The Motherwell team was much changed from Saturday’s outing as Craig Brown shuffled the pack and took the chance of resting a few ahead of the trip to Tynecastle. Murphy was rested, Jennings and Sutton were on the bench while Gow was given his first start. Forbes was in midfield with Hateley, Lasley and Blackman and Page was at left back due to Hammell’s continued absence.
Humphrey’s pace gave the Brechin defence a few problems early on and his cross to the near post gave Gow a chance in seven minutes. Forbes and Page had what turned out to be a rehearsal for the first goal when their corner/header combination saw the ball flash over the bar. Two minutes later they got it right. Page rose above the attending defence to power a header into the net giving Nelson no chance.
We looked fairly comfortable for the rest of the half though few chances were created. Brechin’s best chance came when McAllister found himself with only Randolph to beat. His fierce shot from eight yards rattled the ‘keeper’s chest and we escaped. Janczyk gave the home fans a thrill when his long range drive came close.
Our shape changed at the break when Blackman moved up to join Gow in a twin striking role but we were soon on the back foot as the home team pressed for the equaliser. Booth found himself in plenty of space at the far post but Randolph got a touch and deflected it for a corner. Moments later McAllister stretched for a tempting ball across the face of goal but fortunately he made a poor connection.
Blackman demonstrated his skill when a good take and turn was followed by a fine attempt that forced Nelson to concede a corner. The second goal was a copy of the first although Hateley took the corner this time. Once again Page rose to let loose a great header that rattled the back of the net. Surely the game was over?
To their credit Brechin kept at it and we had a couple of scary moments. Sutton replaced Gow (no great loss) with fifteen minutes remaining then Lasley came off in favour of Jennings. Just before the last substitution Brechin knew for sure that it was not to be their night. A good sweeping move ended in our six yard box and McKenna seemed sure to score but he lifted the ball on to the underside of the bar and Randolph was delighted to grab it.
A good night's work.