to the Motherwell box and McMillan was again slack allowing O'Halloran in, Goram again coming to the visitor's rescue with a great tip round the post. Don Goodman then passed up two good opportunities when firstly, latching onto Bollan's error, he put in a poor cross, then again Bollan was at fault though Goodman failed to react. Jones was then lucky to stay on the park when he caught Goodman after the striker had played the ball upfield, incredibly Referee Brown awarded only a free-kick to Motherwell. Twaddle and Goodman combined well to set up Doesburg but he was a good few feet over from his first goal for the Fir Parkers. The teams were exchanging chances though the marking was suspect as Jones rose unopposed to head Bollan's cross over. The busy Spencer sent Twaddle scurrying to the bye-line and with Goodman and Davies in front of goal both somehow managed to miss the low cross. The visitors were denied a fair shout for a penalty when Griffin barged Goodman in the box. Saint Johnstone raced forward and as Denham slipped up Lowndes went one-on-one with Goram, the Goalie making an excellent low save to knock the ball away. Motherwell were forced into an early substitution after half-an-hour. Denham made a great b lock from Jones' shot, and as the ball bobbed around McBride rattled a shot which deflected wickedly up into Doesburg's face. The Dutch defender slumped to the ground with what was later diagnosed a broken nose and concussion, and that meant an early debut for recent signing Martyn Corrigan. Once play resumed it took a quite stunning save from Goram to keep Motherwell on the level. Lowndes rose to head goalwards and the Goalie leapt to his right to palm the ball away, holding Jones' follow-up. It was close at the other end too, Kemble heading narrowly over the bar. Townsley then mis-hit a Twaddle cross but there were no takers as the ball bobbled around the penalty spot. The tackle from behind, according to UEFA rules, means a red card, though Referee Brown had clearly decided to ignore this as he allowed Weir to go unpunished after he raked Spencer down. The home side took the lead, and it was a well-worked move which led to an all-too easy finish. A six-man move ended with McBride's cross being slotted away by Jones, with Denham eventually arriving all too late. O'Halloran then pounced on slack midfield play but he was denied with Denham clearing. As half-time beckoned Motherwell were denied when Weir's bad challenge on Goodman was ignored.
Half time Saint Johnstone 1 Motherwell 0Motherwell made a second substitution prior to the re-start when Nevin replaced the ineffective Townsley. The visitors were in disarray at the start of the second half with Jones taking advantage of space to curl towards goal, Goram clutching the ball. It took Motherwell five minutes to get any constructive moves together, and it almost led to an equaliser. Twaddle sent in a cross which beat Main but struck the cross-bar and was headed behind by Weir for a corner. Better play by the Fir Park side led to Twaddle making room to cross but the poor effort was easily dealt with. Goodman was then clearly barged Bollan but a penalty was definetly the last thing on Referee Brown's mind. Corrigan, having a quiet debut, combined with Nevin but the latter was unlucky when Mc Bride managed to get in a foot to block the shot. Lowndes and Jones almost combined to effect themselves when, with Greg Denham slow to react, Lowndes crossed into the middle, Kemble however was on hand to head away. Denham, making only his third start from a year off through injury, was lacking for pace and Lowndes burst into the box only for Goram to again save well. Loose play in the home box allowed Twaddle a chance but he almost cleared the roof of the stand with his shot. Pat Nevin was making a difference to Motherwell as they attacked, his vision picking out Valakari who crossed. Goodman beat Main to the ball but headed over. The McDairmid men were forced to make a substitution when Lowndes limped off to be replaced by Simao. Twenty minutes in Motherwell were denied another penalty claim when this time Davies was knocked to the ground by Bollan. Simao took advantage of the poor Refereeing decision to race forward though this time Denham made a great block to deny Jones as he shot towards goal. Seconds later Twaddle made way for the ever-improving Nicholas. Motherwell, although seeing enough ball, were lacking in the final execution of each move, and as Saint Johnstone broke forward looked likely to concede again, with O'Halloran heading over from a free position in the box. It took a double-block by Denham and Kemble to deny Simao soon after. Poor judgement by Jones then denied his side a second goal when Simao had ran from the half-way line, slipped the ball through, and Jones was caught off-side. Simo Valakari was then unfortunate to be booked when he made a clean tackle to win the ball from O'Halloran. There was some humour when Benito Kemble stumbled whilst taking the ball out of his own defence, with Referee brown incredibly awarding the Motherwell player a free-kick with no-one near him. Some quick-thinking by Goram almost set Nicholas up but his effort went over. Book-happy Brown then yellow-carded Kemble for no more than a soft challenge on Simao. A Pat Nevin free-kick was knocked inches over by Davies as Motherwell sought an equaliser. Motherwell were beginning to come back into things, Dods dangerous cross was cut-out by Denham and Motherwell broke forward. Nevin burst into the box, supplied Spencer, and he side-stepped Weir. Just as the striker was about to shoot he appeared to be caught by the defender, with Referee Brown siding with the home side to the extent he booked Spencer for an alleged dive. With five minutes to go Motherwell did draw level. Goodman won a corner off Bollan, Kemble dummied it on the edge of the box, and McMillan sent a scorcher from 25 yards giving Main no chance. Both sides had chances to win, McBride curling a shot just over then Spencer latching onto a loose ball to lob inches over the bar. A brilliant Kemble tackle then stopped McBride from shooting, with McMillan making a great clearance. Motherwell raced upfield, Spencer slipped the ball into the path of McMillan, and he shot only just past the post. As time ran out Nicholas was pushed off the ball in the box by Weir, though unsurprisingly no penalty was awarded. However, time did run out, and Motherwell extended their unbeaten away form to eight matches in the league.
Full Time Saint Johnstone 1 Motherwell 1