I watched Motherwell vs St Mirren from press box: 3 things I spotted as Slattery's double earns vital point in feisty affair

A spirited Motherwell came from 2-0 down to earn a deserves share of the spoils against St Mirren in a feisty Fir Park battle full of talking points.

Seeking a third successive league win for the first time since September 2023, the Steelmen were also bidding for a third straight victory over the Paisley outfit in the Lanarkshire sunshine as they looked to maintain their positive run of form under new boss Michael Wimmer.

The hosts almost got off to a dream start when Tom Sparrow spurned a glorious opportunity within the opening two minutes after an error from Alex Gogic in the Buddies’ defence allowed the Wales midfielder a clear run on to a long ball. His attempted lob over visiting keeper Zach Hemming sailed over the crossbar.

It was St Mirren who broke the deadlock on 23 minutes just moments after Stephen O’Donnell had headed a corner clear off the line. Toyosi Olusanya burst his was into the box unchallenged before cutting back inside to tee up Caolan Boyd-Munce on the edge of the area and the midfielder’s shot took a wicked deflection to wrong-foot Ellery Balcombe and nestle in the bottom corner.

Saints doubled their lead after 36 minutes when Marcus Fraser’s looping delivery from the left-hand side wasn’t cleared by the Well backline. The ball broke to Killian Phillips who controlled it on his chest before drilling home a superb volley.

But Motherwell’s response was emphatic and Callum Slattery halved the deficit during the next phase of play out of nothing. Balcombe’s clearance was controlled by the playmaker who cleverly jinked past two opposing players before stabbing a neat strike past the outstretched Hemming from 20-yards.

That goal re-energised the home support and Motherwell were threatening an equaliser as half-time approached with O’Donnell’s raking diagonal pass met first time on the slide by Dom Thompson. His low cross was met by new Scotland starlet Lennon Miller who fired narrowly over the top.

Both sides failed to conjure up many clear-cut chances after the break, but the game was still being played at a high tempo. There were some distressing scenes midway through the second half when St Mirren goal scorer Boyd-Munce had to be stretched off the field after appearing to be knocked unconscious following an aerial collision, leading to a lengthy delay in proceedings.

Once the match resumed, Motherwell dragged themselves back on level terms with 19 minutes remaining. Substitute Tony Watt’s knock-down on the edge of the box found Slattery who once again displayed his predatory instinct to steer a stunning first-time finish beyond Hemming into the net.

With the game firmly on a knife-edge, the visitors were reduced to ten men after 84 minutes when the abrasive Olusanya was shown a second yellow card for clattering into centre-back Dan Casey.

And following a number of stoppages in play, 14 minutes were added on to present both sides with an opportunity to nick a winner. But neither team could muster up some magic with St Mirren failing to capitalise on late pressure.

I watched the match from the press box at Fir Park. Here are three things we spotted from the game:

Sensational Slattery

Since returning from a long-term knee injury that kept him sidelined for 13 months, Callum Slattery has undoubtedly been Motherwell’s man of the moment. A key cog in Wimmer’s line-up, the attacker has looked back to his best in recent weeks. And he proved it here with an outstanding all-action performance. Slattery was a real handful for the Buddies rearguard all afternoon and both of his goals were a thing of beauty.

Plange has something to offer

With Apostolos Stamatelopoulos ruled out for up to eight weeks due to a fractured wrist and Luke Armstrong absent from the matchday squad, Crystal Palace loanee Luke Plange was handed his first start and tasked with leading the Motherwell frontline. The 22-year-old Englishman produced an energetic hour-long display without ever looking likely to score. However, he still showed some positive movement off the ball and helped to link the play well, leaving fans convinced he will contribute to their top-six bid.

Vital point in top-six push

Starting the day sitting in sixth spot, just three points separated Motherwell and ninth-placed St Mirren in a tightly congested middle section of the table. This turned into a thrilling contest which has a bit of everything - four goals, a red card, unfortunate injuries and a period of added on time stretching into double figures. Both teams were eager to get the ball down and play some ambitious attacking football and it made for an entertaining spectacle. A draw, on the balance of play, was a fair result and one that saw the hosts slip out of the top six. However, boss Wimmers will be pleased with the character shown by his players to come from two goals down to earn a share of the spoils.