HUBRIS may be ancient Greek, but it is Scottish football which has long made pride before a fall its trademark. A classic example was witnessed at Fir Park yesterday.
Motherwell went into yesterday's match in high spirits, thinking of extending
their sequence of wins in the top division to six for the first time since 1937. Instead, their vaunting ambition was blasted away by three Falkirk second-half goals. It was a result which mars Motherwell manager Mark McGhee's CV as a possible candidate for the Scotland manager's job. "A blip," was how he described Motherwell's lifeless performance. Or so he hopes.
On the other hand, John Hughes, his opposite number at Falkirk, will have done his chances of landing the vacant Hibs job no harm at all, though Hughes would only say yesterday that he is waiting to hear from Hibs rather than indicating that he wants to go there.
Before the match there was a poignant tribute to Scots Guardsman Stephen Ferguson, killed on active duty in Iraq at the age of 31. A lifelong Motherwell fan, his funeral took place yesterday and at his request he was buried in the claret and amber colours of his favourite team. The crowd gave a minute's sustained applause to mark his sacrifice.
There was a cagey opening to the match. The first real semblance of a chance came after ten minutes when Ross McCormack broke down the left and sent in a cross which Chris Porter just reached, his header flopping on top of the goal. McCormack was the dangerman three minutes later when he cut in from the left and fired in a rasping low shot which Tim Krul did well to clutch at the first attempt.
Porter then headed a Steven McGarry cross narrowly over the bar before Falkirk mounted their first serious attack, Steven Thomson blasting over wild and high from 30 yards.
At that stage the match was as dull as the grey Lanarkshire weather. The problem was that both sides were trying to play the kind of pressing, passing football both their managers espouse, and therefore nullified each other. A case in point was Motherwell's Stephen Hughes, source of so much quality play recently, who was closely attended by Scott Arfield throughout, thus removing two creative players from the mix.
As the half wore on, Motherwell began to exert a modicum of pressure though failing to create any fully clear-cut chances. A good move down the right involving Hughes and Porter sent David Clarkson clear in the box, but the striker was forced to shoot from a narrow angle and Krul was able to smother the shot. Porter again headed over after 26 minutes before Phil O'Donnell went close-but-no-cigar with a fizzing shot from the left.
Falkirk finally got an effort on target after 39 minutes, Michael Higdon heading weakly to Graeme Smith. They then won their first corner two minutes later, which also came to nothing. It was a sign of things to come, however.
"We rode our luck a bit in the first half," said Hughes afterwards. "At half-time I asked my strikers to have a little bit more belief." Did he sing the carol Adeste fideles? In any case, the Falkirk faithful responded to his urgings.
Their first goal came after 49 minutes when Dean Holden crossed from the left and Higdon rose above a static home defence to head past Smith in the bottom corner. Hughes might have equalised two minutes later but Krul, whom Falkirk will be desperate to keep on loan from Newcastle, made the first of several fine saves.
On the hour mark, Falkirk won a corner on the right and Pedro Moutinho fired in a low cross to Higdon standing 16 yards out, the striker dispatching the ball low past Smith.
Again Motherwell might have had a goal immediately after a Falkirk counter when Porter shot narrowly past Krul's left post, but it was Falkirk who went further ahead after 65 minutes with a simple goal. Thomson found Patrick Cregg in the Motherwell penalty box and the busy midfielder stabbed the ball home to put Falkirk three up.
Motherwell sent on Jamie Murphy and Darren Smith for O'Donnell and Clarkson respectively and both substitutes scorned chances to equalise in rapid succession, Krul's save from Smith being especially noteworthy. Krul later saved from Smith and Murphy again, but it might have been four for the visitors had Holden's effort not hit the crossbar.
"It was a worry when it was 0-0 at half-time as they were a bit quiet," said McGhee, "and it was no surprise that we lost the game." Motherwell now face Rangers on Boxing Day. They will be praying the "blip" was just that.
MAN OF THE MATCH: With two goals and a second-half display of bustling centre-forward play, Michael Higdon takes the honours.
ASIDE: It was the ultimate embarrassing tannoy announcement for a football fan. The spectator was asked to go the police desk and hand over his house keys, no doubt to a wrathful spouse. We will spare his blushes by not naming him.
The full article contains 875 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
