If the team were heartened by the pre-match news that Brown and Knox had agreed a deal there was no early sign of it on the pitch. A forgettable first half was filled with poor control, missed passes and little in the way of the beautiful game from either team.
We escaped from this scramble
Motherwell choose to place Jutkiewicz on the bench and Murphy started on a pitch was showed some signs of distress following the recent cold spell. One moment of football brightened the gloom when we managed to string half a dozen passes together and Hateley finished it off with a decent cross which forced a corner.
The second half was an improvement on the first - at least there was an urgency to the game (along with the poor passing!). We held our own in the first exchanges and a Forbes free kick tested Olejink. Ruddy produced a fine one handed save from Arfield before Jutkiewicz replaced Murphy on the hour.
Both teams huffed and puffed but even half chances were rarities. There was a big shout for a penalty when Sutton was impeded by a jersey pull, we gained a corner from that attack. Hateley's delivery was met by Craigan but the captain's firm header was saved.
Jennings and Humphrey replaced Forbes and Murphy as we counted down the minutes but eventually we secured the point. Given that we played for 45 minutes with ten men it might be regarded as a better point for the visitors. We were not impressive but Falkirk were awful.