A bright new dawn off the park heralding a change in fortunes on it?
Well, maybe. At least the Les Hutchison regime began with Motherwell ending a desperate five match losing streak. It wasn't looking good, of course. A goal and a man down, following the dismissal of debutant Louis Laing midway through the opening period, the Steelmen showed some, well, steel and claimed a share of the spoils with a spirited second half showing. St Johnstone, meanwhile, were left cursing the two points that got away. From a position of almost total authority, the Perth side put in a fairly timorous performance after the break when they should have been, ruthlessly, trying to put their hosts to the sword.
"Any point is welcome after the run we have been on," said a relieved Motherwell manager, Ian Baraclough. "I think in the first half there was a fear and a reluctance to get on the ball and make things happen. That's can't happen in our situation. In the second half, though, we showed a desire when the chips were down. We could have felt sorry for ourselves; 10 men, a goal down, nothing going for us. But we picked ourselves up off the floor and full credit to the players for doing that."
During a wretched run of form which has led to them slithering down into the gloomy depths of the relegation play-off place, the Motherwell defence has been as leaky as a torpedoed battleship. A damaging haul of 18 goals had been conceded over the course of the winless stretch and it didn't take long for St Johnstone to breach this flimsy rearguard. They didn't need a battering ram to break through, either. Chris Kane knocked a simple, but effective, pass into Murray Davidson and he took advantage of the space he was given to slide a nice finish into the bottom corner.
If that was a savage, early dunt to Motherwell morale then it would get worse 15 minutes later. The sprightly Kane looked set to dart into the area but his menacing advances were halted by Laing and both players toppled to the floor. Willie Collum, the much maligned whistler who stunned great swathes of the developed world last week by not booking anybody during his comeback match between Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock, got back to normal service by giving Laing a straight red card. "I thought it was just a coming together of bodies, they both stumbled and it wasn't a pre-emptied push or a kick," added Baraclough, who was clearly of the other opinion. Motherwell's misery was almost compounded from the resulting free kick as David Wotherspon's effort curled narrowly wide.
The hosts were perhaps fortunate not to suffer further punishment as half-time loomed when Anthony Straker, another Motherwell debutant, appeared to tug at Lee Croft as the St Johnstone man surged into the box. Croft certainly had a case, and made his feelings known, but Collum was unmoved.
Motherwell's slap dash approach to defensive duties was causing all sorts of anguish and Davidson seized upon more plooterings only for his strike to be saved by Dan Twardzik.
It was more of the same after the resumption, with St Johnstone running the show and a diving header from Steven MacLean, which bounced over the junction of the posts, served notice of their intentions.
MacLean used his napper to good effect at the other end moments later and cleared a looping Fraser Kerr header off the line. That flurry of excitement seemed to galvanise the home side and the 10-men upped the ante while St Johnstone wilted.
With 14 minutes to go, their endeavours were rewarded. Dominic Thomas, who had been impressive throughout, managed to free Sutton and he thrashed a powerful drive into the top corner. "We had two or three chances to get a tackle in and we've gifted them a goal really," lamented Tommy Wright, the St Johnstone manager. "It's disappointing given how much we controlled the game. But the longer it stays 1-0 then it gives the other team encouragement."
Baraclough and his Motherwell men will be hoping these encouraging signs continue.
Man of the Match
Lee Erwin (Motherwell)
Motherwell
Twardzik, Reid, Carswell ( Moore 70), Ramsden, Sutton, O/Brien (Kerr h-t), Law, Erwin, Watt (Thomas 59), Straker, Laing
Subs not used: Nielsen, Ainsworth, Cadden, R MacLean
St Johnstone
McManus, Scobbie, Lappin, Anderson, S MacLean (Graham 80), Wotherspoon, Davidson, Miller, Croft (O'Halloran 80), Easton, Kane (McFadden 70)
Subs not used: Banks, MacKay, Wright, Caddis
Scorers
Motherwell: Sutton 76
St Johnstone: Davidson 9
Bookings: Laing sent off 25
Referee
W Collum
Attendance
3,449
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