MOTHERWELL claimed a dramatic victory at Rugby Park yesterday as a Louis Moult strike two minutes from full-time to sink Kilmarnock.
It was a scrappy affair in Ayrshire that saw neither team carve out any real opportunities, with the hosts perhaps slightly edging the game on the balance of play.
But with time ticking down, Moult struck with a crucial strike that provided Mark McGhee with his first win since returning as Fir Park manager earlier this month.
The first proper glimpse of goal for either side came on 21 minutes following an opening spell that saw the teams over work the ball in the danger area. It fell to Kilmarnock captain Rory McKenzie 10 yards out on the right side of the box, but Joe Chalmers did well to block.
We had to wait until 37 minutes for the first shot on target. It came for Motherwell when Kevin McHattie and Stuart Findlay inadvertently went to kick the same ball, allowing the ball to be worked to Scott McDonald, but his shot was straight at Jamie MacDonald.
A minute before half-time Kilmarnock got in on the act. A training ground set piece on the far side eventually saw the ball squared to McKenzie 30 yards out, and he fizzed a drive through a packed box that Connor Ripley did well to hold.
In the second period the game started to open up slightly, but even then both keepers were not overly worked. Theo Robinson thundered a header straight at MacDonald not long after the break, while Kallum Higginbotham’s stinging shot from the edge of the area after a Josh Magennis knock down was easily parried by the man in illuminous green in the Motherwell goal. Greg Kiltie also volleyed over a few minutes later.
As the game progressed Kilmarnock started to get on top while the visitors’ fluidity started stick. With around 15 minutes to go the home side could have taken the lead when a Tope Obadeyi cross was flicked on by Higginbotham but Magennis couldn’t adjust his head quickly enough and the ball flew wide.
Referee Bobby Madden made a habit of upsetting the Kilmarnock fans throughout the afternoon, a bunch who don’t need much encouragement to have the odd moan. But he incensed them a couple of minutes further on Magennis went crashing to the deck with the ball spinning to one of his team-mates clear in the box.
The man in the middle adjudged the Northern Irishman to have dived and issued a yellow card for his trouble. From the press box, it looked to be the correct decision.
However, it would be the Lanarkshire side who would have the last laugh with just two minutes remaining. A ball into the box wasn’t cleared properly by Kilmarnock, allowing Stephen Pearson to smash a shot on goal. His effort was charged down but it only spun to Moult, who managed to prod into the net beyond MacDonald to steal the three points.
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