Higdon brace seals win as Motherwell respond to McCall’s half-time roasting

By JOHN LEES
Published on 17/09/2012 00:00

Motherwell striker Michael Higdon admitted a half-time ear-bashing from manager Stuart McCall spurred his side on to come from behind and beat Dundee and maintain their position at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

Scorers:

Dundee - Nish (20)

Motherwell - Higdon (74, 85)

Referee: K Clancy

Attendance: 5,176

Colin Nish’s header after 20 minutes had given the home side a deserved half-time lead against a below-par Motherwell. However, Higdon netted a late double to ensure McCall’s side preserved their unbeaten start to the SPL campaign.

Higdon, who has netted six times in his last three league matches, said his team’s first-half showing angered manager McCall. Higdon said: “We got a bit of a kick up the backside at half-time and we came out and played much better football in the second half.

“We were terrible in the first half and it just wasn’t going for us. They hadn’t watered the pitch, which made it difficult for us to play our passing football.

“We got a bit of a roasting at half-time but we showed a lot of character to come through and win the game.”

The Fir Park side now sit one point clear at the top of the table but Higdon is paying little attention to their early season success. He added: “It is irrelevant as we are not looking to win the league.

“If we are still top of the league and four points clear come the end of April then there might be a different answer to that question [can Motherwell finish top of the SPL?] but, at the moment, we just want to take each game as it comes.”

In contrast, Dundee manager Barry Smith’s men now sit at the foot of the table and are yet to record a league win at home this season. It doesn’t get any easier for them next week when they face the daunting prospect of a trip to Glasgow to face champions Celtic, who themselves slumped to defeat at the weekend at St Johnstone.

Dundee goalscorer Nish managed to carry on playing despite requiring lengthy treatment for a suspected broken nose early in the second half. And, despite feeling a bit battered and bruised afterwards, the on-loan Hartlepool striker felt his side can take positives from the defeat.

He said: “It was a killer to lose that game. I know they were on top of us for spells but I couldn’t see them creating a lot of chances. We were defending well and breaking up the park when we got the chance. We had a bit of luck when we beat Hearts 1-0 but it just didn’t go for us today.

“I think we have proved we can win games as Motherwell are top of the league but they have struggled to beat us. That’s a positive we can take from the game.”

The ex-Kilmarnock and Hibernian striker passed up a glorious opportunity to put his side two ahead that would have probably won the game for Dundee.

He added: “I had a great chance and it looked for the life of me like it was in as soon as it hit my foot.

“I don’t know how it didn’t go in.”