A cup tie under the Fir Park floodlights is always an exciting prospect and this one could be a cracker. Peter Houston knows his team underperformed in the rehearsal and he’ll be desperate to deliver an improvement. He’s almost certain to freshen up the starting eleven.
There will be little change in the Motherwell team. Lasley’s hamstring tweak will surely keep him out and Saunders will retain his place at right back releasing Hateley into the midfield. The only serious debate is whether Gow or Sutton will start. After several bit parts, Gow was given his first start in claret and amber on Saturday and he played for all but the last 12 minutes. If match practice improves performance then arguably he’ll be in line for a second start on Tuesday. Much will depend on Craig Brown’s plan of attack.
The teams have agreed a £15 entry to this game and we can only hope that the modest reduction tempts more than the 4,636 who passed through the turnstiles at the weekend. Home season tickets are valid for this tie so the core ‘Well support should be there to cheer the boys through the game.
A winner has to be found on the night and the prospect of extra time and penalties will add to the occasion. The prize for the victor will be a semi-final encounter against one from Aberdeen v Falkirk, St Johnstone v Celtic or Kilmarnock v Rangers and the draw will take place at Hampden on Friday 29th October at 2.30pm.
If way can muster the same confidence and enthusiasm for the task as was shown on Saturday we should succeed. This time we should be not need the opposition to score our goals and a 2-0 win should see us anticipating a trip to Hampden.