Motherwell spirit is fitting tribute to O'Donnell

Ewan Murray at Tynecastle
Monday January 14, 2008
The Guardian

It took the sight of a tearful John Boyle, the Motherwell chairman, as he applauded his players from the Tynecastle pitch at full-time to serve as a reminder of the emotional impact of what had gone before.

That was, fittingly, one of the most outstanding matches in recent Scottish Cup history, lit up by four fine goals, no shortage of good football and a comeback from a Motherwell team whose ability and level of spirit should never be open to question. The tragedy, of course, was that Phil O'Donnell could not be at the centre of it.

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It was Motherwell's manager, Mark McGhee, who had asked for both teams to put on a spectacle that would honour O'Donnell as the perfect way to mark the 35-year-old's death 16 days ago. They did not disappoint, with Paul Quinn, the new Motherwell captain, appropriately remarking that "Phil would have been a happy man upstairs watching that".

This was the day Motherwell returned to action with O'Donnell providing inspiration in his former team-mates' minds, rather than alongside them on the pitch. They will never forget him in deepest Lanarkshire but occasions such as this can serve only to heal the most painful of memories. "I came here determined that everyone should enjoy the game and I think they did," McGhee said.

Hearts should be highly commended for the part they played, both on and off the field. A commemorative match-day programme in memory of O'Donnell had been produced while warm applause rained down from the stands before kick-off as the home club publicly passed on condolences to the former Celtic and Sheffield Wednesday player's family. Football can, as McGhee had also stressed, be a worthwhile business at times.

It also seemed entirely appropriate that George Peat, the president of the Scottish Football Association, was in attendance. McGhee's performance, both publicly and professionally, since O'Donnell's death has been impeccable; his credentials as a leading contender for the vacant Scotland manager's post were visible first-hand to Peat on Saturday. Motherwell's passing, even when two goals behind, was a joy to behold with the man of the match, Ross McCormack, at the core of every move.

The winger Deividas Cesnauskis had side-footed Hearts in front within 10 minutes, rounding off a sweeping move that included Andrew Driver and Andrius Ksanavicius, before Andrius Velicka doubled the hosts' advantage seven minutes into the second half.

Yet Motherwell, roared on by a 3,200-strong support who had earlier unfurled a 50ft banner in tribute to their former captain, responded in rousing fashion with Chris Porter's two goals retrieving the tie before many onlookers even had time to draw breath. "It has been a tough couple of weeks, no doubt about that," said McGhee. "But the one thing this game proved was that this group of players are great mates, not just colleagues. They helped each other out there, they were brilliant for one another."

If any man was in need of special assistance, it was surely David Clarkson, a nephew of O'Donnell who watched first-hand as his uncle collapsed on the pitch before he died. "I can't put into words how hard it has been," Clarkson said. "The game and the performance were so important; that was the best way to show we were still thinking about what happened."

These teams will replay at Fir Park a week tomorrow, in what will be Motherwell's first home match since the loss of O'Donnell. They will be favourites to progress to the fifth round but there have been glimmers of hope for Hearts under the caretaker management of Stephen Frail in their last two games.

"There are tiny signs of progress," said Frail, whose team have not won since November 11. "If we can play for 90 minutes the way we did for 65 against Motherwell, we will give any team problems."

Taken from the Guardian/Observer