There was little between Motherwell and Aberdeen on Saturday but the questionable decisions of the officials were the deciding factor,
Motherwell minded fans expected more from their favourites as the earlier wins against Livingston and Rangers had raised expectations. It became clear early on that Stuart Kettlewell’s men were off the pace.
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They stood off their opponents and paid the price when Aberdeen punished slack defending with a well taken goal midway through the first half.
The first of the debatable decisions came ten minutes later following a ‘Well corner on the right. Theo Bair and Jack Milne rose for the incoming ball and it came off the pair to give Lennon Miller an opportunity. His shot ended up in the net with the help of a deflection but the off-field review prompted Willie Collum to the TV replay. The ball had glanced off Bair’s upper arm on its way to Miller and the goal was disallowed.
The Motherwell manager was not amused. He pointed to a similar situation when a handball from a Ross County player gave his team-mate a scoring chance earlier in the season. That goal stood as the offending player had not scored the goal. What was the difference on this occasion?
Despite several attempts in the second half Motherwell failed to level the contest and as the additional three minutes ran out a final charge into the Aberdeen box produced another critical judgement.
Angus MacDonald lofted a half clearance from deep in his area and the ball did not clear the box. Awaiting its return to earth were Mark Ferrie and Graeme Shinnie. The ball hit the defender’s arm and was cleared. Willie Collum decided that that the contest had run its course but delayed the final whistle as he waited for Steven McLean in the VAR studio to make a decision. He did not suggest a video review and the game ended. Later that evening the TV highlights displayed the costly error. Motherwell should have had a penalty.
Kettlewell admitted that his team were far from their best but his displeasure at the officials’ decisions was clear and understandable.
We wuz robbed.