Whole new ball game at this level perhaps, but Motherwell can take heart from gutsy performance

Graeme Macpherson

Football Writer

Thursday 2 August 2012

THE disappointment felt within Fir Park on Tuesday night was tempered by a liberal dose of realism.

Simon Ramsden's Motherwell debut was 'a great experience'. Picture: SNS

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Graeme Macpherson

Motherwell's chances of progressing to the next phase of the Champions League had been all but extinguished by the 2-0 home defeat by Panathinaikos, but instead of angry recriminations there was only praise for their battling performance and an acceptance that perhaps this was just the natural order of things.

It was not the sort of attitude that would have found favour with the likes of Roy Keane – who memorably ranted so vehemently about Ireland's tame exit from the European Championships that even the egregious Adrian Chiles was temporarily silenced – but, while it may be disheartening for those who fret for the ailing Scottish coefficient, the outcome was surely not to anyone's great surprise.Motherwell, to be frank, are not a club equipped to compete at this level. That is not a criticism, but a simple fact. Their already paper-thin squad, who until Rangers' stumble into administration in February had been hoping for Europa League football at best, has shrunk further in the summer and there was never a chance of manager Stuart McCall being handed lavish funds with which to refurbish. The recent passing of the 10th anniversary of the club going into administration stood as a stark reminder of the dangers of speculating to accumulate. Now governed by their fans, Motherwell were never going down that route again. Panathinaikos may be enduring similar straitened times but, as regular European combatants, were still able to put out a team sprinkled with internationals. Ibrahim Sissoko, the hugely impressive Ivory Coast forward, has been lured from Wolfsburg for a year, the sort of loan signing that a club like Motherwell can only dream of. Panathinaikos are not out of the top drawer of European sides, but their superior technical ability was evident. The neat interplay between the nippy Sissoko and the elegant Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, once linked with Liverpool, gave them a persistent threat, even if their finishing let them down. Given the club's impoverished finances, it has become imperative that they reach the group stage of the Champions League and such pressure almost certainly led to the urgency and directness with which the Panathinaikos players hungrily set about the challenge of nullifying Motherwell's threat. It would be disingenuous, though, to suggest the home side were blown away by the Greeks or hopelessly out of their depth. In fact, if there was a surprise on the night, it was the ease with which Motherwell seemed to rise to the task facing them. Backed by a large and vociferous home crowd, they rebounded well from the loss of an early goal and created sufficient chances to score at least once on the night. Instead, it was Panathinaikos who showed them the way, their second goal carved out with the sort of composure often lacking in Motherwell's play. It was the perfect snapshot of the main difference between the sides.The tie, of course, is still not settled, although only the most optimistic – or pessimistic of Panathinaikos fans – would predict Motherwell overturning a two-goal deficit in Athens next Wednesday. Footballers tend to belong in the former camp, able to clutch at straws when everyone else has given up, and defender Simon Ramsden insisted all is not lost."I thought we put in a really good performance, but the second goal was a little bit of a killer for us," said the Englishman. "If we had stayed at 1-0 going into the second leg then it would have been a lot more favourable for us. "But we'll give it our all next week. If we can get an early goal in Athens then who knows. We showed that we can create chances against them and if we can score it would put a bit of doubt in their minds."Ramsden, McCall's only signing of the summer so far, could not have chosen a more high-profile occasion in which to make his first Motherwell appearance. "It was a great game to be involved in and, for my debut, it was a great experience. The fans were terrific. I'd obviously trained with Shaun Hutchinson but that was our first game together [in central defence]. We felt pretty comfortable playing alongside each other. We knew we'd be up against a very good side but all over the pitch, the lads stood up to the task well."

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Whole new ball game at this level perhaps, but Motherwell can take heart from gutsy performance

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