Motherwell’s hopes of progressing to next month’s Premier Sports Cup final ended in disappointment when they were cruelly punished by an efficient St Mirren.
In a poor first half for the Steelmen, goals from former Motherwell striker Mikael Mandron and Miguel Nlundulu gave Saints a commanding lead.
A positive response in the second half saw the Steelmen exert some pressure on the Saints’ defence, but Stephen Robinson’s men looked content to give his former club possession and rely on counter attacks.
Callum Hendry’s goal eight minutes from time raised hopes of a grandstand finish, but Richard King’s reply a couple of minutes later clinched the tie for the Paisley side. A fourth goal from Mandron merely added to Motherwell’s disappointing day.
Jens Berthel Askou made five changes to his starting 11 for the second game running. The Motherwell manager brought Liam Gordon, Emmanuel Longelo, Elijah Just, Ibrahim Said and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos into his team, with Stephen Welsh, Callum Slattery, Regan Charles-Cook and Callum Hendry all dropping to the bench.
Stephen O’Donnell dropped out of the squad from Wednesday night’s game after the full-back was taken off midway through the first-half.
Immediate pressure on the Saints’ goal as Well forced four consecutive corners, until Apostolos Stamatelopoulos headed the ball over the bar and allowed the Paisley men to get beyond their own penalty area.
It was a game of contrasting styles; the Fir Park men were intent on using the full width of Hampden pitch, while the Buddies opted for a more direct route towards Calum Ward’s goal.
The first real threat arrived after 22 minutes when Just and Tawanda Maswanhise combined on the right of the box before the Zimbabwe international pulled his low shot across Shamal George and the keeper’s far post.
Two minutes later Saints found the back of the net in rather controversial circumstances. As the ‘Well players protested about a quickly taken free kick, Miguel Freckleton raced downfield and won a corner. When he swung the ball into a packed box, Mandron reacted quickly to smash the ball past Ward from eight yards.
Almost immediately the Steelmen replied when Stamatelopoulos won possession on the halfway line and carried the ball 40 yards before unleashing a low shot which George pushed round his post.
For all Motherwell’s possession and neat play around Saints’ box, their ‘keeper was never troubled.
Five minutes from the interval, Well’s task was doubled.
A loose ball at the edge of the box found Nlundulu directly in front of goal, and his fine strike flew high into the net and made it 2-0.
Stephen Welsh replaced Gordon for the second half as Fir Park returned to the pitch early in the hope of getting back into the tie.
And with a bit more intensity about their play, Well looked more of a threat. After five minutes Elliot Watt tested George with a firm drive from 30 yards as Motherwell fans sensed a fightback might be on the cards.
The Steelmen made their second substitution after 56 minutes, with Slattery replacing Said. The former Southampton youth player almost pulled a goal back six minutes later. Koutroumbis laid the ball back at the corner of the box, and Slattery’s shot was swerving away from the ‘keeper until George leapt high to his right and prevented the ball from finding the net.
A few minutes later, Askou made two more changes, bringing on Hendry and Tom Sparrow as the Australian pair Stamatelopoulos and Koutroumbis made way.
Twenty minutes from time Well, they came close to the goal their second half merited. Just’s ball towards the six-yard line took a nick from a defender, which prevented Maswanhise from getting a solid touch yards from goal.
Careless play yards from their own goal line presented Saints with a chance to grab a decisive third goal, but Mandron let his former teammatesoff the hook, smacking the ball off the post.
That prompted Well’s final change, Charles-Cook replacing Maswanhise, but with 15 minutes remaining, the tie looked beyond the Fir Park side.
However, with eight minutes remaining, the subs combined to conjure up a goal. Charles-Cook fed Sparrow on the right, and his low ball across the box was whipped into the net by Hendry to give Well fans some hope.
Any notion of a late fightback was immediately erased when King’s low shot was blocked by Ward’s boot, but the ball spun up and over the ‘keeper and just over the goal line despite his and Lukas Fadinger’s efforts to keep the ball out.
Mandron’s angled effort, which took VAR a while to ratify the striker’s goal, perhaps provided St Mirren with a final scoreline which flattered them, but that didn’t disguise Motherwell’s poor performance.
Motherwell Team: Ward, Koutroumbis, McGinn, Gordon, Longelo, Watt, Fadinger, Just, Said, Maswanhise, Stamatelopoulos.
Motherwell Subs: Connelly, Welsh, Balmer, Sparrow, Priestman, Halliday, Slattery, Charles-Cook, Hendry.
