Dundee Utd 1 - 1 Motherwell: Henrik Ojamaa advances claim for regular Motherwell place as he saves point

MOTHERWELL striker Henrik Ojamaa believes his side should have had a late penalty in their draw with Dundee United on Saturday.

The Estonian made a huge impact after coming on as a second-half substitute at Tannadice – setting up Michael Higdon’s 85th-minute leveller.

Ojamaa then fell in the box after tangling with United players John Rankin and Paul Dixon and insists referee Stevie O’Reilly should have pointed to the spot.

He said: “I knocked the ball past the United players, they put a couple of hurdles in my way and there was definitely contact. The referee has a hard job and I don’t know if he had a clear look at it, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.

“It was frustrating because there was only one team who wanted to win it in the end.”

Ojamaa earned the praise of manager Stuart McCall afterwards and is now pushing for a starting place in the Motherwell side.

The 20-year-old has signed a short-term deal with the Fir Park side, but has made an impression since arriving three weeks ago. His pace and energy unsettled United and Ojamaa is confident he can bring a new dimension to Motherwell’s play.

He said: “That’s the kind of player I am. I don’t normally score goals but I work hard for others and create chances. We showed great desire to come back from a goal down and we could have gone on to take three points. But the main thing is that we put an end to our losing streak and I was happy to set Michael up for the goal.”

Motherwell captain Stephen Craigan was also in the limelight after the Tannadice match – but for the wrong reasons. His first-half own goal was his record eighth in the Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League and took his career tally to an astonishing 12.

However, United striker Johnny Russell offered to rescue Craigan from further embarrassment and accept the goal as his own.

Russell said: “I’m claiming the goal. I’ve heard I’ve not officially been given it but I got the slightest of touches so I’ll take it. Dixon put in a great cross and I got a touch, so it was going in anyway. His touch didn’t make a difference. I didn’t know Stephen had the record for OGs, but I’m sure he’d be happy to give this one to me.”

Despite the own goal setback, Motherwell created a string of chances. Keith Lasley’s long-range drive was held by Pernis, while the Slovakian also denied Higdon after great work from Jennings.

In the second half, Jamie Murphy’s low drive was expertly gathered by Dusan Pernis, then Steven Hammell’s curling effort drifted narrowly wide. Perseverance paid off in the 85th minute when Higdon latched on to Ojamaa’s cutback and fired high past Pernis.

Motherwell dropped to fifth place in the SPL after the draw, while United moved up to sixth position.