Motherwell bounced back in impressive fashion to make it one defeat in 19 league matches, thrashing St Mirren 5-0 in Paisley.
Elijah Just opened the scoring inside 15 minutes, before Tawanda Maswanhise doubled the Steelmen’s advantage from the penalty spot before the half time interval. Ibrahim Said scored just four minutes into the second-half, before St Mirren were reduced to ten men with Richard King ordered off.
From there, the Steelmen added a fourth and fifth goal through Emmanuel Longelo and Eythor Bjørgolfsson to ensure Motherwell reached the 50-point mark by the 21st February.
Following the major disappointment of the Scottish Cup exit on Wednesday night, Jens Berthel Askou made six changes to the team.
Calum Ward returned between the posts in place of Matty Connelly, with Stephen Welsh and Longelo brought back into the back four. Tom Sparrow also dropped out from the defence, with Stephen O’Donnell moving across to right full-back. Elliot Watt replaced the suspended Lukas Fadinger in the middle of the pitch, with Said brought in for Bjørgolfsson. Callum Slattery was the sixth change, replacing Regan Charles-Cook.
Motherwell started the game firmly on the front foot, with Maswanhise going close early on. The Zimbabwean international latched onto the end of Longelo’s enticing cross into the penalty box. He showed finesse as he tried to guide the ball into the far corner, but the ball just went past the far post. An early warning for the hosts.
Despite the missed opportunity, Motherwell continued to probe and would get their opener after 13 minutes. Having pushed St Mirren back into their penalty box, Motherwell worked the ball across to the right-hand side, where Slattery saw an opportunity. Feeding Just on the right edge of the box, the New Zealander shifted the ball onto his weaker right foot and smashed low towards goal. Firing through the defender’s legs ensured Shamal George couldn’t see the ball until it was too late and the deadlock was broken.
From there, Motherwell were firmly in the ascendancy and in control. On 27 minutes, the opportunity to double their lead would be presented. Maswanhise latched onto a through ball and got a toe on the ball before an onrushing George. The keeper brought the forward to the ground in the box, and the referee pointed to the spot.
A lengthy VAR check would follow to confirm Maswanhise was onside. Despite the two-minute check, the penalty would stand, and having won the spot kick, Maswanhise would fire home for his 19th goal of the season.
The chances kept coming as Motherwell looked to put the game beyond doubt early on. A Motherwell team move that lasted a couple of minutes eventually led to Maswanhise shooting just wide from 16 yards. What would have been an impressive team move was only just prevented by the forward missing the target.
There would be more drama before the first half finished when Alex Gogic was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Slattery. The midfielder was tussling on the left-wing before Gogic tackled the midfielder. Referee Callum Scott had no hesitation to show the red, but VAR recommended an on-field review, and the Cypriot saw his punishment reduced to a yellow card.
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson made three alterations at half-time, signalling the need to try something different to get back in the game. However, Motherwell weren’t phased and sealed the three points in 48 minutes.
Just won the ball back inside the centre circle before driving forward. With Motherwell shirts rushing to get in support, Just’s pass was cut out but fortunately fell to Said, who drove an effort past George. The 1000 travelling Motherwell fans enjoyed the Nigerian’s special dance to celebrate his third goal of the season. 3-0 and game over.
Just four minutes later, the misery continued for St Mirren when Richard King was sent off for an off-the-ball incident involving Slattery. King appeared to move his hand towards Slattery’s face, with the midfielder going down and referee Scott showing the straight red card.
As the St Mirren fans headed for the exits, Motherwell made it four. A short corner routine seemed to cause the St Mirren defence all sorts of problems, and when the ball fell to Longelo on his favoured left foot, he smashed through George’s legs as the ball found the back of the net for the fourth time of the night. Although flagged for offside, another long VAR check cleared Longelo, and the defender’s goal would stand.
For the first time of the evening, Calum Ward was forced into action as the goalkeeper wanted to protect what would be the Steelmen’s 20th clean sheet of the season. He tipped an effort over the bar before gathering a header from Gogic in what was a rare attack for the hosts.
Bjørgolfsson was brought on alongside Sparrow, and it was those two who would create the fifth goal of the evening. On 65 minutes, Sparrow, playing at full-back, sent in a teasing ball towards the penalty spot, and acrobatically, Bjørgolfsson connected with his right foot to send the ball past George for his first goal in Motherwell colours. A fine effort and potentially the goal of the evening.
With the away end in full voice, Motherwell racked up the possession for the remaining 20 minutes of the match, reaching 71% for the 90 minutes. Slattery forced a decent save out of George on 84 minutes with the midfielder shooting from 20 yards, but George matched.
The referee signalled the end to the match as Motherwell moved onto 50 points and, although they’ll have higher ambitions, all but secured their top-six spot for the season.
Motherwell Team: Ward, O’Donnell, McGinn, Welsh, Longelo, Watt, Priestman, Slattery, Maswanhise, Just, Said.
Motherwell Subs: Connelly, Gordon, McGhee, Sparrow, McAllister, Ross, Bjørgolfsson, Charles-Cook, Nicholson.
