Houston and McCall settle for the same

The wind was the only winner at Fir Park on Saturday and Motherwell manager Stuart McCall and his Dundee United counterpart Peter Houston were left content with the 0-0 scoreline after realising the conditions would curtail any loftier ambitions.

Both sides struggled to create chances as a strong swirling wind, not helped by heavy rain, made it a difficult 90 minutes.

United edged the first half with Darren Randolph saving well from John Rankin and Jon Daly, the latter chance coming after home defender Shaun Hutchinson had struggled to deal with a high ball.

Motherwell pressed United back for long spells after the break but chances were limited, Dusan Pernis rarely troubled.

McCall admitted he would have been delighted if the game had been postponed and modified his tactical instructions.

“You have to use your head and second half we were better, we started putting balls in the box,” the Motherwell boss said.

Houston, who also simplified his team’s approach, reflected: “I’m pleased we’ve got two clean sheets in a row.”