MOTHERWELL’S teenage sensations David Turnbull and Jake Hastie were at it again over the weekend, grabbing the goals as the Fir Park side blew Hamilton off the park in the first half of the Lanarkshire derby.
A double from Turnbull and another from Hastie had Stephen Robinson’s men on easy street, but Motherwell supporters would be best advised to enjoy the exploits of these precocious talents in claret and amber while they can.
A host of English sides have joined Rangers in circling Hastie with his contract expiring in the summer, but Turnbull is trying his best to convince his long-time pal to join him in committing his immediate future to the Steelmen.
As well as cajoling Hastie with some light-hearted barbs about how he has changed since his breakthrough into the Motherwell first-team, upgrading his old banger for a flashy car this week, he is also pointing out the tangible benefits that first-team football will have on Hastie’s career in the ling-term.
“There’s been a wee bit of banter and I’ve been winding him up a bit,” Turnbull said.
“I hope he will sign a new deal here. I’ve been close pals with Jake since we were young and I’ve played with him all the way up, so hopefully he can get that sorted and we can continue to do what we’ve been doing in the first-team.
“He’s had very few games and he’s done so well. He’s scoring loads of goals and he’s set up a couple, so I don’t think you could ask for a better start.
“It’s up to him obviously, but what I would say to him is that he should stay here and try to get game-time, get 50 or 100 games under his belt and then see where the next step takes him. He’s still only a young boy. Obviously, [Rangers are] a big club, so it’s just up to him.
“I’ve been trying to tell him to stay, but I don’t know what is happening. It’s up to him, and I’m sure he’ll make the right decision.
“We do a lot together off the pitch, just going for coffees and that. He comes and picks me up, he’s just got a new motor. He used to pick me up in his wee Corsa, but now he’s got a Merc C-class so he’ll be flashing that about. That’s him big-time now, it happens to them all doesn’t it?"
The game itself was as good as over within 11 minutes. A stunning display from winger Gboly Ariyibi was too much for the visitors to handle, and he teed up the opener as he crossed for Turnbull to finish from close range.
He then jinked into the area only for Alex Gogic - who was like a fish out of water playing in midfield - to barge into him and leave Andrew Dallas no choice but to point to the spot. Turnbull stepped up and sent Gary Woods the wrong way.
Hastie then underlined that the speculation over his future in the past week hadn't affected him as he got yet another goal, finishing at the back post after Turnbull's shot had been deflected into his path.
Motherwell now travel to Easter Road on Saturday with a chance to move into the top six with a win, and who would bet against them with Hastie and Turnbull in such scintillating form.
“That would be a great result," said Turnbull. "We’ve got them next week and we want to try to keep the good run going.
“We’ve got seven wins in our last nine league games, and it doesn’t get better than that really.
“I don’t know what I would have said about the prospect of us reaching the top six around Christmas, but it’s been a great turnaround since the start of the year and hopefully we can keep that going and get into the top six.”
As for Hamilton, the day could hardly have gone worse. Off the back of a stunning win at Pittodrie during the previous mid-week, it was back to earth for a bump for Accies after their shambolic defensive display in the opening 45 minutes at Fir Park.
Midfielder Tony Andreu admits that they let their supporters and manager Brian Rice down, and while results elsewhere with their relegation rivals went their way, the Frenchman knows they can’t keep relying on other teams to do them favours.
“It was an important game for us but for the fans maybe even more important,” Andreu said.
“For us it was three points, for them it’s the game of the year. It’s hard to take.
“We have to move on, we have Hearts next. We beat Aberdeen there and I think we can beat Hearts at home.
“We just have to keep moving on.”
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