The sun was shining and the pitch was perfect. Both teams tried to make the best of the conditions by playing the passing game. At times our determination not to fire a long ball from defence created self-induced pressure. Jim Gannon would have recognised the pattern!
McCall volunteered after the game that the heat caused the players some problems. What he didn’t explain was that our bench was so inexperienced that he was unable to put on any fresh legs when our starting eleven started to wilt. It’s a tribute to them that they held on in the last fifteen minutes when they faced a Killie side refreshed with three substitutes.
There’s no doubt that we missed Higdon’s presence and the news that he’ll miss the game against Hearts next week is not good. The lack of height in our attack caused a problem. We earned an incredible 14 corner in the game but only Craigan and Hutchison could offer a threat from the high deliveries that followed. Hutchison did come close in the first half and the Motherwell support at the other end of the park rose to acclaim the goal that never was.
The manager acknowledged that it would have been harsh on either team had there been a winner. They were evenly matched and played a similar style. Both had their best spells in the first half while the second period was a bit piecemeal.
There’s a full week before Hearts come to Fir Park, the game is on Sunday because of the visitors Europa league game in midweek. If the manager can produce a new signing (or two) to add to the squad before then it will be too soon.