After a dramatic second Premier Sports Cup semi-final showdown at Hampden Park, Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell voiced his concerns over a crucial refereeing decision that he believes played a significant role in the outcome of the match.
Kettlewell argued that referee Nick Walsh should have awarded a free-kick to Motherwell in the build-up to Rangers' winning goal from Nedim Bajrami, a decision that left the Motherwell camp feeling aggrieved.
Kettlewell, while expressing his frustration, opted for a measured approach regarding the officiating.
The match began with Motherwell taking the lead thanks to a well-executed finish from Andy Halliday.
However, the tide turned in the second half as Rangers responded with determination. Goals from Cyriel Dessers and Bajrami not only turned the game around but also secured Rangers' place in the Premier Sports Cup final.
Bajrami found space at the back post before firing the ball beyond goalkeeper Aston Oxborough.
But before the Rangers winger found the net, Kettlewell thinks Motherwell substitute Zach Robinson was clearly fouled by Neraysho Kaswanwirjo, which went unpunished.
Read more:
“It was a foul on Zach, I think, which the referees maybe acknowledged at the time," the Motherwell boss insisted.
“But he stays on his feet, tries to keep the ball alive.
“Listen, I thought Nick was really good in the game today. I thought he handled it well.
“He allowed a flow of the game as best he could. I just felt that at the time, the centre-back's manhandling our striker.
“Zach is trying to be honest, to stay on his feet and to try and retain the ball.
“It's the one that we all speak about sometimes, to let your team breathe. Do you have to fall down for it to be a foul?
“Well, I think what Nick's done is allowed the game to try and roll on and it goes to Dan Casey and Rangers turn it over.”
Kettlewell was content with Motherwell's overall performance against the tournament holders despite failing to maintain their half-time lead and reach the final.
Although, he knows the incentive must be to go one step forward in the cup next time.
“I never want to be a glorious loser," he confessed.
“So I don't want to sit here in front of anybody and start to make excuses or, you know, start to pat ourselves on the back because we get to this stage.
“It's been a good achievement to get here. But we just felt that in moments of the game we probably just lacked that wee bit of composure and a wee bit better decision-making.
Read more:
- Clement explains why Cerny & Jefte return to Rangers team
- Motherwell vs Rangers kick-off delayed due to pyro display
“I think the second goal was symptomatic of that.
“I'm not going to be sitting here criticising the players because when you see them slumped to their knees at the end, that wasn't disappointment, that was exhaustion.
“They've pulled so much in. So I can't ask any more from them on that front.
“But for us to try and look to create more chances and retain the ball, I think we just probably have to work that wee bit more on that and I'll try and drive that.
“I just think here in a big open space and the big pitch at Hampden, sometimes we need to try and utilise that a wee bit more and have a little bit more patience and composure to what we do.
“But that is absolutely not a criticism of our players.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel