Motherwell extended their unbeaten run to three following a 1-1 draw at Dundee United in the William Hill Premiership.
The Steelmen picked up their fifth point in the last three outings ahead of the November international break. Lukas Fadinger netted from the penalty spot after five minutes, before Daniel Bennie poked home a leveller in a match that ended with 41 attempts at goal.
For just the second time this season, it was the same 11 that took to the field. But, for the first time in Alfred Johansson’s tenure, it was an unchanged matchday squad for Motherwell following their first win in seven games last weekend against St Mirren.
It was expected to be an action-packed match before kick off, and the first-half certainly didn’t disappoint in that regard. It took just five minutes for the first big moment of the match to occur. Ibrahim Said and Tom Sparrow linked up well, with the latter playing the ball into Tawanda Maswanhise, who was clipped from behind as he closed in on goal.
Everyone inside Tannadice was stunned the penalty wasn’t awarded, but that was due to the linesman’s flag being raised for an offside for Sparrow. However, VAR checked the attacking phase before ordering Ryan Lee to come to the monitor to give the spot kick.
Fadinger sent Jack Walton the wrong way from 12 yards, scoring his second goal in as many games to give the Steelmen an early lead.
From there, the game became wide open with both sides playing good football and creating chances. Zac Sapsford went into the referee’s book for a dive inside the penalty area just a minute after the goal, with the Aussie man looking for a spot kick.
The forward had a sniff of an opportunity on 17 minutes when the ball came into the area, but defender Martin Moormann recovered well to clear. A minute later, Maswanhise spun the defender on the halfway line before bursting towards goal. The Zimbawean got a strike away but it was never going to beat Walton.
That triggered a string of chances for both sides, as the fans inside the stadium were treated to a thoroughly entertaining 45 minutes. Lyall Cameron’s effort eventually went over the bar by aid of a double deflection from Motherwell players, with Jim Goodwin’s side reacting well to the early setback.
Motherwell were next to have a chance when Joe Hodge burst up the middle of the pitch after intercepting the ball; he slipped it into Said, who got a shot on target, but Walton got down to hold.
Sapsford got a better opportunity than his first on 22 minutes when he got a clean connection from the cross; the ball came fizzing off the wet turf, but Paulsen saved well.
Said continued to cause the Dundee United players all sorts of problems, and on 24 minutes, he once again picked up the ball and fed Seb Palmer-Houlden, but the former Dundee man’s powerful strike from the right-hand side of the box went over the bar and into the stand.
Four minutes later, Walton was called into action again. Tom Sparrow jinked between two defenders on the byline and clipped the ball to the back-post area, where Emmanuel Longelo was there to strike into the ground, and Walton did well to get a fingertip on the ball to take it over.
Right on the half-hour mark, Dundee United had their best chance. Daniel Bennie was in the right place at the right time following a corner into the Motherwell box. The ball found its way to the winger, but his header trickled past the post from less than six yards out.
Motherwell reacted well with a couple of big chances. A quick free kick was taken midway in the United half; Maswanhise picked out Jardell Kanga in the box, but the Swede hit over. Just a minute later, a quick throw in caught the Tangerine defence off-guard. Kanga was presented with another opportunity and opted to drive it low to Walton’s near post, but it was saved by Walton once again.
Dundee United pushed for an equaliser before the half was out, and they nearly got it twice, but Paulsen produced two smart stops from Cameron and Dylan Tait to keep the hosts at bay.
But the New Zealand international could do nothing when a low ball into the ball, aiming for Cameron, arrived to Jesse Randall with his back to the goal. He composed himself and back-heeled the ball past the keeper to level the game.
A jam-packed half was brought to a close with the teams level, and it took just seconds for the first chance of the second-half to arrive. Randall was on the edge of the box when the ball landed at him from a corner kick, but he couldn’t keep the effort down.
But Motherwell still looks threatening with every attack. On 54 minutes, Longelo had space on the left. He faked the shot with his left foot and shifted the ball onto his right. His strike was heading on target, but a block came in from a United head to take the ball out for a corner.
Palmer-Houlden chased down Kanga’s high clearance. Seemingly a lost cause, the forward made something of the forward pass and forced the defender into an error with his clearance. He gained control of the ball and got a shot off, but it went into the away end.
A minute later, Said’s strike was deflected but remained on target, with Walton punching away. But the ball soon returned with Maswanhise driving a cross into the six-yard box, but it was well defended.
On 68 minutes, Moormann had to be alert on the goal line to clear after a corner came into a crowded penalty area.
Another Motherwell opportunity just shy of the 80-minute mark. Oscar Priestman made a piercing run from midfield into the penalty area. Maswanhise found him, but Priestman couldn’t control and strike on the swivel.
As the game edged closer to its conclusion, it looked likely that both sides would come away with a point. But in the final five minutes, Josh Rawlins was left unmarked at the back post, and when a perfect cross was sent in his direction, he couldn’t sort his feet out in time and missed a glaring opportunity to steal the win.
Motherwell Team: Paulsen, Sparrow, Girdwood-Reich, Moormann, Longelo, Hodge, Fadinger, Said, Maswanhise, Palmer-Houlden, Kanga.
Motherwell Subs: Connelly, Knight-Lebel, McGinn, McGhee, Priestman, Charles-Cook, Levitt, Hendry, Bjørgolfsson.
