Motherwell lost to Barrow in the final warm-up game before Saturday's Betfred cup group stage gets underway. We conceded early in the first half but never looked like turning the game around.
Trevor Carson made his debut in the Motherwell but he could do little to prevent Barrow scoring inside the opening 10 minutes. A corner from Fitzpatrick gave White the chance of a shot and he smashed it into the net. A minute before that Frear had hit the home post.
Barrow had the better of the first half as we struggled to get any rhythm. The big central defensive pair from the National league side dealt comfortably with any crosses we were able to deliver while the home side kept us busy with a series of long throw-ins from Jones.
We were second best as the teams returned to the changing room for the break and the only early chance was the appearance of McManus for Heghan. Later we were to make another six substitutions but we were unable to get the ball into the Barrow net.
Our highlight from an uninspired second half was a free kick from Bigirimana that forced the 'keeper into a good save as the ball dipped on to the target. Otherwise Tanner saw his header hit the bar and we were denied a stone wall penalty in the dying minutes when Cadden was felled.
The pre-season is almost at an end as we take on Queen's Park in a competitive match on Saturday. That we were unable to score against a National league side full of trialists and some time behind us in preparations for the new campaign does little to boost our hopes.
We'll know more after our trip to Hampden.
Team: Carson, Tait (Gordon 71), Hammell (Livingstone 71), Heneghan (McManus 46), Bigirimana (McMillan), Cadden, McHugh (Campbel 53) , Frear, Rose (Tanner 53), Fisher (Bowman 53), Kipré
Subs: Griffiths, Clay
Barrow 1 Motherwell 0
11 July 2017