Motherwell 0 - 1 Inverness: Stuart McCall looking for ‘reaction’ to cure his side’s poor run in SPL

Motherwell have now lost three Clydesdale Bank Premier League games in a row without scoring and have slipped out of the top three for the first time this season.

The Lanarkshire side started the game at a high tempo as McCall had demanded, but they could not break their opponents down and were left empty-handed as Tade sealed the points for Inverness midway through the second-half, shooting into the top corner from 22 yards.

Motherwell face Dundee United next having won 3-1 at Tannadice in October, but Peter Houston’s side have since rediscovered their form.

“It’s all about the reaction,” McCall said. “We’ve had a little blip. “We have to knuckle down, go to Tannadice and aim to put on the performance we did the last time we were there and get something from the game.”

Motherwell dominated the early possession against Inverness and Michael Higdon and Jamie Murphy both had efforts blocked while Omar Daley blazed over after working space for himself. Inverness centre-back Roman Golobart was also fortunate to escape at least one of two penalty claims.

But Golobart was otherwise commanding and Inverness looked dangerous on the break, growing in confidence after the restart.

Motherwell have now won just one of eight SPL games at Fir Park, scoring only three times, since beating Inverness and Hearts in their first two home matches.

McCall added: “I felt we started the game well. Goals change games and if we had scored when we were on top, we might have won the game. But we didn’t and they hit us with a terrific strike.”

Inverness are now closer to the top six than the bottom in terms of points but their thoughts now switch back to the William Hill Scottish Cup as they face Dunfermline in a fourth-round replay at East End Park on Wednesday.

On-loan Bradford defender Steve Williams will not be eligible for the replay despite making his debut off the bench as Inverness moved to a five-man defence to secure their first clean sheet of the season.

Williams was impressed with the spirit among his new team-mates. “It was a pretty quick game with a lot of football played, which is my style,” he said. “They all look sharp on the ball and the togetherness in the team is unreal.”

His debut victory came against the man who signed him for Bradford – McCall bought Williams from Fleetwood in 2009.

“He gave me my chance in professional football,” Williams said. “He has done a lot for my career and I’ll always be grateful.”