Butcher's unbeaten record shredded by sharp Sheridan

Published on Saturday 28 February 2009 18:55

Inverness CT1 (Munro 38) Motherwell 2 (Sutton 26, Sheridan 53)

LAST week they kicked Fir Park sand in the face of Celtic's title bid, yesterday Motherwell dealt a blow to Inverness' hopes of securing their SPL status with a hard-fought win to end new Caley manager Terry Butcher's unbeaten start to Highland life.

Of more significance however to the Lanarkshire men will have been taking all three points back down the road to aid their own aspirations of attaining a credible top-six berth.

Terry Butcher and Maurice Malpas will not have enjoyed losing to their old employers, but there was enough about Caley in the second half to allow them to plot a survival course with some confidence if they can find a better quality of final ball and cut out the rearguard errors which cost them so badly yesterday.

Motherwell for their part will be delighted to have sealed a third win of the season against Thistle, especially given the flying form their hosts had enjoyed over recent weeks, and also given how well they performed defensively as they stood resolutely firm in the face of a late onslaught from their hosts.

With both teams coming in off the back of tremendous results the dire nature of the opening 20 minutes was something of a surprise. Both teams tried to pass the ball, sadly they were just unable to do so with a swirling wind at times causing havoc with first touches whilst giving others a convenient get-out. Motherwell had the better of what could loosely be termed chances; Stevie Hammell hit the side-netting at the end of a forceful run, Stephen Hughes dirtied the gloves of Ryan Esson with a strike from distance and Cillian Sheridan nodded wide of target having initially done well to win his header.

Inverness were struggling to get motoring with the industry of Dougie Imrie in attack not serviced by a home midfield too often out-battled and lacking in ideas. If they had been poor going forward they had been steady enough at the back, this was until the 26th minute when keeper Ryan Esson raced from his line for a ball he was always second best to, allowing John Sutton to round him before stroking home a richly deserved opener from 25 yards.

The visitors were good value for their lead, yet one moment of defensive slackness cost them dear as Inverness pegged them back seven minutes from the break. Ian Black's in-swinging corner wasn't dealt with by anyone in claret and amber, and as the ball broke loose Grant Munro needed no second invitation to smash home.

Having got back on terms, the momentum seemed to be with the home side as the second half got under way. For the first time the prompting passes of Hearts-bound Black started to find their mark, Russell Duncan's deflected drive had Graeme Smith scrambling across his line as Motherwell were forced to pack out their own defensive area.

However, just as they were beginning to pummel the visitors all their good work was to be carelessly undone as Munro went from hero to zero. The Caley Thistle captain looked to be under no pressure when attempting to deal with an aimless high ball, yet for reasons the big defender will have lain awake all last night pondering he fluffed his kick to allow Cillian Sheridan to cheaply steal in behind and pick his spot with a supremely composed finish in off the post.

As you would expect from a team fighting for their lives, Caley refused to give up the ghost, and the introduction of Filipe Morais added an extra dimension to their attacking options. But for all they tried, and for all they rolled the dices by committing more and more players into attack, the equaliser Caley craved just was not to be.