We couldn’t… Could we? || Motherwell vs Dundee United Analysis
- Ruaraidh Blackwood
- Mar 2
- 9 min read
Well, the Well go marching on. After yet another 2-0 win, Motherwell are now just 4 points from Rangers in 2nd, and 10 points from top spot, with a game in hand over both teams.
For United, this result means that - while still possible, mathematically - the almost insurmountable climb to the top 6 just got slightly harder, as they now sit 12 points adrift of Falkirk. The Terrors should be safe from automatic relegation come the end of the season, being 16 points clear of Livi, but there are only 9 points between themselves and Killie in the play-off spot, and their run-in includes a home match against Celtic.
How They Lined Up…
The Steelmen came into this one brimming with confidence, off the back of that thumping win over St Mirren, and Jens Berthel Askou made a single change. Out went Priestman; a player I always seem to have sympathy for, considering his efforts when he’s called upon, and in came Fadinger, fresh from suspension.
For once, we made almost exact predictions of our starting personnel. For all the BBC has our lineup listed as a 4-3-3 - with a midfield of Fadinger, Watt, and Slattery; as well as Just and Said flanking Maswanhise up front - it played rather more like the 4-2-3-1 we all have come to know from Askou.
For Jim Goodwin’s men, it was a total of five changes from the draw against Aberdeen. Out went: Agyei, Ferry, Fatah, Sapsford, and Trapanovski; with Strain, Eskesen, Naamo, Farrigua, and Watters all coming in. There was also a shape change from the game against the Dons, with Goodwin seeming to prefer a more defensively-minded 3-5-1-1 system to the more expansive 3-4-3 used in midweek.
On this occasion, we were absolutely downright wrong. For all the relatively settled back line of Maynard-Brewer and his three centre-halves was guessable, the amount of changes made by Jim Goodwin seemed to make little to no sense, considering how the game then went on to pan out.
It was evident from the first minute that the plan from United was to strangle the game. They were set-up to cut passing lanes, and hope for something on the counter (I’ll dissect this more in the Stats Analysis section, later in the article) which was, on the whole, very easily dealt with by the Motherwell backline. When facing the team with the least goals conceded in the league - and who’ve conceded less this season than Arsenal, Paris Saint Germain, Real Madrid, and more - you’re highly unlikely to be able to score when leaving one man up against at least two covering defenders. Especially when one of those is Sweeper-Extraordinaire Stephen Welsh. Some of United’s “attacks” seemed almost reminiscent of a Stuart Kettlewell Motherwell side. Ball hoofed somewhere in the vicinity of a sole striker who - even if he wins the flick on - has no support, and then is crowded out by multiple defenders. And that’s even if we got the ball out our final third at all.
Overall, it was a bit of a torrid affair for the Tangerines, but the Well weren’t without their positives as well.
How It All Panned Out…
Motherwell came flying out the traps, and looked to pressure and force an early goal. A brilliant chance resulted in a Callum Slattery shot flashing just inches wide inside the first five minutes. The Steelmen seemed to pin United almost immediately, and it took the away side over ten minutes just to get out of their own half.
Motherwell were settling into their rhythm of slick passing almost immediately, and seemed to look for multiple ways to take the Dundee back three on the turn. This included Ward looking direct for the runs of Said and Maswanhise, although it was to little success in the opening 20 minutes or so. The home side did have success from short though, with Said and Slattery again going close. The Nigerian will be ruing his missed chances, perhaps, considering he was clean through on at least one occasion.
United, to their credit, did have their half-chances however. Watters forced a decent save from Ward from a header, and Luca Stephenson stung the palms of the Motherwell stopper from distance. The on-loan Liverpool man - and United captain for the day - was perhaps the biggest threat carried by the away side.
Then came…the penalty. When watching the game, all I really saw was Tawanda on the floor, with no idea how he got there, then O’Donnell put the ball out. Three and a half minutes later, Nick Walsh was finally called to the monitor to investigate l, and what followed was a disasterclass. While there absolutely was an elbow to the midsection from Ševelj on the Zimbabwean, it once again highlighted how downright laughable VAR is in this country. The most conclusive angle given to Nick Walsh by the VAR officials was from the opposite end of the Phil O’Donnell stand, with one of the roof poles in the middle of the shot.
Now, I’m not denying that the correct decision was made, not at all. A penalty should have been given, and Ševelj may count himself lucky that he didn’t see red.
But.
When you’re wanting a referee to judge surreptitious actions made by a player on his opposite number, it’s probably best that the angle that official is given isn’t so zoomed in you can see individual pixels. And this is yet another problem with VAR.
In the Scottish top flight, the minimum camera number is six, with more used if the game in question is broadcast on Sky. That’s two in the main stand, one at either 18-yard box, and one behind each goal. That’s it. Now, one would suspect that there therefore should have been other angles surrounding the box that could have picked up on the incident, but by assuming that the best angle must have been given for on-field review, we must also wonder who decides where cameras are placed. The fact of the matter is, there’s a sizeable area that will be missed if the best angle of the middle of the penalty box is directly behind one of the POD stand’s support pillars. But I digress. This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to officiating in Scottish football, and I fear I will open a can of worms if I continue any longer.
So back to the match at hand.
Penalty given. Penalty dispatched. Maswanhise joins the '20-goal in a season' club for Motherwell. Maybe not his best but still, sent the keeper the wrong way. Limbs from the home end.
The deadlock being broken seemed to settle Motherwell even more, and dishearten the away side. The only other real “chance” of note for the latter came when Keresztez tried the speculative while Ward was off his line. As with more than a few so far this season, he too missed by some margin.
Halftime came, and Motherwell seemed to be cruising to yet another home victory. Although, it must be said, I’m never comfortable unless there’s at least a two-goal cushion, regardless of how utterly fantastic this team is.
The second half began, and it seemed that United had a rocket booted up their backsides, as they seemed to start far brighter that they’d ended the previous half.
Watters had the first chance of the half, running in behind and forcing a good save from Ward. Despite being a couple yards offside, it was certainly a wake up call for the Steelmen.
And wake them up, it did. A succession of free kicks gave Watt the space to chip a delightful ball in behind for Tawanda, and the Zimbabwean did the rest. Firing at goal from the 18-yard line, a wicked deflection took it beyond the helpless United keeper. That takes the winger-turned-striker to sixteen league goals this campaign, and he doesn’t ever look like stopping. Our Warrior. Our Talisman.
And he perhaps could’ve had his hat trick just two minutes later. A great pick out from Welsh, but the striker couldn’t quite get his feet sorted and fired the ball well wide of the right post.
United were starting to get more desperate. Long balls, misplaced passes, and generally just a lot of disjointed play followed, and they just couldn’t quite get themselves back into this game.
One thing from around this time in the game I must mention is Said’s yellow. A simply bewildering decision from Walsh was to award a free kick to Motherwell, with Keresztes grappling with the Nigerian, but in an effort to shake the United man from him, Keresztes took an almost acrobatic tumble to the floor. Foul to Motherwell, yellow card to…checks notes… Said. Mental.
Anyway, United made a whole host of subs on 60 minutes, with Goodwin bringing on Trapanovski, Sapsford, Fatah and Agyie all at once to replace Camará, Eskesen, Farrugia, and Watters. It is fair to say that those subs made minimal difference, and the damage was done.
Motherwell then made some subs of their own, with Fadinger and Said making way for Priestman and Byørgolfsson. Both men going off having already been booked, it very much seemed to be switching with an eye on future games. The big Norwegian, however, nearly had the perfect entrance when - after some fantastic trickery down the left by Longelo - he fired a header towards Maynard-Brewer’s goal. The keeper, for once, was well-matched to it though, and smartly saved.
Another fantastic pick out late in the game by Ward found Slattery in the left wing and, after a brilliant run inside, the finish perhaps should’ve killed it but the midfielder pulled his shot agonisingly wide of the far post. Bit more of a burly toe needed, unfortunately.
A late chance for the away side could have spelled a nervy end for the Steelmen, with some slack passing starting to eek in, and Luca Stephenson found himself one-on-one with Ward. Luckily, either through a dreadful shot or a smart save (I’m still not sure which) the ball went harmlessly wide.
Full time. “Stand up and sing” ringing through the stands in an echoing cacophony, 7,331 Motherwell fans journeyed home with a little bit more hope that…we couldn’t, could we?
Stats Analysis…
Once again, the stats can tell a similar story to the game itself. Anecdotally, it was telling that the game plan for United was to do everything they could to break up Motherwell’s flow. The amount of fouls committed (over double on United’s part) but still relatively low number combined speaks to the fact that they were trying, it unsuccessful.
On the whole, Motherwell lead the whole 90 minutes in almost every metric, once again. More shots, more xG, more final third passes, more touches in the box. Its total domination. But we’re used to that. In most games nowadays, it’s usually only a matter of time till we score. This is a team where goals come from all places. We’ve had 11 different scorers so far this season in the league alone, for a total of 47 goals scored. That just shows that - while Tawanda has had a remarkable season so far, and is looking to be the first Golden Boot winner at Motherwell since Michael Higdon - the goals can come from anywhere.
Conversely, at the other end of the park, that is our 21st clean sheet of the season. We are still the best team in the league, defensively. 18 goals conceded in 28 games, allowing for a goal difference of 29. That, simply, is remarkable. At the same point last season, we had a goal difference of -15, sitting 8th in the table. I say it time and time again, but Motherwell have gone from strength to strength this season. Askou has taken a core of players that - while having potential - were disjointed and happy to sit back and play on the counter, and made them a team designed to DOMINATE games on both fronts. This defensive platform is the catalyst for us to play, simple as that.
And all of this domination is with a shifting back line, in places. We've had rotation, and changes to systems, and tweaks to positions, all without spending big in any transfer window. We’ve no real backup at left-back since day one, and have been relying on the likes of Sparrow, O’Donnell, and Koutroumbis to deputise in that position while still remaining a defensive wall. We’ve used centre halves that aren’t natural, with O’Donnell and Koutroumbis stepping into those positions, and I can’t forget the fact that McGinn is technically a right back to trade.
This team, this squad, is special. Truly something to behold. And I sincerely hope that we are able to keep at least the spine of the team going into next season, as it’s becoming increasingly more likely that we may have European competition to contend in as well. Heck, we may even have the Champions League. But for now, all I can say is what a journey this season has been, with ups and downs to boot, and I simply cannot wait to see how it concludes. If we finish the season with claret and amber ribbons on the Premiership trophy, then no one could say we didn’t deserve it, considering how well we’ve done ALL season, but we’ll enjoy the Motherwell rollercoaster regardless.
We couldn’t… could we?
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