MATCH REPORT | MOTHERWELL TAKE SPOILS AS YOUNG TERROS PUNISHED FOR INDIVIDUAL ERRORS

MOTHERWELL 4
DUNDEE UNITED 1
CAS UNDER-18S ELITE LEAGUE
16:00 FRIDAY 14TH OCTOBER
BRAIDHURST

The Young Terrors were on league duty in Lanarkshire as they looked to bounce back quickly from a bruising 7-3 defeat against Aberdeen last time out.

Line-Up
 
Two changes were made to the side which began the New Firm clash 14 days prior – Arron Donald dropped out of the squad with a back injury and the trialist goalkeeper no longer with the club. There was a Young Terrors debut, therefore, for 14-year-old stopper Rydnn McGuire, whilst full-back Nairn Lowe slotted into the left of a back four.
 
Samuel Cleall-Harding, who was recently rewarded with a call-up to the first team bench for United’s clash with St Johnstone after impressing during training, partnered Keir Bertie at centre-half, whilst the versatile Sean Borland was the final man of the defensive quadrant.
 
Bryan Mwangi retained his newfound role in the middle of the park alongside skipper Craig Moore and 15-year-old Alan Domeracki, and Rory MacLeod lead the line with support from Adam Carnwath and Stuart Heenan.

Early Well Dominance

 
Motherwell, under the guise of former Ross County boss Stuart Kettlewell, fashioned shot on target inside the opening 60 seconds when Shay Nevans and Mark Ferrie executed a sharp one-two which allowed the former space inside the box to pull the trigger, but he failed to truly test the keeper with a low strike.
 
McGuire was once again called into action two minutes later after a neat short corner routine saw Luca Ross dart into the area unchallenged, a substantial deflection taking the sting out of his effort which was easily claimed.
 
The claret and amber onslaught continued, this time Dylan Wells’ wicked delivery from a wide free-kick to the back post finding Arran Bone completely unmarked who steered over on the bounce – a huge let-off for United.
 
Ferrie and Bertie found themselves embroiled in a physical battle throughout proceedings, one which the ‘Well number nine seemed to claim the upper hand in as he used his robust frame to pin the United man with his back to goal, bringing others into play and his side up the park.
 
Motherwell would get their just rewards for a blistering start with just ten minutes down however it was an error from the Young Terrors which offered them the advantage on a silver platter. Under intense pressure from the hosts, United attempted to play short from the keeper and a stray pass from McGuire towards Moore was intercepted by Lennon Miller just outside the box. He coolly stroked it to his right for Olly Whyte to sidefoot into the top right corner beyond a despairing dive from the keeper.

Bad To Worse
 
A dubious offside call allowed Max Ross the chance to send a raking, crossfield ball more than 40 yards for opposite full-back Scott Williamson who snuck around the back of Borland into the area. The 15-year-old plucked his colleague’s pass out of the sky and nonchalantly slid the ball under McGuire from close-range as things went from bad to worse for United.
 
United finally had a sniff of goal with 24 minutes played, tenacious pressing from Domeracki saw him pickpocket substitute Jevan Beattie wide on the left before feeding Mwangi who had Kyle Aitken scrambling across his line with a low drive from 25 yards.
 
Miller and fellow midfielder Wells were causing chaos with their runs from deep into the half spaces which went untracked by their tangerine counterparts.

 
‘Well could have and should have ended the match as a contest when they snared United with a well-organised pressing trap. Miller managed to block Lowe’s attempted pass up the line and the ball fell kindly for him to collect and charge into the area. With support in the middle, he opted to go for goal himself but could only find the side-netting with a venomous shot from an acute angle.
 
United came out after the interval with a reinvigorated sense of urgency and managed to spook Motherwell with an aggressive 4-4-2 press led by Domeracki and MacLeod. After a wayward Well pass resulted in a throw-in, Moore and MacLeod combined sharply in a tight area, with the former able to break into the box and find Domeracki standing on the penalty spot, but the unfortunate midfielder’s looping effort cracked the top off the crossbar with Aitken routed to the spot.

 
Motherwell regained the upper hand with the hour mark looming, pinning United into their own defensive third for more than five minutes. During this period, Nevans hit the side netting on the turn, and Wells’ thundering header from a corner rebounded back off the crossbar.

Heenan's Genius
 
It was going to take a piece of innovative genius to unlock a tightly shut Motherwell door, and Heenan managed to conjure up just that. He received the ball with his back to goal, surrounded by three defenders before executing a brilliant backheel through the legs of Miller, taking numerous opponents out of the game to find teammate Mwangi on the burst into the area. The Young Terrors number eight kept his cool and buried the ball into the bottom corner to bag his first goal since his return from injury and offer his side a glimmer of hope.

 
Chance creation still proved difficult for the visitors though with little depth and dynamism to a static frontline making defending relatively straightforward for resolute ‘Well.

Game Over
 
The joy was short-lived though, and Wells put the game to bed with 11 minutes to play as he found the bottom corner after a defensive mix-up between Bertie and McGuire surrendered a needless throw-in in a dangerous position.
 
Motherwell added a fourth as Luca Ross broke forward from a United corner and evaded a sliding challenge for Bertie before squaring for Beattie inside the box who slid under the onrushing McGuire.
 
United unable to match the physicality and intensity of an older and more experienced Motherwell and punished for individual errors in Lanarkshire.
 
Teamlines

United: McGuire, Borland, Lowe, Cleall-Harding, Bertie, Moore, Carnwath, Mwangi, MacLeod, Domeracki, Heenan (May, Trotter, Stirton)
 
Motherwell: Aitken, M.Ross, Williamson, Gould, Bone, Miller, Nevans, Wells, Ferrie, Whyte, L.Ross (Booth, Beattie, Tomany, Forrest)