St Mirren 0 - 1 Motherwell: Leaders show last-minute steel

THE denouement to this hugely entertaining encounter was as dramatic as it was inevitable. With seconds remaining, and the match becoming increasingly towsy as both of these unbeaten sides sought the goal that would bring them all three points, Motherwell's Nicky Law launched one final sortie towards the home goal.

Gary Teale's challenge on the edge of the box looked borderline, with the midfielder getting a touch on the ball before bringing down Law, but when Tom Hateley lined up the resulting free kick, there could only be one outcome.

Hateley's free-kick against Odense will be remembered for years by the Motherwell faithful, and yesterday as he sent a curling one arcing over the wall and past the despairing Saints keeper Craig Samson, the sound of chickens coming home to roost drowned out by the delirium of the Motherwell supporters. The free-kick may have been debatable, but the goal had been a long time coming, and only two outstanding saves in each half from Samson had kept the league leaders at bay.

As Motherwell manager Stuart McCall said afterwards: "On playing terms both sides were pretty equal, but we certainly had the better chances. It was a decent performance and a good game between two sides trying to play positive football."

The end of this free-flowing match was completely in keeping with the preceding 89 minutes, which were characterised by a St Mirren side which did most of the running, dominating possession and territory with some slick passing football, but which failed to take their chances and looked vulnerable to a disciplined Motherwell outfit.

In Steven Thompson the Saints had a good target man, and in Gary Teale an old head with the insight and patience to unpick even the tightest defences, yet yesterday they found themselves stymied by a Motherwell defence that was expertly marshalled by the outstanding Stephen Craigan, whose interventions and the Buddies' lack of precision in the final third meant that, while they created more chances, they never looked likely to break the deadlock. Indeed, they failed to force Motherwell keeper Darren Randolph to make a save until one minute before half-time when he had to go down on one knee to field Teale's driven shot.

If St Mirren are the most improved footballing side in the SPL, leaders Motherwell have also been impressing with their dedication to avoiding Route One football. When they did manage to wrest possession from their hosts, they counter-attacked in a refreshingly direct manner, using the speed and guile of Jamie Murphy down the left, Law's trickery down the right and the rocklike Higdon's ability to hold the ball up in the area down the middle.

McCall said after the match that his midfield and strikers were below par, yet they were still mighty effective, carving out a succession of decent chances. Only two superb saves from Samson kept Danny Lennon's men on equal terms at the break. The first came after quarter of an hour when Michael Higdon laid back a Law cross to Murphy, whose driven shot looked destined to go inside the right-hand post until Samson's energetic save, with the keeper's acrobatics saving Saints five minutes later when Law caught Goodwin in possession and fired the ball across goal. They were by no means the only near misses, though. If St Mirren, who badly missed injured defender Danny McGregor, lived dangerously before the break, the pattern of the game didn't change significantly after the restart, even if Motherwell did come out with a greater intensity, closing down the space and pressurising the man with the ball far more effectively. It was a change in tempo that wasn't always appreciated by the home side, with several no-nonsense challenges leading to some outbreaks of bad temper and yellow cards for Goodwin and Van Zanten.

St Mirren still had the lion's share of possession, yet they were unable to convert their half-chances, with Kenny McLean, Thompson and Jon McShane all shooting wide and several other chances going begging.

Down at the other end it was business as usual, with Motherwell once again threatening Samson's goal. As with the first half, Samson was their nemesis, with two spectacular saves - one from a low drive to his left from Higdon, the other an even better effort from a rasping long-range shot from Ross Forbes - keeping the Buddies' goal intact until the final kick of the game. It was a cruel late blow which claimed St Mirren's unbeaten record, but they can never say they didn't see it coming. As for Motherwell, playing pretty football is a definite boon, but if they are to remain at the top of the table, this is exactly the sort of gutsy win they will need to eke out.SPARE PAGE