Motherwell’s UEFA Conference League journey came to an end at SC Freiburg on Thursday night, following a 4-1 defeat in Germany.
Despite the 7-2 aggregate scoreline, the Steelmen exited the competition with their heads held high following a valiant effort from the players, which saw Alfred Johansson’s side play with 10 men for over an hour across the two legs.
Derry Scherhant gave the hosts a lead on the night inside five minutes, which could have suggested a very long night ahead for Motherwell. But the reaction from Johansson’s men was a positive one, and Emmanuel Longelo levelled the game midway through the first-half.
With the second leg at 1-1 at half-time, a 4-2 aggregate scoreline to the Germans, the 1400 Motherwell fans were bouncing in the away end as their heroes battled against the Bundesliga side. But for the second time in the tie, Motherwell were reduced to ten men following a straight red card. Jake Girdwood-Reich was given his marching orders just shy of the hour mark, with SC Freiburg subsequently scoring from two corners shortly after to make it 3-1 on the night.
Keisuke Gotō put the icing on the cake for Freiburg, scoring in the final moments, but Motherwell had many positives to take across the two legs.
Travelling over to Germany for the second leg, Motherwell knew that if they were to make history by qualifying for the league phase of a European competition, they would have to overcome a 3-1 deficit from the first leg against last season’s Europa League finalists SC Freiburg.
With over 1,400 Motherwell fans making the journey and trying to be heard amongst the 30,000 home fans, Motherwell tried to implement their possession approach from the off in the intimidating atmosphere. Looking to keep things tight in the early stages and make the most of any attack, the game plan was impacted negatively inside five minutes when a pass was threaded through to Scherhant by Maximillian Eggestein, a constant threat on the left-hand side over the two legs, before coolly bending into the bottom corner past Alex Paulsen.
The stadium was rocking, and the 8,000 Freiburg Ultras were in full voice, but Johansson managed to calm his players as they began to steady the ship. The hosts were holding onto possession more, but Motherwell always looked sharp on the counter-attack, although no major chances were created.
Academy graduate Ewan Wilson was on hand to deny Scherhant a second of the night as the Steelmen continued to fight for everything. And everyone of a Motherwell persuasion was handed their big moment once again.
A SC Freiburg set-piece was defended, and once Ibrahim Said brought the ball down and set Longelo away into acres of space on the left-hand side, it looked as though a counter-attack was on. However, as Longelo arrived 25 yards from it, options were limited following his dash in the German humidity, so the full-back drilled a powerful effort towards goal. Goalkeeper Backhaus looked set to have the effort covered, but in the blink of an eye, the ball trickled from under his grasp and crept over the line to spark wild scenes in the away end.
Scherhant and Suzuki threatened once again for the host either side of the half-hour mark, but their strikes didn’t force Paulsen into any saves. The stadium held its breath when Wilson chased back and slid into Cyriaque Irie inside the penalty area, and the Italian referee ordered play to be halted. Wilson was insistent he got the ball, but after a lengthy check, the referee raised his hand for an offside during the attacking phase, and play continued.
Not long after, Motherwell then had a huge chance to take the lead. Alex Lowry curled a lovely ball up the line to Seb Palmer-Houlden; on his first start for the club, he tried to find the far left corner, but the keeper got a glove on the effort to send it wide.
The action wasn’t over in the first half, however, as Paulsen was forced into an excellent stop to keep Suzuki at bay, with Irie also thundering an effort off the bottom of the crossbar before the half was out, but in the end, both sides went into the interval on level terms.
A half-time change saw Tom Sparrow return from injury to replace Tawanda Maswanhise as Johansson looked to implement a strategy for the second period. But once again, the plans would have to be altered when Girdwood-Reich brought Scherhant down as he raced through on goal, and the referee ordered the defender off the pitch for a last-man tackle just before the hour mark.
Paulsen was then on hand to tip the subsequent free-kick over the bar for a corner from Scherhant, but from the resulting corner, the Steelmen would concede. Igor Matanovic evaded his marker to nod home inside the crowded penalty area to make it 2-1.
Just three minutes later, it was 3-1. Irie got up highest to head into the net as Freiburg scored their fifth goal from a set piece in the tie.
Freiburg showed no signs of letting up as they continued to motor forward and create chances. World Cup winner Matthias Ginter struck the post in the 67th minute, as Motherwell remained penned in their own half.
The game neared its conclusion, with Motherwell showing real character during these tough times. Substitute Goto made it 4-1 on the night before the game was out, in what seemed like a harsh aggregate scoreline over the piece. In the end, Freiburg showed their class and made the most of their dominance, but having progressed through two European ties to reach this stage, Johansson will be hoping his side can learn from the experience and take that into William Hill Premiership action.
