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A significantly-weakened Motherwell slumped to a second consecutive home defeat as St Johnstone had a comfortable win at Fir Park.

A ‘Well side minus three of its first-choice back four failed to match a Saints team motivated with the prospect of the Betfred Cup final next weekend.

Guy Melamed’s goal after 18 minutes set the tone for an arduous afternoon for the Steelmen. Their cause was not helped when Jason Kerr added a second just before the interval, as ‘Well appealed for a blatant offside in the build-up.

When Melamed claimed his second from the penalty spot four minutes after the interval it was a case of damage limitation for Graham Alexander’s men.

A combination of injuries and suspension forced the ‘Well boss into making four critical changes.

Stephen O’Donnell’s suspension and Bevis Mugabi’s shoulder injury meant a first start for both 17 year-old Max Johnston and on-loan Tyler Magloire. With Allan Campbell and Mark O’Hara missing from the midfield, Robbie Crawford returned and Liam Polworth was recalled after his recent suspension.

From the start, the understrength ‘Well side was pressed deep into its own half by as the Perth men set out eager to impress Callum Davidson ahead of next week’s final.

As Motherwell toiled to relieve the pressure and get the ball up field to the front three, it was little surprise when Saints opened the scoring.

Melamed was allowed to cut in from the right before his controlled strike from 20 yards sailed past Liam Kelly to make it 1-0

The visitors seemed content to control possession and preserve their lead with nothing to threaten Zander Clark’s goal until the 32nd minute. There appeared to be few options when Polworth collected the ball 30 yards out but his blistering drive forced a fine diving save from the Saints’ keeper.

Despite having the bulk of the play in and around the home penalty area, Kelly was not asked to make a save until the final minute of the first half. The ‘keeper did well at full stretch to palm Liam Craig’s powerful drive against the face of the crossbar.

When the ball rebounded to Chris Kane he directed his header towards the back post where Sean Rooney, unmarked and looking well offside, nodded the ball off the crossbar. When the ball eventually fell to Jason Kerr he rattled his shot through a ruck of players and into the net and double Saints’ lead.

The job became a lot more difficult within four minutes of the restart. Polworth caught Kane’s heels and Melamed confidently hammered the resultant penalty low under the diving Kelly to put Saints three goals ahead.

With an hour played, ‘Well made a triple substitution, with Nathan McGinley, Jake Hastie and Jordan Roberts given half an hour to try and alter the pattern of the game.

The changes had some impact as the Fir Park side enjoyed more of the ball, particularly in the Saints half but despite forcing a number of corners little impression was made on the visitors’ goal or their three-goal advantage.

Prior to kick-off, ‘Well were aiming to break loose from the relegation pack below them and still held lingering hopes of claiming a top-six place. However, after two home defeats and a trip to face the other Saints in Paisley in midweek, the Fir Park focus is surely now on maintaining a gap over the bottom three teams.

It’s been an up and down season for Motherwell’s Christopher Long in 2020/21.

Having returned for a second campaign in the summer, injury has hampered his ability to get a consistent run of games.

Now fit, and with the number nine jersey returned to the back of his shirt, he’s opened up on how he’s perceived and what he wants to achieve at the club.

“We have to play the way we train.

“We’ll focus on what we’ve done well in previous games and take that into Saturday.”

Graham Alexander speaks ahead of the Premiership clash at Fir Park.

“We’ve had a good run since the manager came in.

“We’re not happy with last week but it’s out of our minds and we’re focused on St Johnstone.”

Tony Watt looks ahead to Saturday’s visit of St Johnstone.

Motherwell’s Ugandan defender Bevis Mugabi shot to fame in January, when he outjumped Cristiano Ronaldo’s record to score a winner against Ross County.

The popular figure hit a height of 262cm, beating Ronaldo’s 256cm, and also leapt 75cm off the ground compared to the Juventus forward’s 71cm.

Here, he speaks about fame back home, representing his country and his time in Scotland.

“It was a tough day.”

Jake Carroll is honest in his assessment of last Saturday. Many Motherwell fans will empathise, even if their choice of language may have been a bit stronger in the immediate aftermath.

A home defeat is never fun. Neither is a Lanarkshire derby defeat. Yet the combination of the two in last week’s 4-1 loss proved startling to many, particularly with the backdrop of a victory over Kilmarnock offering hope of a springboard and some momentum going into the pre-split final furlong.

While Accies were coming in on the back of a 1-1 draw with Rangers, hopes were high for the Steelmen. Instead, a catastrophic first half, including a sending off for Stephen O’Donnell, just added further pain to those watching on remotely, probably thankful for once that they weren’t there.

“It was a game we were desperate to win, and it was one we just didn’t start well enough,” said the Motherwell left-back.

“With the early goals and getting a man sent off, it just left us with a mountain to climb, and we couldn’t do that, unfortunately.

“I know how much the fans must have been hurting after it, but I want to assure them that we are exactly the same. The dressing room was very quiet, and a lot of the lads were down.

“They beat us recently, so we were even more desperate to beat them. We do know how much it means, and we are already thinking of how we can put it right next time.”

It was a sentiment echoed by boss Graham Alexander.

“We made poor decisions, and that gave the opponent the opportunity to take advantage,” he said. “If we had defended with the same ideas as we have done previously, they wouldn’t have scored that first goal.

“And they know that. It’s back to the training pitch and work as hard as we always do.”

No fans at football stadia is nothing new in football. But with every passing game, the yearn from supporters to get back increases.

Motherwell fans will also be experiencing a new-look Fir Park when they return.

The John Hunter Stand is getting more work done than an ageing Hollywood actor and anticipation of the facelift – which includes new seats, new toilets, new tellies, new payment methods and a new mural – are through the newly-painted roof.

But while fans are missing their football, the impact of no one cheering you on from the stands has not gone unnoticed on the park.

“I did say to one of the boys you are seeing a lot of strange results in football at the moment,” added Carroll.

“You don’t know if that’s down to the impact of not having fans. Even if you think back to the game at their place, we normally take an unbelievable support with us but last time out that wasn’t there.

“It might be having an impact. But we need to try and ignore that and just focus on getting over the line ourselves.”

Victory over Hamilton last time out could have propelled Well into eighth and within a win of the top six, still with a game in hand.

Instead, a win over St Johnstone this weekend will be needed to prevent the Perth club – currently a place and two points above – carving open a broad gap and increasing the complexities of attaining a top-six spot.

“At the moment where we are, we need to stay focused on each game at a time. We can’t be distracted by where a win may take us,” insists Carroll.

“We don’t want to be looking over our shoulders and down the table. It’s about looking up to the top six. But we’re not there yet. It’s all about taking it one game at a time and trying to see where that leads to.

“On Saturday, there is the opportunity to do that.

“The focus is game by game. It has to be. Sometimes you get carried away after a couple of wins and think about the top six. It can also work the other way where after two losses, you start to look behind you.

“You have to come away from that, don’t get too worried. We are in a position where we have to take each three points seriously, and we will do that.”

The 29-year-old Irishman missed the first half of the season through injury, but he is keen to make up for lost time.

An Achilles problem kept him out for ten months, with a return to action coinciding with Stephen Robinson’s last game in charge back in December.

“It was very tough watching from the sides. I missed some good moments this season, the European games in particular,” he said.

“I’ve been desperate to get back in for a while, and now I’ve managed it, it’s been pleasing that I’ve had a good run of games to go with it. It’s about setting goals and targets.

“There’s definitely more to come. I think I can add a little bit more going forward and I’d expect more in terms of assists. There’s more to come, and I’m hoping the fans will see that between now and the end of the season.”

February has been a largely positive month in ML1.

Bevis Mugabi attracted worldwide headlines for his contribution to kickstart the team’s winning run.

Heading in the winner against Ross County, the Motherwell and Uganda defender hit a height of 262cm, beating Ronaldo’s 256cm, and also leapt 75cm off the ground compared to the Juventus forward’s 71cm.

A popular figure at the club, he’s also been exploring Scotland where possible in his free time, and we joined him on a snowy walk.

Wins over Dundee United and Kilmarnock kept the positive mood going around ML1, and also marked the return to prominence of Christopher Long.

Sidelined with a freak injury in recent weeks, the forward has been reunited with his number nine jersey and returned in kind with the decisive goal against Dundee United.

Perceived as a moody and sullen character, we speak to the Liverpudlian to get under the skin of what he’s really like, and what drives him to succeed.

And with fans still locked out of Fir Park, we’ve been making improvements to the stadium.

Chief executive Alan Burrows takes us around the ongoing renovations in our John Hunter Stand, in preparation for the return of supporters.

Motherwell host St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.

Here are the topics going into the match.

Needing to bounce back

Motherwell had won three from four going into last weekend’s match with Hamilton. But a 4-1 loss came as a setback to Graham Alexander’s men.

Nevertheless, the 11 points gained from 21 so far under Graham Alexander give cause for encouragement, with hope of getting more on the board on Saturday.

Preparing for the final

Saturday marks St Johnstone’s final game before their Betfred Cup final date with Livingston on 28 February.

Callum Davidson’s men will be keen to impress for places ahead of that tilt at silverware at Hampden Park.

Unbeaten run

Motherwell lost in the Betfred Cup to St Johnstone on the Saints’ run to the final, but are unbeaten against their opponents so far this season in the Scottish Premiership.

A 1-0 win at Fir Park, thanks to Allan Campbell’s early goal, gave ‘Well three points in the first encounter of the campaign, before a 1-1 draw at McDiarmid Park in late November.

Motherwell v St Johnstone is available to watch on Saturday, wherever you are in the world.

If you’re in the UK or Republic of Ireland, a live stream of the game will be available to buy on a pay-per-view basis for £12.

Season ticket holders can watch the game for free, as usual, at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

International-based supporters can watch via their usual subscription at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

Kick-off at Fir Park is at 3pm.

St Johnstone are the visitors to Fir Park on Saturday in the Scottish Premiership.

Kick-off at Fir Park is at 3pm.

Watch live

If you’re in the UK or Republic of Ireland, a live stream of the game will be available to buy on a pay-per-view basis for £12.

Season ticket holders can watch the game for free, as usual, at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

International-based supporters can watch via their usual subscription at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

Tale of the tape

There’s often no predicting the winner between the two sides in this fixture.

Saints were 2-1 victors in the last meeting in the League Cup earlier in this campaign, on their way to their appearance in the final next weekend.

In the league, ‘Well are undefeated this season, drawing 1-1 at McDiarmid Park and winning 1-0 at Fir Park back in September.

Form guide

Motherwell have won three of their last five, defeating Ross County, Dundee United and Kilmarnock.

St Johnstone gave away a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 at home to Celtic on Sunday. Prior to that, they had won two, drawn one and lost one in the league.