Well left frustrated in Perth

Motherwell were left frustrated after a contentious penalty decision saw them leave McDiarmid Park with nothing tonight.

The opening stages of the game were entertaining enough with both sides coming close, Murray Davidson flicking a Danny Grainger cross into the arms of Darren Randolph.

At the other end Well carved the Saints open down the right and the move ended with a shot from Jamie Murphy which hit John Sutton on the goal line.

Sadly after this opening 15 minute burst there was little to write home about for the remainder of the half! The remaining half hour was riddled with mistakes, poor shooting and precious little quality on display.

Saints took the lead on 61 minutes in controversial circumstances. A Grainger corner was aimed for Michael Dubbery at the far post and as he was challenged by Stephen Craigan the ref awarded a penalty.

There was confusion over why the decision was given with the ball hitting Craigan on the back of the head. This didn’t deter Liam Craig who sent Darren Randolph the wrong way to open the scoring.

After the game both managers felt the decision was soft, with Derek McInnes saying he would have been disappointed if it had been given against them and Stuart McCall believing if these are the decisions that are going to be given we will see dozens of penalties given.

The remainder of the game saw Motherwell on the front foot but couldn’t create any clear cut chances and were left licking their wounds.

Cup opponents Stranraer had representatives at the game, and I don’t think they will have left having too many worries having watched that Motherwell performance.