MJC

Just how it often goes with football. Double headers like this throw up different winners* and especially when one of them is a cup tie. Plus I never, ever trust Motherwell when it comes to cup games. * I am aware that we beat Aberdeen in the League Cup and then in the league back to back earlier in the season, but I don’t see us doing the ‘double-double’ over them.

We’re not winning this I’m afraid. Just can’t see it. Either a narrow loss in 90 or ET or a penalty shootout loss. Whatever happens we won’t be travelling to the Kingdom of Fife on 7th March.

Obviously pleased we didn’t get beat, but overall I don’t take too much from last night other than frustration. Yet again we have drawn with Rangers at Fir Park and we should have won. That’s now three games in a row against them here where we’ve only managed to get one point when it should have been all three. The 2-2 in December ‘24 when we threw away a 2-0 lead and the two this season where we were clearly the better side but needed to rely on late equalisers to get the absolute least that we deserved from the games. In a way both games at Fir Park against them this season have encapsulated our season within a single game. Really good ball work, dominant in possession, some lovely play, largely nullifying the opposition but just falling that little bit short of what we really could have achieved because we lack the cutting edge up front. Take nothing away from the magnificent job Jens has done and hopefully will continue doing until the end of the season but as I said the frustration is there.

Win this one then lose the Cup tie Thats how I see it going anyway. 2-1 home win

We were never winning this one. We just don’t have the firepower for it. We might still get a draw but even that’s looking unlikely.

So if that’s the case why have him and one other player been booked already, thus increasing the likelihood of a second yellow and a red?? (Beep-Beep-Beep….”because they were yellow cards” isn’t an answer here. Surely if “cause he plays for The Rangers” then they wouldn’t be yellow carded early in the match because the referee and VAR would be going easy on them and giving them preferential treatment? Or so you would think anyway…) Sometimes the world isn’t out to get you.

Was that given offside? If it was then I can see why it wasn’t given. But at the time it looked like a penalty.

The one positive so far is Watt’s footwork and ball skills have been exquisite.

Been the better team overall but our shortfallings up front have been our downfall and that is why we won’t finish top three or win the Cup. Rangers have done next to nothing but should have had a penalty imo, we’d be screaming for that in the other box.

That’s exactly what’s killing us here. If we had more up front and were more clinical we would probably be level at least.

Happy enough with that team and delighted to see Watt back. Don’t see us winning though unfortunately.

It was you’re right, my mistake. The same point stands for him though, ie. worse than Stevie Woods but we never saw him again after that game.

We have. But the length of time Woods was here sways it for me. Nine years, never first choice, kept turning up like a bad penny and making the same errors time and again. An example of much worse would be Jordan Archer. But he made only a handful of appearances with the last being an absolutely horrific display against Accies. After which he left and was never seen or heard of again. With Woods he would pop up again and again after the first choice goalkeeper left or was out injured and would remind the support just how much of a bombscare he truly was. Had he established himself as our undisputed first choice goalkeeper and been solid and reliable for the remainder of his time with us then the howler against Rangers in 1998 would have been largely overlooked as one of those unfortunate isolated moments, similar to the aforementioned Tommy Coyne miss. But that’s now how it panned out with us and Stevie Woods. What I would say for him though is that he found his ‘calling’ or his ‘forte’ when he moved into coaching. Some things are just meant to work out a certain way and for Stevie Woods it was clearly coaching as he has shown for many years now that that is what he is clearly best at. He’s worked with and coached top goalkeepers like Craig Gordon, Fraser Forster, Joe Hart and Kasper Schmeichel. And they all speak highly of him as a coach.

The top goalkeeper coach in the country. He wouldn’t have lasted as long as he had at Celtic if he wasn’t pretty decent at coaching. But sometimes those who are great coaches weren’t the greatest players and Stevie Woods falls into that category. He was here for the best part of a decade under numerous managers yet never made the No.1 spot his own. He continually made the same unforced errors like getting beat at his near post, coming for cross balls and completely missing them and his dreadful judgement and kicking led to various cheap goals conceded. The one against Rangers was the most high profile one but it was just another in a long, long line of clangers as he had plenty before it and would go on to make plenty more after it. And that is why Stevie Woods is right up there on the lists of many Motherwell fans worst ever goalkeeper.

Steven McLean the referee for this one and John Beaton on VAR. A pre-made excuse for the dribbling dafties and conspiracy theorists. ”Brother Beaton would never have given that decision if it was up the other end” etc