MFCL84

I would go further and say that I feel that we were worth a win. We created 4 decent chances and played some great stuff at times (albeit fairly infrequently). The football to get JK away for his chance was top drawer, as was the work to get JT the chance that he lashed over from 6 yards out. Falkirk offered nothing to the game and were happy to foul throughout, knowing early on that the ref was useless. They were happy to break up play and wait for us to run out of gas in the final 20mins. No way did they deserve anything from the match. To comment on Motherwell today, I feel that we were generally slow and ponderous in the build up, and our movement in front of the ball is minimal, so making chances is going to be difficult against any well organised team. We need to improve our fitness, to last more than an hour. We need more movement and intelligent movement in midfield and, especially up top. We also really need the few runs that are made to be seen and used. We are very guilty of ignoring forward movement and turning back when forward options are available. I'm hoping that we'll improve with games and familiarity, but I don't think we have the players in place to emulate last season's performances. We need some more quality in the mid and front areas.

Good result after a much improved second half. Looking forward to the return leg where we will be favourites to progress, back at Fir Park, playing on a real pitch with real grass, not that 50% shredded tyres rubbish. We should have Said back, which will help going forward. Hopefully, RCC and Lowry have no worse than niggling injuries and we get Williams and one or two more back from the treatment table. It'll be a tough game, but we should have enough to progress.

Quite poor from Motherwell. Not able to hold the ball, not moving with any pace or precision, leaving the defensive flanks wide open and absolutely nothing in the final third. Happy that it is still 0-0, but I expect Helsinki will score eventually. We may have to take a 1 or 2 goal defeat here and recover it next week. Let's hope for better in the second half.

We'll beat Falkirk. Their hex over us can't continue this season.

Similar in style, but nowhere near as cohesive at this point. Struggling to really impact in the final third. It will improve though. It should be another interesting season.

That was a great win. Not near our fluid best, but there were some brilliant passages of play at times. The defence did OK, but there were some nervy moments. We do allow teams to cross the ball into our box far too often and far too easily. You could see that it was early season though, our press disappeared in the second half. Did we just run out of steam? More movement is needed to link the middle to front, and a bit more pace required in the approach play in the final third. As everyone knows, we need a goalscorer. We will get better.

Great win. I certainly didn't see that coming after Hibs equalised. What a goal to win it.

What a goal. Yes!

We are not at the races now. Got to see 5his out.

It's going to be a difficult final 30mins

Architect of our own downfall there. Poor pass in our own third, leads to penalty and Boyle did what he does and it is 1-1.

A satisfactory first half. Maybe a bit lucky to be in front though. We are not doing enough in the final third. I expect Hibs to score through percentage balls into the box. They will certainly be more energetic in this 2nd half. Come on ye well!

Yes, sorry, but I can't get too excited by another loan deal. Hopefully, he does really well for us, but let's get the permanent players in place please.

So, by that ranking, they aren't as good as Hearts. That gives me some confidence that we can get a result here. We do need to be tighter at the back, and sharper in our passing. The addition of Lowry will, hopefully, give us a bit of guile that can open up opposition defences. We have to hope that whoever is up front can find the net when chances come. A draw away from home and win it at Fir Park.

This'll be a tough game. We are certainly not firing on all cylinders. The defence looks particularly vulnerable. I expect that we'll ship a goal or two. Question is whether we can out-score them. I'd certainly be happy to take a draw from Easter Road at this stage.

It has to be Oscar!

I can't say that I heard that, but you're right, it isn't a good look. I know that it's a bit of banter, but our fans should be more respectful of the opposition. That said, let's not take anything away from the display. Given the lack of resources and the upheaval, AJ has done well to get a tune from the team in such a short time. Progress through the rounds is a nice little money earner, and great for the fans. Long may it continue. Of course, the real test will come on Sunday, when we play a team of equal standard.

Yeah, very professional performance, if somewhat slack with the passing at times. Again, Said should have had a couple. If he could compose himself in front of goal he'd be worth a fortune.

Got it going on the phone app!

Premier Sports.stream isn't working for me. OK for everyone else?

I feel the same. That's a couple of loan signings this window. Maybe these are to allow Matty or academy players a bit more time to achieve the required level and step up later in the season.

A decent start to the season proper. Some very good individual performances and a good team performance given where we are in the season and the limited availability of key squad members. My thoughts on the new guys playing last night: Paulsen did OK. He made a couple of saves that I'd expect of any keeper, and his distribution was, for the most part, acceptable. However, he looked a bit jittery. Maybe just early season nerves. Our central pairing of Moorman and Girdwood-Reich was reasonably solid, though I do worry about pace there. They didn't seem all that quick, and I thought that Girdwood-Reich seemed a bit unbalanced and unsure, almost clumsy at times. I'm not sure that he is the ball-playing centre-half that replaces Welsh. Then again, that's his first game in a Well jersey so no level of familiarity with his teammates. Williams did well for someone that had only just signed and probably met his teammates a day or so before the match. More to come from him as he settles in for sure. Vogt gave a vastly improved performance from the Genk match. A quiet first half, but he seemed to get the bit between his teeth second half resulting in some really good runs, and with a bit of composure he would have got a goal. Finally, our academy graduate, Booth. I felt that he acquitted himself well. He got into some great spaces between the lines and was constantly looking for the ball. He could have been used more by his teammates. One for the future. For the rest: Wilson did OK. I felt that his forward movement was pretty good. He made some good runs, but didn't receive the ball as often as he could have. He did get caught on the ball, in advanced positions a couple of times, but overall OK on the night. Fadinger and Priestman ran midfield. Very assured, dominating performance from both. Said, well, he was Said. Great touches on the ball, terrible decision making and even worse finishing. If only he could improve on either one, he'd be a real asset. Sparrow did what he pretty much always does. He was energetic and competent, solid not flashy; he rarely lets you down. I'd like to think that we have enough to see us through to the next round, but this tie is not over. HB showed enough to suggest that they will score next week. I just hope that we get one first, which will likely be enough to win the tie.

It was a toss up between Fadinger and Priestman, both were excellent tonight and controlled midfield. Peach of a strike by Fadinger.

100% this. We need to be aggressively trying to win this by a fair margin.

Apparently his main position is left back. Competition and backup for Longello.