Fighting spirit is not enough, Motherwell

Jim Reynolds

24 Mar 1997

MOTHERWELL fans were mystified that Tommy Coyne was left on the bench and brought on only for the last half hour of the match.

Alex McLeish cleared up that point when he said: ''Tommy has been suffering from several niggling injuries.

If he had been 100 per cent fit, he would have been on from the start.'' TALKING POINT Motherwell ............

0 Hearts ...................

1 MOTHERWELL are digging a hole for themselves, and one which may already be too deep to climb from.

They are also finding out, in the hardest possible way, that when you are down the breaks continually go against you.

Saturday was the classic example.

There was no doubt that Motherwell were up for the challenge.

They know they are fighting for premier division survival and the players are prepared to give everything they have, but now they must be wondering if that is enough.

Injuries have hit the Fir Park side hard, but that is part and parcel of the game and almost every side has to deal with it.

But on Saturday there was further frustration for Alex McLeish and his men when, after just 21 minutes, new signing Kevin Christie had to be led from the field and substituted.

Young Christie, who will be a good player for the club, no matter which division they find themselves in, was signed from East Fife late in the week and was having a promising debut until suffering a nasty head knock.

There was no way he could continue.

Earlier, in 13 minutes, Motherwell had conceded the kind of goal which causes red faces.

They gave Hearts French striker Stephan Paille acres of space on the edge of the penalty area and he finished in marvellous style with a drive high into the net.

After that, Motherwell fought.

Although there was little fluency to their play, determination and grit forced Hearts back.

Chance after chance was made, but everything fell on the wrong side of the post.

Anything that did find the target was beautifully handled by Tynecastle goalkeeper Gilles Rousset.

''Lady Luck deserted us,'' said Motherwell manager Alex McLeish.

''We made so many chances, but they all went on the wrong side of the post, or Gilles Rousset got in the way.

He always seems to turn it on against us.

''There was one occasion early on when he blocked a shot from Owen Coyle and the ball rebounded back off Coyle, only to slip past the post.

''If you are up near the top of the league, those kind of things go in.

''We had bad luck today, but I got a fantastic effort from the players.

I know the fans are disappointed - we all are - but nobody can fault the players for their work rate.

''Again, the other results went against us.

But you've got to credit Kilmarnock.

What a result that was for them at Ibrox.

''However, we'll fight on and try to turn things around.

There's no despondency here and we'll keep going.'' On the other hand, Hearts were delighted with the three points which carries them closer to a place in next season's UEFA Cup.

And no one was more pleased than scorer Paille, whose career was all but over last year following a drugs episode in France.

Said the Frenchman: ''I have signed a contract that will keep me here until June of next year and I'm very happy in Edinburgh.

In fact, I would like to sign for longer.

I owe everything to Hearts, because they rescued my career.

They gave me a chance when no one else would.

That is something I will remember forever.

''I hadn't played for two months, so I was delighted to be called into the side for this game.

I'm very happy to have scored the goal and I hope that helps us reach the UEFA Cup.'' Manager Jim Jefferies, who has done so much in a comparatively short time at Tynecastle, was also pleased.

''The first half hour was as good as we have played for a number of weeks,'' he said.

''Good movement, good passing and a tremendous goal.

''The way Motherwell were, we should have killed them off and both Paille and Cameron should have scored.

''As it was, they came back at us, but although they had chances, I thought we were always in control.

''Motherwell's main ploy was the high ball into the penalty area, but I thought we coped well with that, although Gilles Rousset could have helped out more by coming out more for some of those balls.

Having said that, he had a couple of outstanding saves.'' Motherwell's position is now looking pretty desperate and there was little - other than the effort they put in - to encourage fans who are becoming more and more critical.

On Saturday the defence looked at sixes and sevens and could have been punished more severely.

At the goal, they could not cope with the jinking run from Neil McCann, whose close control took him past three men before he released the ball to Paille, who was totally unmarked at the edge of the box.

The Frenchman was given the space and time to look up and pick exactly where he wanted to place the ball.

What they do have going for them is a battling spirit and that could be all important for them in the run in.

That sees them facing matches against Aberdeen, Raith Rovers, Dundee United, Rangers and Dunfermline No easy points will be gained there.

Next league matches: Motherwell - Aberdeen (a).

Hearts - Kilmarnock (a).

Taken from the Herald