Jim Goodwin demands same first half but for 90 minutes this time at Motherwell

Assistant manager Keith Lasley believes that Motherwell, once back to their best, can have a ‘decent end to the season’. Picture: SNS.

The Buddies found themselves 4-1 up at Fir Park at half-time in the William Hill Scottish Cup replay before being pegged back to 4-4 by the hosts’ second-half onslaught.

Saints went on to win the subsequent penalty shoot-out and Goodwin hopes they can channel that first-half energy on their return to the same venue.

He said: “What I’m asking the players for is that performance in the first half when we scored some really good goals. More of that would be nice.

“The second half last week wasn’t good from us. When you watch the game back then some of the goals we conceded were really poor or lucky on Motherwell’s part.

“But they were the better team in the second half and we didn’t get started at all. We have to make sure that we don’t allow that to happen again.”

This will be the third time the teams have faced off against each other in the space of two and a half weeks but Goodwin expects Motherwell to be a different proposition this time around.

He added: “You would think the two teams would know each other pretty well by now but I saw on Saturday that they changed their formation (against Hamilton).

“They started with a back three which was how they played in the second half against us last week.

“So there might be a difference in how they approach the game and we have to be prepared for that. They finished very well against us playing that system so we will need to be ready for whatever they throw at us.”

St Mirren’s match with Hearts last Friday was postponed due to the weather and Goodwin admitted it was not the worst outcome for his players. He added: “There was probably a benefit to Friday’s game being off in terms of recovery times. After playing extra time last Tuesday it wasn’t too much of a blow for us to have the game off if I’m being honest.”

Meanwhile, Keith Lasley wants Motherwell to reignite their season with a win against St Mirren to night. The Steelmen have not won in seven games in all competitions but their goalless draw in the Ladbrokes Premiership against Hamilton at the weekend took them a point ahead of Aberdeen in third place.

Stephen Robinson’s side are no strangers to the Buddies. Having been knocked out of the Scottish Cup by the Buddies in that penalty shootout a week ago, assistant manager Lasley is looking to get back on the winning track. He said: “What comes off the back of winning is yes, we would be sitting four points clear in third position.

“But what is more important to us is win the game, particularly in front of our own fans, and get back to that energy and cohesion in the team, the way we attack, the way we defend as one.

“If we get back to near our best hopefully, if we can do that, we will have a decent end to this season.

“They (St Mirren) are a familiar foe over the last few weeks and we know their threats.

“You only have to look at the game last week to realise if we give their dangerous players too much space they can  hurt you.

“But likewise, they know our threats and in the previous meeting we have shown that and it is up to us to show that again in front of our own fans.”

Lasley revealed that striker Chris Long apologised to his team-mates after being sent off against Hamilton at the weekend for picking up two yellow cards in the first half, which means he misses the visit of the Buddies.

He said: “The manager spoke to him and he has apologised to his team-mates.

“He knows he has made a mistake but has been man enough to own up to that.

“The players pulled together really well with ten men and to go to your local rivals and dig out that result shows you the strength of the group as a whole.

“Chris knows he made the mistake, he has apologised for it and we move on.”