Butcher's boys fight to keep dreams of survival alive

Motherwell 2-1 Hibernian Subs: Fagan for Leitch 7, Kemas for Craig 70.

Not used: Woods, Lasley, Kinninburgh.

Booked: Adams 21, Cowan 36, Fagan 84.

Referee: C Richmond.

Subs: James for Zambernardi 36, Arpinon for Jack 78, Reid for O'Connor 90.

Not used: Andersson, Doumbe.

Booked: Zambernardi 29, Jack 68, Murray 87, O'Neil 88, Townsley 90, Colgan 90.

Attendance: 4,999.

SOME obituaries of Motherwell's season were written after last week's loss at Tannadice, but on this evidence the Lanarkshire side are still alive and kicking.

The end result of this ill-tempered game which saw nine players booked - and ended in a rammy on the touchline - was that Terry Butcher's teenagers had scrapped and scraped their way past a leaden Hibs side to move off the bottom of the Premierleague table.

Motherwell still have to do without the suspended James McFadden for one more game, but goals from two of the next generation of Fir Park talents, David Clarkson and Shaun Fagan, earned the Lanarkshire side their first McFadden-less victory of the season. "James who?," Terry Butcher was content to joke after the game. "It was a fiery game, but it was a Motherwell game so it has to be fiery," Butcher added. "We don't play any other way. I was surprised there were 11 players on the field at the end."

Of those, six were under the age of 21. No wonder Butcher was happy to play down the physical side of things, which saw Hibs players Yannick Zambernardi and Nick Colgan both fortunate not to be sent off, the former substituted after half an hour after a wild lunge at David Cowan, and the latter appearing to manhandle Clarkson near the corner flag. The first incident "looked worse than it was", while the second was "understandable because Hibs were desperate to get things moving".

Yet there will have been little, if anything, for his opposite number Bobby Williamson to feel even remotely upbeat about, especially with Garry O'Connor hirpling off the field with a calf injury and Ian Murray sustaining a groin strain that his manager said made them both "doubtful" for Scotland duties against Ireland next week. Williamson eventually conceded that his Corsica-born defender, who had also been carrying an injury, had been taken off for his own good. "He is one of those guys who goes into 60-40s, so I suppose it was a bit of a precaution. It was bad enough at 11 versus 11, so we didn't want it to go to 11-10," the Hibs manager said. Of the late brawl that flared up, Williamson would only say: "I'm not doing an Arsene Wenger but I didn't really see it."

Given their predicament, Motherwell could have done without losing their captain Scott Leitch to injury after just seven minutes, the midfielder the game's first victim after an early collision with Matthias Jack. It was merely the opening skirmish between two teams that produced four red cards the last time they met.

But towards the end of the first half, there were encouraging signs that a football match was starting to break out amidst the chaos, and before long referee Charlie Richmond was scribbling down the names of Clarkson and Fagan - who had both travelled to the Algarve with the Scotland Under-21 side last month, but are still both eligible for the Under 18s - for the right reasons.

Clarkson, a 17-year-old striker, made headlines last week for a dive which won his side a disputed penalty in the defeat against Dundee United, but yesterday his acrobatics were focused in an altogether more legitimate direction. Stephen Pearson took possession and made ground down the left before swinging over a cross which bisected the Hibs defence. The youngster leading the line due to the absence of the injured Dirk Lehmann and suspended McFadden, timed his arrival on the scene perfectly and placed his header low to Colgan's left.

The second arrived soon enough, and from an identical area on the rutted Fir Park pitch. Steven Hammell swung over a free kick from wide, and when Mixu Paatelainen headed clear, substitute Fagan launched a fierce right-foot volley through a ruck of players which left the unsighted Colgan helpless.

There was more application after the break from the visitors, which allowed them one goal back. John O'Neil appeared to have been ushered up a blind alley by David Partridge, but flicked the ball over the defender's head before cushioning the cut-back towards O'Connor. His first-time right-foot finish from 15 yards found Francois Dubourdeau's top corner.

The same player volleyed over soon after as Hibs pushed on, but the real action involved Derek Townsley and Colgan, who were both booked for their part in the mass pushing-match with Clarkson near the corner flag. The fourth official had indicated five extra minutes, but wisely cut the game a couple of seconds short.

Copyright 2003 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
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