Motherwell v Morton 22/07/2025 🏆

[El Grew]

16 minutes ago, weeyin said:

100%

There's still a long way to go, but I'd much rather watch our defence make 3 or 4 passes along the back looking for an opening than watch Casey hoof a hopeful long ball over AP's head.

100% agree.

[grumpy]

That was rather better than I expected tonight. The first half hour was a slicker version of last week and we were arguably a bit lucky to get to half time all square after falling off the pace for the last 15 minutes. We started the second half well and although the finish was scrappy, the build up to the opener had a lot of quality about it. I thought we were starting to defend too deeply and we would be under pressure for the rest of the game but the second goal settled us and we started plating well again. I'm not sure the pass for the 2nd goal was intended for Maswanhise but he controlled it and finished beautifully As for the third goal, just wooft! 

[grizzlyg]

And in tribute to a rock legend it was fitting first goal was scored by Aussie

[grumpy]

Just now, grizzlyg said:

And in tribute to a rock legend it was fitting first goal was scored by Aussie

The use of VAR now makes sense, Villa can hold a minutes silence in the 666th minute of the opening league game this season.

[Spiderpig]

We were never in any danger tonight, controlled and dominated the game from the start, we had a 10 min spell 2nd half when we sat back a bit and let Morton come on to us, but in reality they never looked like scoring.

Good to see AP scoring hopefully that will boost his confidence, and what about the 3rd goal, that's a contender for goal of the season, worth the ticket money just to see it. Hopefully the results in the other groups go our way and we can be seeded in the last 16.

[wellfan]

Of the four League Cup games, this was clearly our best overall performance so far. We’re still very much a work in progress and remain two or three players short of having a solid squad. Bring on Friday night.

[wellgirl]

In JBA we trust -I think he's going to do very well for us - better than Wimmer and I liked Wimmer 

[robsterwood]

1 hour ago, MJC said:

Well…I did think it would be 3-0.

Good job done in the end and a special strike to seal it from TM.

You got to believe in the super well! 💪 💪⚽⚽. 

[Spit_It_Out]

Johnny K and Longelo as our full backs we look so good with those two bombing back and forward can see a fair few goals coming from pair of them this season.

 

 

[wellon]

1 hour ago, MJC said:

Even I get it wrong sometimes!

You must see yourself as a real character....

[wellon]

1 hour ago, BigManTam said:

First glimpse of the team I've caught this season. Only tuned in for the final 30 minutes and caught the 2nd and 3rd goals.

Impression:

You can clearly see the style JBA is trying to implement on the team, and there were some promising moves.

Individually, you can see there are some players in the team eho really struggle with the idea of retaining the ball and looking for a pass. It goes back a bit to that general lack of quality in Scottish Football. It's not even just technical ability, it's also creativity and confidence.

We've seen with the national team how painful it can be to watch players playing a possession game, but without confidence and quality. There is a real risk we end up going down a similar path this season.

However, I've seen enough to look forward to the new season and hope to see further improvement. As many have said, anything new is better than the pish which has often been served up in recent seasons.

COYW

" Eye bleeding" and " like watching paint dry" , that's why teams don't play patient football,  too many fans want to be 6 nil up in first 20. That's what Jba will need to battle against when we lose a few.

[weeyin]

7 minutes ago, wellon said:

" Eye bleeding" and " like watching paint dry" , that's why teams don't play patient football,  too many fans want to be 6 nil up in first 20. That's what Jba will need to battle against when we lose a few.

It's also why much of Scottish football is in the dark ages.

[MFCL84]

Well that was very enjoyable. Controlled the game from start to finish, with the exception of 10 minutes after the triple substitution which seemed to unsettle the rhythm of play.

Considering the whole of the group stage, does anyone recall a set of matches where we have completely dominated the opponents in the way that we have this campaign? Sure, the opponents have all been from lower leagues, but we have often struggled badly in such games. While we have gifted a few goals and struggled to score, we have been dominant in all of the  games. I certainly didn't expect us to dominate Morton the way that we did tonight. It was a very comfortable win.

If we can get some improvement of the final ball and solidity in defence we could be very good this season.

Roll on Friday to see how we compete against some higher quality opponents. 

[Stuwell2]

1 hour ago, FirParkCornerExile said:

the manager was going tonto when Ewan hoofed the ball long, he got the message , didnt happen again

Seen that and thought it was harsh, no players were moving to give him any other option and better to clear the ball rather than end up giving it away in the penalty box. Did the right thing in my opinion. 

[BigManTam]

25 minutes ago, wellon said:

" Eye bleeding" and " like watching paint dry" , that's why teams don't play patient football,  too many fans want to be 6 nil up in first 20. That's what Jba will need to battle against when we lose a few.

I'm not so sure. If possession football is not done correctly it can be as dull and frustrating as hoofball. And less effective to boot. Previous attempts at various Scottish teams have turned out this way (only exception probably being celtic under Rogers). 

Why are middling teams from similar sized leagues (Denmark, Croatia, Czech) able to play better football than our mid sized teams? I don't know, exactly.

If i had to guess, I would say it's more down to individual technical skills and a more positive mentality than playing the right brand of possession football. Culture, you could say.

The best Well team I've ever seen (I'm mid 30s) was our McGhee 1.0 team with Porter, Hughes, McCormack et al. Did they play possession football? Not in an intentional way, I dont think, like JBA is attempting now. There were some good technical, experienced players, who found form and the team just clicked.

Anyway, I'm not trying to be negative about the possession stuff. I think it may well work out, but there's also good reason other teams have tried and failed with it in the past and it could still be the case with us, even if we are patient.

However, let's get behind the team and see where we end up!

[Stuwell2]

I like the possession football but most successful teams who play in also mix it up a bit at times with either long ball’s out to the wings or quick passes through gaps through the centre and id like to see us trying that more. I think the second goal was a result of that (at least I’m convincing myself that or conning myself maybe). 
Overall a decent game with a good few bits of entertainment, some nice touches and goals - that’s enough to keep me happy. 
Also I think that teams looking to loan out players might just look at us and JBA’s tactics/coaching and think it would be good for their better young players. 

[robsterwood]

4 hours ago, El Grew said:

This is like watching paint drying.

You got no appreciation for football. Crazy statement to make. What are you actually wanting to see? Teams playing great passing football!

[FirParkCornerExile]

5 hours ago, BigManTam said:

I'm not so sure. If possession football is not done correctly it can be as dull and frustrating as hoofball. And less effective to boot. Previous attempts at various Scottish teams have turned out this way (only exception probably being celtic under Rogers). 

Why are middling teams from similar sized leagues (Denmark, Croatia, Czech) able to play better football than our mid sized teams? I don't know, exactly.

If i had to guess, I would say it's more down to individual technical skills and a more positive mentality than playing the right brand of possession football. Culture, you could say.

The best Well team I've ever seen (I'm mid 30s) was our McGhee 1.0 team with Porter, Hughes, McCormack et al. Did they play possession football? Not in an intentional way, I dont think, like JBA is attempting now. There were some good technical, experienced players, who found form and the team just clicked.

Anyway, I'm not trying to be negative about the possession stuff. I think it may well work out, but there's also good reason other teams have tried and failed with it in the past and it could still be the case with us, even if we are patient.

However, let's get behind the team and see where we end up!

A lot what you say is true, however I suspect there will be times when it horses for courses. Especially once teams tumble to how we play. My biggest issue with Kettlewells eye bleeding pish was when it was obvious plan A wasn't working , he tried Plan A again so all we ever saw was limited possession and hoofball. Id like to think JBA has enough abiout him to mix it up at times.

[mio]

6 hours ago, Stuwell2 said:

Seen that and thought it was harsh, no players were moving to give him any other option and better to clear the ball rather than end up giving it away in the penalty box. Did the right thing in my opinion. 

I actually thought he played well when he came on. He made a really crucial block which I thought was going in and I felt he did well getting forward and was reasonably solid. Better than I’ve seen him for a while tbh

[SteelmaninOZ]

highlights reel

 

[wellfan]

On Wilson, the positive is that being coached by JBA and learning alongside someone like Manny could really bring him on. Manny is clearly ahead of him just now, but Wilson has the attributes. He just needs the right coaching, a bit of confidence and the freedom to take players on and make mistakes. Johnny K also looks like he is starting to come good, which is a bit of a relief for everyone.