Motherwell held to draw in Europa League qualifier
Scottish Premier League (SPL) side Motherwell FC were unfortunate not to overcome Aalesunds FK in the first leg of their Europa League third round qualifying tie. Striker Jamie Murphy found the net for the Steelmen, who were looking for a repeat of last week’s away victory against Breidablik of Iceland in the previous round. However, the Scottish club were undone right at the end of the match with Alexander Mathisen’s injury-time penalty, securing a draw for the home side with the last kick of the game.
The first taste of goal action came after 12 minutes, when the ball was set up nicely for Tom Hateley to have a go from 35 yards. The 20 year-old midfielder found the sweet spot and Aalesunds goalkeeper, Anders Lindegaard, pulled off a nice save to turn the ball out for a corner.
Long-range shots
Long-range strikes were par for the course during the game, and the home team came close to talking the early lead when Demar Phillips dodged in from the left of the field and thumped an effort against the corner of the bar and post.
Motherwell set themselves up with an excellent chance when defender Steven Hammell broke forward into the opposing box, and saw his shot fail to find the net thanks to an impressive save from Lindegaard. Just seconds later, the goalkeeper breathed a sigh of relief when Murphy nodded wide from a cross by Mark Reynolds.
Aalesunds would have been hoping for a home field advantage - quite literally since they would be far more used to the artificial surface. This proved to be true to some extent, as they proved to be more comfortable on the faster surface, using it to strong effect to create some silky, speedy passing moves.
Double change
At the interval, Motherwell manager Craig Brown decided to make two changes to his starting line-up. Chris Humphrey came on for Forbes, who had not been enjoying the best of games, while Bob McHugh replaced John Sutton, who had suffered a knock in the opening 45 minutes.
The away team had the most perfect of starts to the second period. Hateley jinked his way past a pair of opponents on the right, before firing the ball low across the face of goal. It found its way to Humphrey, who managed to hit it back towards Murphy. The young forward still had to work hard for his goal, as he twisted to prod a low shot home. Murphy’s strike saw his become the SPL side’s all-time leading scorer in European competition with six goals.
Almost instant reply
Opposing captain Johan Arneng had struggled to make his mark on the game, but almost earned his side an instant reply. He skillfully worked his way past a couple of Motherwell players but his low shot was held by Motherwell goalkeeper Darren Randolph.
‘Well survived the challenge provided by their Norwegian opponents, but just as it looked like they were about to emerge victorious, Sanders fouled Phillips inside the penalty area. Mathisen stepped up to take the spot-kick and sent Randolph the wrong way as he earned the home team a draw.
Though they will be disappointed not to have held on for the win, Motherwell will hold the advantage of an away goal when the sides clash once again next week at Fir Park.
Teams:
Aalesunds FK - Lindegaard, Jalasto, Arnefjord, Jaager, Olsen (Carlsen 70), Arneng, Herrera (Mathisen 57), Parr, Phillips, Larsen (Fredriksen 57), Aaroy. Unused substitutes: Grytebust, Tollas, Ulvestad, Flotre.
Motherwell - Randolph, Saunders, Hammell, Reynolds, Craigan, Hateley, Jennings, Lasley, Murphy, Sutton (Humphrey 46), Forbes (McHugh 47). Unused substitutes: Hollis, Hutchinson, Page, Fitzpatrick, Smith.
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