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A dominant Motherwell Under 20s slipped to a 3-2 defeat in the quarter final of the Scottish FA Youth Cup against Kilmarnock.

Shaun Bowers and Jake Hastie twice brought Stephen Craigan’s side level at the Excelsior Stadium, but the visitors struck late to progress to the last four of the competition Craigan’s side won in 2016.

Unfortunately, the ‘Well youngsters performance, and the fixture as a whole, was overshadowed by controversy as ‘Well went down to nine men in bewildering fashion.

However, it may have been a different story had the Under 20s taken their early chances.

A terrific ball towards the back post had keeper Jasmin Keranovic helplessly scrambling across goal, and both Jordan Armstrong and James Scott were queuing up to turn the ball home, only for the former to nod his effort off the cross bar.

Shea Gordon looked set to open the scoring when Jake Hastie’s stinging ball across goal just needed a touch to send it home, but it was just out of reach of the midfielder and he couldn’t get enough on it to beat Keranovic, who was helpless again in goal.

Killie got off the mark in the 16^th minute through Samizadeh, who spun away from Dylan King before rather fortunately crashing his effort in off the post.

It remained that way heading in to the break, but Bowers gambled well early in the second half to nod the Steelmen level.

A whipped cross towards the back post was missed by Keranovic and directed easily home by the right back.

Craigan’s side again dominated until Kilmarnock burst up the park five minutes later, and the whole match changed.

Samizadeh was again involved, working his way in to the box and tumbling to the deck despite the slightest contact from the hand of Barry Maguire.

The referee didn’t hesitate and immediately pointed to the spot. To compound matters, the official flashed a second yellow card at Maguire after the young defender expressed his disappointment with the decision.

After everything died down, Samizadeh stepped up and finished the spot kick off to put Kilmarnock back in front.

But the ten men of Motherwell didn’t lie down, instead did the opposite and took the game to the Ayrshire side.

They drew level through Hastie just five minutes after falling behind when Liam Brown’s delightful clipped ball found the forward who took a clever tough before firing past Keranovic.

In to the last ten minutes, the drama continued in Airdrie.

Kilmarnock won a soft free kick on the edge of the Motherwell box and, despite getting a strong hand to Jack Paterson’s thundered free kick, the ball spun up in to the air and trundled across the line to put the visitors back in front.

In the aftermath, Liam Brown was shown a second yellow for apparent dissent, forcing manager Stephen Craigan to ask for clarity from the referee as to why his midfielder had been sent off. This resulted in the Northern Irishman being sent a few yards away and in to the stands to watch the remainder of the cup clash, which ultimately ended in defeat and frustration for 2016’s winners.

Extended highlights from Kelty as the Under 20s lose 1-0 away to St Johnstone in the Development league.

Stephen Craigan had mixed emotions after his side slipped to a narrow defeat against St Johnstone in the Development League.

A largely positive performance was marred by a lack of cutting edge as the Under 20s couldn’t find the back of the net at New Central Park.

And for the Northern Irishman, there were positives to take from the first half, which was followed by a disappointing second.

[pullquote]It was largely down to the last thing we did with the ball. Whether that be our final pass, our final touch or our final decision at the top end of the pitch.[/pullquote]

“There were lots of spells where we dominated the game, especially in the first half,” Craigan said. “I thought we moved the ball well and we got in behind them quite a lot of times.

He added: “When you’re on top in games you want to put it to bed or get one or two ahead and I felt out first half performance deserved it.

“But I’m disappointed with the second half because St Johnstone really only had that one chance and they took it.”

Motherwell Under 20s slipped to their second consecutive defeat with a 1-0 loss against St Johnstone in the Development League.

Despite dominating large parts of the game, the youngsters conceded early in the second half and couldn’t find the response required to get back in to the match.

Barry Maguire, Adam Livingstone and David Turnbull returned to Stephen Craigan’s starting line up, whilst Gaël Bigirimana was also included from the start.

But it was George Newell, leading the line, who so nearly opened the scoring inside two minutes.

A terrific ball in from Ross MacLean was glanced towards the far post by the striker, but it flashed narrowly wide of the mark.

Deimantas Petravičius, proving lively on the right flank, caused early problems for the Saints back line but failed to properly test goalkeeper Mark Hurst.

Bigirimana went closest in the opening 45, when Newell slipped the midfielder in on the edge of the area and he curled a decent effort on target, only to be denied by a strong hand from Hurst.

As the second half got underway, St Johnstone came out looking revived and took the game to Craigan’s side in the first ten minutes of the second period.

A well-worked move down the left flank was finished off with a smart cut-back from John Robertson which allowed Jamie McKenzie to tap in from just a few yards to open the scoring.

Stephen Craigan introduced James Scott shortly after the hour mark in place of Bigirimana, shuffling his shape with two strikers on the park in search for a response.

And the young striker was almost immediately involved in the action when big calls for a penalty were waived by the referee.

Keith Watson slid to the deck, bringing down the teenager in the progress. The official ignored numerous shouts despite the defender failing to get a touch on the ball.

It was the biggest opportunity for the youngsters, who went close in the final minute from Petravičius’ strike from the edge of the box, as Saints held on for all three points at New Central Park in Kelty.

Motherwell Under 20s are in SPFL Development League action against on Tuesday as they travel to face St Johnstone.

The match, which will be played at New Central Park in Kelty, kicks off at 2pm.

Stephen Craigan’s side lost in their last outing, going down 2-0 against Dundee United.

Extended highlights from Motherwell Under 20s 2-0 defeat to Dundee United in the Development League. 

Stephen Craigan says his side lacked a cutting edge as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Dundee United Under 20s. 

The Northern Irishman, who believed the better side on the day won, reflected on the 90 minutes at Forthbank Stadium.

Speaking at full time, Craigan praised Dundee United and admitted his side weren’t at their best over the course of the game.

“I think Dundee United probably deserved to win the game,” the Northern Irishman said.

“They showed more desire than us and I think their side was a bit younger than ours, so credit to them.

[pullquote]Overall, it was a bit frustrating yes, but hands up, I think the best team won.[/pullquote]

“I think their back three dealt with our front two, whichever pairing we went with, and their front two caused our back three all sorts of problems.

“But I always try to take the positives from the game and one of those is the fact that Shea Gordon has come back from injury.

Motherwell Under 20s slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Dundee United in the Development League on Thursday afternoon.

Stephen Craigan’s side played their second game of the week, after their 2-0 win over Kilmarnock on Monday evening.

But a below par showing from the youngsters resulted in a loss against bottom-placed United.

Craigan made five changes to his side from their victory at the start of the week, bringing PJ Morrison, Dylan King, Luke Watt and Jamie Semple in to the starting 11, as well as introducing Shea Gordon back in to the team after a lengthy spell out injured.

The midfielder nearly made his mark with a decent effort from the edge of the area in the 11th minute, but his curled effort flew narrowly past the post.

The visitors took the lead after 32 minutes when Declan Glass fired beyond Morrison from the edge of the area, spinning neatly and dispatching confidently to open the scoring.

Eight minutes later, United were awarded a penalty, and it was an easy decision for the referee.

Kieran Inglis burst in to the box before Krones bundled him to the deck. From the spot, Idris Kadded made it two.

Craigan introduced Adam Livingstone at half time and the youngster’s delivery from set pieces proved a threat throughout the second 45.

A swirling corner from Livingstone’s left foot caused all sorts of problems for Josh Donaldson in the United goal, but the young keeper managed to punch clear.

James Scott should have halved the deficit with just seven minutes left on the clock when Jordan Armstrong’s inviting cross looked set to be headed home. But Donaldson did well to smother the danger.

Motherwell’s Under 20s are back in league action on Thursday afternoon when they host Dundee United.

The game at Forthbank Stadium in Stirling kicks off at 2pm.

Stephen Craigan’s side are catching up their games in hand as they chase down Hibernian at the top of the SPFL Development League.

With two games in hand over the Edinburgh side and nine games to go, the young Steelmen are currently 10 points adrift and need to win to maintain aspirations of challenging at the top.

Extended highlights from Motherwell under-20s 2-0 victory over Kilmarnock in the Development League.