Stranraer v Motherwell 22.03.03
Stranraer 0, Motherwell 4
| Match Date: Saturday, March 19 2003 | |
| Competition: Scottish Cup Quarter Final | |
| Attendance: 4,500 | |
| Motherwell Team (4-4-2): |
Dubourdeau, Corrigan, Vaughan, Partridge (Cowan), Hammell, Lasley, Adams, Leitch (Fagan), Pearson, McFadden (Clarkson), Lehmann.
Subs not used: Woods, Craig.
Yellow Cards: None!
SUPER WELL SAIL INTO SEMI-FINALS
Stranraer 0 Motherwell 4
MOTHERWELL MOVED INTO THEIR FIRST SEMI-FINAL Since 1991 by disposing of Stranraer at a sunny Stair Park. There was little doubt from the moment Wright put through his own goal after half-an-hour and the Fir Parkers went on to record their third successive Cup tie without conceding a goal.
In front of over three thousand Motherwell fans the Fir Parkers began with a free kick when Pearson was fouled by Wright. Up stepped Adams though Hillcoat was equal to his effort. Lasley and Lehmann then combined to slip a ball through for McFadden though he was just beaten to the ball by Wright. Some slack play from Vaughan then allowed Moore to connect with Wingate’s cross but he put the ball wide. Motherwell hadn’t learned from that and a minute later Wingate sent Farrell wide and his pass put Finlayson in a good position but his cross was poor. Vaughan took possession and picked out McFadden with a good long pass but as the Motherwell striker shot for goal the ball struck Wright but there was no corner. Seconds later Vaughan had to concede a corner to Stranraer but was on hand to clear and set McFadden away. He ran to about 30 yards out and was fouled by Wright but again Referee McDonald decided there was no foul. Dubordeau and Vaughan then had a mix-up which allowed a cross from Jenkins to almost reach Harty though Hammel knocked the ball behind. Partridge cleared the ball for Corrigan and his cross was headed towards goal by Lehmann. However, Stranraer cleared and it was Finlayson who raced away. He made it to the Motherwell box but Dubordeau easily saved his shot. Finlayson then almost picked out Harty only for Vaughan to nip in and knock the ball away. His defensive partner Partridge then sent the ball behind for a corner as Harty hovered though it was well cleared.
Returning to action was Captain Scott Leitch and he set in motion a neat move. Hammel received the ball but his cross was too close to Hillcoat. McFadden and Corrigan were then crowded out on the edge of the box and the Stranraer defence stood firm. There was a flare-up when Wingate appeared to have a go at Leitch but Referee McDonald chose only to award a free kick. Motherwell upped the pressure and Lasley and Hammel combined with the former firing in a shot which Hillcoat could only parry but saved at the second attempt. A minute later, however, Motherwell took the lead in somewhat bizarre circumstances. Adams sent in a long ball from out on the left which struck Wright on the knee to drift beyond Hillcoat into the back of the net. The Fir Parkers went close again when McFadden latched onto Partridge’s long ball but he was blocked out for a corner. Stranraer had an opportunity when Corrigan was adjudged to have fouled Moore near the box. Dubordeau was on hand to tip the free kick wide and Corrigan was there to prevent Jenkins capitalising. Seconds later another soft free kick came as Finlayson went down though again Dubordeau was there. McFadden the forced a corner which Adams swung in. Lehmann headed the ball on but Lasley saw his shot go wide. Just before the break Hillcoat made a tremendous save from Lehmann’s shot.
Half-Time Stranraer 0 Motherwell 1
The Fir Parkers carried on up in attack right after the break. Corrigan passed to Partridge but his shot went over from the penalty spot. There was a real scare for Motherwell when Moore went clear on Dubordeau but the French Keeper did superbly well to block at the home striker’s feet. Hammel and Pearson then combined to create space but the Pearson could not cross beyond the first defender. Motherwell were upping the pressure with McFadden showing tremendous skill to burst into the box. His shot was blocked, then the ball fell to Leitch but he saw his piledriver also similarly bucked. Stranraer broke forward with Finlayson and Harty teaming up to create danger. Vaughan cleared though as Finlayson again tried to cross. Motherwell all but put the tie beyond doubt by scoring again seven minutes after the re-start. Lehmann knocked the ball wide for Adams and his cross struck Harty before falling kindly to McFadden who slotted beyond Hillcoat in goals. There was a scare when Hammel appeared to stumble when playing a pass back to Dubordeau but the Frenchman was alert to the problem and cleared. McFadden continued the assault by firing a shot over the bar from the edge of the box and there was a shout for a penalty when Adams looked to have been fouled by Farrell as he ran into the box. And shortly afterwards Lehmann had his shirt tugged by Farrell but there was similarly no penalty. Stranraer made the first change of the game, taking off Hodge in place of S15sub. Just before the hour mark Motherwell moved further ahead with the best goal of the match. Corrigan found McFadden who in turn sent the ball in for Lehmann. His shot was blocked but fell for Adams and with an angled drive made no mistake with his effort. Stranraer attempted to fight back but despite winning a corner Partridge made light work of the clearance. It was almost four when a superb run from McFadden was only halted by Wingate’s desperate block for a corner. This was swung in for Partridge who had a free header at goal but sent it wide.
Wingate then pulled Lehmann back inside the box but again Referee McDonald ignored the obvious penalty claim. Motherwell were well on top and Lasley sent a long ball to Adams. Crossed in deep McFadden was immediately surrounded by three Stranraer defenders and crowded out. A low cross from Hammel was then swept behind by Wright and during the stoppage in play Motherwell took of Partridge and brought on Cowan in his place. The corner was taken by Hillcoat but soon afterwards he was under pressure again as Lehmann forced another corner, this one he himself met to shoot over. Lehmann had his legs clattered by Wright a minute later but play continued with Stranraer getting a free kick when Aitken was tackled by Corrigan, though they made a mess of it. The Stair Park outfit had an effort go well wide when S15SUB shot past running on to a ball from Finlayson. Motherwell then pressurised Stranraer with three successive corners, the last of which Adams curled at least two feet over the goal line but somehow neither Referee nor Linesman failed to spot the goal. Another home change came with Moore who swapped places with S14SUB, and after Motherwell had replaced Leitch with Fagan Stranraer also had Aitken replaced by S12SUB. The home side were rarely been seen on the attack though they did get a free kick when Vaughan was judged to have fouled S16SUB. The free kick was easily cleared and Motherwell resumed their attack. Cowan was brought down by Farrell and although the free kick was partially cleared Leitch fired in a terrific shot from outside the box which Hillcoat tipped over. McFadden then left to a rapturous round of cheers from the Motherwell support, Clarkson taking his place in the team. With four minutes left Motherwell wrapped up the victory in style. Adams sent Cowan wide and his deep cross was nodded home by the hard-working Lehmann. Stranraer forced a late corner which was cleared by Partridge and in the last minute Lehmann was pulled back again by Gaughan but there was no foul. That was that and within seconds the game was all over with Motherwell in the Semi-finals.
Full-time Stranraer 0 Motherwell 4
Match Report by Ricky Mullen