Recovered yet? It’s possible that the post-match celebrations following Motherwell’s 4-3 win on Saturday may have led to some over enthusiastic celebrations.
And if ever a win deserved and extra cheer, then a 95th minute winner from a local hero had to provide a legitimate excuse. To add to the spice Motherwell had twice to come from behind before we entered the closing stages level with three goals apiece.
Jamie Semple was given what seemed to be a token first team debut when he replaced Gboly Ariyibi in added time. In his wildest dreams Stephen Robinson could not have predicted what would follow.
Young Semple served the ball to David Turnbull and our player of the season produced a one-two off the bar that ended with the ball blasted high into the Dundee net. It must have been a horrible sight for the Dee fans in the South Stand but three and a half thousand ‘Well fans exploded with delight as Turnbull ran to the frantic end of the Hunter stand knowing that the game was won.
The win keeps us hot on the heels of St Johnstone in the contest to be best of the rest and ensures that there is more than an academic interest in the remaining games.
Three Saturday fixtures remain: St Mirren (h), St Johnstone (a) and Livingston (h) will wrap up the season. The SPFL have a released breakdown of the £25M prize pot and we can see that the difference between seventh and eighth place is £62.5k. In Motherwell terms, that equates to a player’s salary – a not insignificant amount. It is a fight worth winning.
We can say farewell and thanks to James Hastie for his short buy effective spell in the team. His spell in the headlines in recent weeks can only help our Academy in the search for fresh talent. As he, Turnbull, Cadden, Campbell and Semple will testify there is a well trodden route from our youth ranks to the first team. Let’s hope there are plenty more in the pipeline.