January 2004
Saturday, January 3
5.15pm
In this afternoon’s match at Fir Park, we came from a goal behind at half time to beat Dundee United 3-1, thanks to a second half hat-trick from David Clarkson. The match saw Phil O’Donnell make his return to Fir Park when he came on as a late substitute.
Terry Butcher named the same starting eleven which drew at Tynecastle last week, with Stephen Pearson not even named among the subs.
It was poor stuff in the first half, and we went a goal down after 15 mins after conceding yet again from a free kick. United’s Wilson fired the ball round the wall and past Marshall to put the visitors 1-0 up with virtually their first shot on target. We weren’t really in the game at this point, and United could have doubled their lead on the stroke of half time when McIntyre hit the post with a header.
In not sure what TB said to the players at the interval, but the transformation was unbelievable and the entire second half was dominated by Motherwell, with the players showing urgency and commitment which was sadly lacking in the opening 45 mins. Jason Dair had an effort cleared off the line before we finally equalised after 60 mins, with Clarkson beating the offside trap and rounding the goalkeeper before slipping the ball into the net from a tight angle. His second came when he headed home a Hammell corner from around 5-yards, and the hat-trick was completed in injury time when he held off a challenge before firing past the goalkeeper. Inbetween the 2nd and 3rd goals we had further chances when Alex Burns brought a great save out of of Gallacher, and Clarkson managed to put the ball over the bar when it seemed easier to score.
I can’t finish without mentioning the hilarious antics of Dundee United’s Andy McLaren today, who completely lost the plot after being abused by the fans in the East Stand. After spitting in the direction of the Mothewell fans he proceeded to invite a whole section of the East Stand to have a square go with him, and was promptly booked for his actions. Priceless.
The win moves us back up to 5th in the league and re-opens our nice wee gap over Partick Thistle, who lost 3-2 at Easter Road today.
Team (4-4-2): Marshall, Quinn, Craigan, Corrigan, Hammell, Lasley, Adams, Leitch (O’Donnell 79), Dair, Clarkson, Burns.
Subs Not Used: Corr, McDonald, Fagan, Wright.
Booked: Hammell, Clarkson, Leitch.
Crowd: 5,549.
The worst kept secret ever is finally out. Phil O’Donnell has signed a short-term deal with the club after impressing during a four-week trial period.
Happy New Year to all Motherwell Fans!
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