Motherwell 1 Kilmarnock 1
McDonald 45; Obadeyi 20
MOTHERWELL continue to move in the right direction as they look to ease their relegation fears but perhaps just not as quickly as they would like. They followed last weekend's first victory of the year with this draw that lifts them off the foot of the table and into 11th place. With St Mirren inactive and Ross County winning, however, there will surely be a feeling that a point here was not enough, especially in the context of the match. Kilmarnock played the entirety of the second half with just 10 men following Darryl Westlake's red card late in the opening 45 but Motherwell never really put them under any real sustained pressure in their quest to find a winning goal.
There was, at least, a first goal for Scott McDonald following his return to Fir Park last month. Motherwell's recruitment of the Australian had looked at the time, to borrow a crude Americanism, to be a potential relegation game-changer. That seems even more the case now. McDonald clearly hasn't lost his ability to sniff out a chance nor the need for a striker to sometimes be patient. It had looked for a while that this was going to be another frustrating afternoon for him with two early chances saved but he would not be deterred and on the cusp of half-time he had his moment of glory. It was quite the strike, too, the former Millwall man looping his free kick over the defensive wall and into Samson's net. The celebrations were quite something, too, McDonald zig-zagging all over the pitch before stopping in front of the main stand to take the applause. He would likely have been grateful that the half-time whistle sounded shortly afterwards to allow him to get his breath back. McDonald was unable to score again in a quieter second half performance, with one late chance easily gobbled up by Samson, but will surely prove influential over the final 10 games of the season.
"It was great to score, especially as I was stinking today I thought by my standards," said a very candid McDonald. "I never held the ball up well enough and kept it. I expect a lot from myself. But I'm delighted to get the first goal out the way, and it was a nice one as well."
There can't be many people still playing the Littlewoods Pools these days but those who are surely put a cross beside Kilmarnock's name most weekends. This was a fifth draw in their last six games for Gary Locke's side, a result that maintains their recent unbeaten run but also reduces their chances of making the top six by the split. Given they played the entirety of the second half with just 10 men following Darryl Westlake's red card for two bookings within the space of four minutes, manager Gary Locke was not overly despondent.
"I certainly felt that with 11 players on the pitch we looked really positive," he said. "We were just frustrated by the fact that we had to change things [after the red card]. Enormous credit, however, must go to the players for the effort, commitment and desire not to get beat. I'm sitting here a really proud manager."
Motherwell had been worthy of their equaliser. They had created the crux of the first-half chances, only to be denied by some stellar goalkeeping and poor finishing. Samson for a spell was the busiest man on the park, tipping over a Conor Grant header then denying the on-loan Everton winger whose low drive seemed to be sneaking into the far corner. When the goalkeeper wasn't performing heroics, Manuel Pascali was bravely getting his body in the way of a Stephen McManus volley.
Even with 11 men, Kilmarnock had played most of the game in their own half but they still carried a threat any time they moved forward and they forged in front after 20 minutes. It was a well-executed strike from Tope Obadeyi who thudded in a ferocious effort from a tight angle but, with the ball beating him at the near post, there will inevitably be fingers pointed at George Long in the Motherwell goal.
With an extra man, it was inevitable that Motherwell would dominate most of the second-half possession but Kilmarnock coped well, as the home team ran out of steam and out of ideas. They may come to consider this two points dropped rather than one gained. "In the second half I thought we stopped doing the things that got us into good positions in the first half," said manager Ian Baraclough. "It's a step in the right direction and a point closer to where we want to be but there's a bit of frustration that we dominated the game and didn't capitalise on it."
MOTHERWELL (4-4-2): Long; Law, Laing, McManus, Straker; Grant (Ainsworth 55), Lasley, Pearson, Johnson (Thomas 85); Erwin (Sutton 71), McDonald
Subs not used: Twardzik, Carswell, O'Brien, Moore
Booked: Johnston 6
KILMARNOCK (4-4-2): Samson; Westlake, Pascali, Ashcroft, Chantler; Johnston (Barbour 46), Slater, O'Hara, Obadeyi (Cairney 81); Eccleston (Miller 86), Magennis
Subs not used: Brennan, Syme, Eremenko, Kiltie
Booked: Westlake 41, O'Hara 67
Sent off: Westlake 45
Att: 4192
Ref: John Beaton
Man of the match: Manuel Pascali
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