Ref Well Out Of Order

Sep 30 2007 Mark Guidi At Fir Park

Porter: We Were Due Stonewall Spot Kick

MOTHERWELL 1

RANGERS 1

MOTHERWELL goal hero Chris Porter reckons referee Craig Thomson robbed his side of a memorable victory.

Well were one up thanks to Porter's opener when David Clarkson went down under a Stevie Naismith challenge in the box after 55 minutes.

But Thomson turned down their penalty appeals and rubbed salt in the wound by awarding Gers a spot-kick 12 minutes later.

Kris Boyd rattled home to seal a point for Walter Smith's side but Porter insists Rangers would have been dead and buried had the ref punished Naismith for his challenge.

The striker said: "It was a clear bodycheck on Clarkson and we should have had a penalty. Rangers got away with it.

"We might have been able to kill them off had we been given it."

Motherwell started the game at a ferocious pace and deserved their half-time lead - although Rangers twice hit the woodwork.

Mark McGhee's side played some lovely stuff early on and Keith Lasley beat the offside trap to get on the end of Stephen Craigan's long ball.

Well had four players in the box waiting for a cutback but Carlos Cuellar read the danger and cleared up.

Rangers were never given the chance to put their foot on the ball as McGhee's men shut them down and broke up several attacks.

The Fir Park gaffer's tactics also stopped Alan Hutton bombing forward from right-back as he was pinned back by Clarkson.

On the opposite flank Porter took every chance to run at Sasa Papac while Davie Weir and Cuellar had to cope with former Ibrox kid Ross McCormack.

In the middle of the park Well's three men - Stephen Hughes, Steven McGarry and Lasley - often swamped Barry Ferguson and Kevin Thomson.

Former Hibs star Thomson was a passenger in the first half while old Easter Road pal Steven Whittaker had a shocker.

It's no wonder skipper Ferguson spent much of the first 45 minutes looking bewildered at the lack of class around him.

Former Rangers midfielder Hughes was terrific for Well while McGarry and Jim Paterson look totally transformed under McGhee.

In the past the duo often seemed like passengers. Now, though, they have a lovely first touch, pass the ball well and aren't afraid to impose themselves on the game.

For all the positives Motherwell didn't test Allan McGregor much although the keeper was often called on to deal with cross balls.

However, the Steelmen grabbed the lead after 24 minutes. Clarkson slipped a lovely ball through the defence and Porter was played onside by the slack Papac.

The Well striker steadied himself before stroking the ball past McGregor from 12 yards.

Porter said: "The pass was perfect and it was a great feeling when I put it away."

Gers almost levelled within 60 seconds as Lee McCulloch's fierce strike rattled off the bar with Graeme Smith well beaten.

But the Ibrox side had a lucky escape at the other end when McCormack struck the woodwork with a fantastic free-kick.

Well threatened again when Clarkson beat Hutton to a Paul Quinn cross and headed wide.

The game was flowing from end to end and Cuellar saw his header flicked on to the bar by Hughes from a Naismith corner. Striker Jean-Claude Darcheville came on for Whittaker at the break but lasted just 10 minutes before leaving the field with a hamstring injury. DaMarcus Beasley took the Frenchman's place.

After some stern words from Smith at half-time Rangers took a grip as Ferguson started to probe.

Motherwell still managed to get into some terrific positions but their final ball was poor and they failed to seriously test McGregor.

Cuellar also made some vital interceptions for Gers.

Ibrox hitman Boyd missed a couple of decent chances but showed great bottle to fire home the leveller in 67 minutes.

Lasley fouled Beasley for a clear penalty and the striker slammed home his 52nd goal for the club.

Rangers tried to grab a winner but ran out of ideas as Well held on for a point.

Smith said: "You need to play exceptionally well to win on the road. Teams have been getting better for the last five or six years.

"Motherwell played well and you have to give them credit."

REF WATCH

CRAIG THOMSON was booed off by furious Motherwell fans but the abuse was wide of the mark as he controlled the game well. Rarely a moment passed when he didn't have a decision to make and more often than not he called it right. Handed out seven yellow cards in a fiery clash and can be pleased with his performance. Rating: 7/10.

MATCH STATS

SHOTS ON 2

SHOTS OFF 7

OFFSIDE 5

FOULS 28

CORNER 5

BOOKINGS 4

SHOTS ON 5

SHOTS OFF 18

OFFSIDE 4

FOULS 14

CORNER 5

BOOKINGS 3