It was a disappointing farewell to Fir Park and the traditional players’ farewell to the fans was a muted affair. A feckless performance and an overwhelming show of force by hundreds of stewards resulted in the parade taking place in front of a sparse crowd.
It might have been a different afternoon had we taken inspiration from the early slice of luck that followed Cadden’s pressure on Clark in the St Johnstone goal. The ‘keeper skied his attempted clearance and the ball fell for a simple header into the unguarded net.
But Clark was rarely pressured during the following 87 minutes. Motherwell did create a few half chances there was little conviction or accuracy in our attacks. Johnson earned a round of applause when he produced a tricky twisting run from his left back position that saw him convert defence into attack with three of the opposition trailing in his wake.
We got fair warning of the opposition threat when a squared free kick resulted in a deflected shot that hit the woodwork. We were fortunate that the scramble that followed came to nought.
The equaliser arrived after the half hour when Easton’s cross found Maclean with space to finish at the back post. Ten minutes passed and we were behind. This time Wotherspoon was provider and Swanson scored.
The second half was littered with loose balls and very little in the way of constructive football. We had plenty of possession but lacked the savvy to cut through the blue defence.
A series of substitutions failed to alter the flow and the crowd eventually found some entertainment when hundreds of stewards marched around the pitch unwrapping plastic netting to protect the pitch from invasion. The costly exercise had already been nullified by the stultifying display offer by the players.
Fourth place is now a distant hope and the manager can use the last two away trips to test theories about next season’s squad.
Motherwell 1 St Johnstone 2
Attendance 4,444 (372)
Team: Ripley, Hall, McManus, Kennedy, Johnson (Leitch 82), Lasley (Chalmers 52), Pearson, Cadden, Ainsworth (Thomas 58), Moult, McDonald