Murphy 8
MOTHERWELL could afford not to be rushed yesterday. The Fir Park side had been the beneficiaries of an early kick-off at Rugby Park, allowing them the chance to ascertain what would be required against Hibernian to retain second spot in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League ahead of Celtic.
The Parkhead side’s failure to procure three points against Kilmarnock made their task that much easier. Jamie Murphy’s early goal eased his side to a relatively comfortable – if not exactly emphatic – win at Easter Road which has extended Motherwell’s lead over Celtic to three points. Their performance suggested they could well stay there for some time.
It was patient and deliberate and there were times when Motherwell’s passages of play even bordered on impertinence. Midway through the first half the ball was shuttled around to little purpose other than, apparently, to irk the home support. The discontent which greeted each short, decisive pass suggested it was working well.
It was that considered approach which had led to their goal. The ball was shepherded wide to Tom Hateley, whose cross was nodded in simply by Murphy. And while it was a fairly banal way to score given the intricacy of passing which Motherwell have come to exude, it was celebrated as though an effort of notable aplomb.
“At the training ground on Thursday he almost had a lap of honour when he scored with a header,” said manager Stuart McCall. “We stopped the training and every player gave him a round of applause because it just doesn’t happen. You could see with his celebration that for him to score with his head is incredible.”
Murphy’s unusual effort, then, may have offered a platform on which to build but Motherwell refused to be hurried in pursuit of another goal, though they did come close to scoring again twice in the remainder of the first half.
Tim Clancy flicked a header towards goal which Graham Stack could only scramble clear, before Keith Lasley sent a header on to the post as the visitors cruised towards half-time.
The frame of the goal came to the aid of Stack after the break too; Michael Higdon rose defiantly to connect with a corner but his header struck the bar.
A second goal never did arrive, but the performance remained purposeful. Central to that, quite literally, was Steve Jennings.
The midfielder was making his first appearance since his arrest following irregular betting patterns, but the Englishman was typically bullish in front of the Fir Park defence.
“He’s not had the best of starts to the season, although we’ve been doing well,” said McCall. “I thought against Aberdeen he had shown signs of getting back but I thought today he was excellent.”
There is a strong inclination following such an assured display to focus on the positives, yet there are still a few questions to be asked about this feted Motherwell side, not all of which were answered at Easter Road.
McCall’s side found themselves up against an insipid Hibs team which rarely tested their defensive strength.
The central pairing of Tim Clancy and Steven Craigan succeeded in nullifying any fleeting threat posed by Garry O’Connor and the wholly ineffectual Junior Agogo, yet they also relied on moments of profligacy.
David Wotherspoon’s free-kick had to be tipped over by Darren Randolph, fellow Hibs substitute Danny Galbraith blazed high and wide when afforded space in the penalty area, and Agogo slid a shot inches wide late on. That was about all the Edinburgh side could muster, though.
“We didn’t run and we weren’t good with the ball,” said manager Colin Calderwood. “The goal we lost was a shocker – it’s as bad as any goal in the Premier League, I’ll guarantee you.”
Hibernian: Stack; Palsson (Wotherspoon 46), O’Hanlon, Murray, Hanlon; Scott (Galbraith 46), Towell, Osbourne (Griffiths 74), Sproule; Agogo, O’Connor
Substitutes not used: Brown, Stevenson, Stephens, Sodje
Booked: O’Hanlon, Murray
Motherwell: Randolph; Hateley, Clancy, Craigan, Hammell; Jennings; Murphy, Lasley, Law, Humphrey (Daley 77); Higdon Substitutes not used: Hollis, McHugh, Forbes, Page, Halsman, Carswell
Booked: Hammell 64
Referee: E Norris Att: 8548
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article