Motherwell travelled west on Saturday afternoon in their second William Hill Premiership match of the season, drawing 0-0 with St Mirren.
Jens Berthel Askou made two changes from the side that drew with Rangers on the opening day. Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Liam Gordon came out of the starting 11, with the former dropping to the bench, in place of Stephen O’Donnell and Ibrahim Said.
The first chance of the afternoon fell to the hosts. Inside the first minute, a lofted ball into the box was met by the head of Kieran Phillips; he headed it down into the path of St Mirren captain Mark O’Hara, who blazed high and wide of Calum Ward’s goal.
The gusty conditions made it a difficult afternoon to keep passes accurate. Chances were limited in the opening exchanges.
Motherwell’s first big chance arrived on 20 minutes. Good play between the Well midfield sent Slattery away on the right wing; he slipped the ball through for Said who cut into the area and saw his effort saved by Shamal George.
Just before the half-hour mark, Johnny Koutroumbis had a go on the volley from the edge of the box, but his effort was never troubling the keeper.
Maswanhise went close on 34 minutes. He latched onto a through ball, beat Marcus Fraser for pace and curled an effort past the far post.
Motherwell were forced into their first alteration before the interval. Johnny Koutroumbis went down and had to be replaced, with Tom Sparrow coming on in his place.
On 44 minutes, Emmanuel Longelo intercepted a pass and drove forward. He gave the ball to Elijah Just, who was seemingly trying to find Said at the back post with his cross, but the wind diverted the ball and it fell just past the post.
With the game level at 0-0 going into the second half, both sides would have fancied their chances at taking all three points. Motherwell started brightly; Said was in a promising position after a counter-attack, but he couldn’t get a shot away. Longelo’s cross caused havoc moments later, with St Mirren desperate to clear anywhere.
On the hour mark, the Motherwell backline presented St Mirren with their best chance of the game. Ward’s pass was cut out and intercepted. O’Donnell managed to get a block in for the first effort, but O’Hara had a go with the second, but it was diverted for a corner.
Playing a slightly different position through the middle, Mawasnhise was latching onto any scraps. He won a foul on 63 minutes, tussling and getting the better of Fraser to win a free kick 25 yards out. Slattery lined it up and saw his precise effort saved by George.
On 67 minutes, Evan Mooney shot wide from Keanu Baccus’ cross.
On 77 minutes, Ward had to make an excellent save from Alex Gogic’s header. The Motherwell stopper did well to tip it over the bar.
As the game entered the closing stages, the match hung in the balance. Stamatelopoulos did everything he could to get on the end of Slattery’s cross, but he didn’t get the connection to trouble George.
With three minutes added, and the 927 travelling Well fans doing everything they could to cheer the team on, both sides continued to hunt for the winner, but neither could find the breakthrough.
Motherwell Team: Ward, Koutroumbis (42′), McGinn, O’Donnell, Longelo, Fadinger, Slattery, Watt, Just, Maswanhise (86′), Said (70′).
Motherwell Subs: Oxborough, Balmer, Wilson, Gillies, Forrest, Halliday, Sparrow (42′), Ross (86′), Stamatelopoulos (70′).
