Admirably, the entire Motherwell squad to a man signed up for the ‘Well Society this week in a bid to strengthen the bond between the club and the supporters, but after the first half at Fir Park, they might have struck a better chord if they had a whip round to refund the entrance fee.
By the end though, the home players and fans were celebrating in joyous unison as Stephen Robinson’s men racked up their third home win on the trot by seeing off Kilmarnock comfortably, and deservedly.
And once again, just as in the 2-1 win over Hearts here two weeks ago, it was the dynamic strike duo of Ryan Bowman and Louis Moult who got the goals to make it nine points from the last nine for the Steelmen.
There is real promise blossoming in this combination for the Lanarkshire side, and manager Robinson is still hopeful that the partnership may be gracing Fir Park for some time to come.
“Ryan Bowman was excellent today, his hold-up play as well as his goal,” said Robinson. “He has great energy and that’s why the fans have kept the faith with him.
“Louis could have had four or five goals on another day but that’s what he is – he’s a sniffer, he scores goals out of nothing and that’s why we sometimes leave him on when he’s not at his best – because he can win the game for you.
“The goal he got was richly deserved. His desire and passion to get on the end of that cross two minutes from time says everything about him.
“Anyone who scores the amount of goals he does is someone we want to keep at this club and I haven’t given up hope of doing that by any stretch of the imagination. We’ll continue speaking to him about a new contract.”
By the end, the first period had thankfully become little more than a distant, nightmarish, memory. It descended into a dire affair after a promising opening, where Motherwell were on the front foot but Killie had real menace on the counter attack.
Indeed, they might have had the lead when a swift break allowed former Motherwell man Dom Thomas the chance to get a ball across to Eamonn Brophy at the back post, but home keeper Trevor Carson got down well to save.
Referee Bobby Madden could have done us all a favour by blowing for half-time right there and then, as for all Motherwell’s possession, there was no way through the packed ranks of the Kilmarnock defence.
Both sides made changes at the break, and Motherwell grasped the initiative, particularly when the excellent Gael Bigirimana joined the fray.
Suddenly, the home side were 10 yards further up the pitch, their strikers stopped dropping into midfield, and that was a key factor in finally breaking through the stubborn visiting rearguard.
Bigirimana picked the ball up in midfield, and as the Kilmarnock players stood like statues, he threaded a ball through to Bowman in acres of space in the box. The big striker takes stick at times for a perceived lack of technique, but he took a great touch and lashed the ball home brilliantly with his left foot.
“It was a great pass from Gael for the first goal but we want that from him for 90 minutes, not just 30,” said Robinson.
“I’m not going to drop my standards so he’ll need to raise his, but he’s given me a headache now.”
He will certainly have a job getting into the Motherwell midfield ahead of young Allan Campbell, who was head and shoulders above everyone else on the day.
The second came from the penalty spot near the death, as Bowman was taken out by Iain Wilson. Moult stepped up and finished with ease high to Jamie MacDonald’s left.
It all made for painful viewing for Kilmarnock manager Lee McCulloch, who walked into the press room after the game like a mummy after injuring his back in a game of five-a-sides in training. The performance from his side just added insult to his injury, with just one point from their first five games now.
“The first 25 minutes of the second half Motherwell were the better team, they were more aggressive and winning second balls,” said McCulloch.
“They probably looked the team who was going to win the game, and then we gave away a silly goal again.
“The second half performance wasn’t really good enough.”
MOTHERWELL: Carson; Tait, Kipre, Hartley (Grimshaw, 75'), Dunne (Hammell, 45’); Cadden, Campbell, McHugh, Rose (Bigirimana, 58’); Bowman, Moult.
Scorers: Bowman (65’), Moult (88’)
Booked: Kipre (24’), Grimshaw (83’) Hammell (91’),
KILMARNOCK: MacDonald; O’Donnell, Greer (Broadfoot,45’), Findlay, Taylor; Burke (Jones, 52’), Thomas, Wilson, Smith; Brophy (Frizzell, 71’), Erwin.
Booked: Wilson (88’)
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