Stuart Kettlewell was proud of Motherwell’s battling qualities after they dug deep to defeat St Mirren 2-1.
Lennon Miller’s double cancelled out Killian Phillips’ ninth-minute opener and swung an action-packed contest the way of the Steelmen.
There were red cards for Dan Casey and Scott Tanser in the second half, while Mark O’Hara would see his penalty brilliantly saved by Motherwell keeper Aston Oxborough.
Well boss Kettlewell said: “I’m immensely proud of the character, the personality and the battling qualities – I knew we would need that today.
“St Mirren make you defend your box and make you stand strong. I’m really happy with the players and the performance – but the application especially.”
For the second week in succession, Miller produced a man-of-the-match display for the Steelmen to help them to victory.
He rolled home from the spot to equalise and then added his second on the stroke of half-time – driving the ball past Ellery Balcombe after his initial effort was blocked.
The 18-year-old continues to draw plaudits from far and wide, something that comes as no surprise to his boss.
“I was disappointed he didn’t get his hat-trick, I said that to him when the referee blew the final whistle,” Kettlewell smiled.
“I thought he had a great chance, he makes a brilliant run into the box at 2-1.
“All kidding aside, the level of composure we spoke about last week, it just comes again – I don’t think anybody in Scottish football is surprised.
“He just handles his business like a guy that’s got 300-400 games under his belt – he’s been the difference for us today.”
Motherwell were reduced to 10 men two minutes after half-time, after Casey was adjudged to have handled on the line.
Kettlewell felt that the defender was unlucky to see red, but was keen to put more attention on the final result.
“I’ve seen an angle from behind the goal where it does look as if it comes off his stomach, inside his chest and then onto his arm,” he added.
“I’m not going to sit here and complain too much about it – the emotion is that we’ve won the game and naturally we always come away happy when that’s the case.”
St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson felt his team should have got more following what he described as an “excellent” showing.
The Buddies had plenty of chances, though would find Oxborough in inspired form.
On the key decisions that went against his side, Robinson refused to be drawn on Tanser’s red card or Motherwell being awarded a first-half penalty.
“We should have scored a lot more goals, we had a lot of chances,” Robinson said.
“I thought our performance was excellent at times, especially when we had 11 men on the pitch.
“I can’t affect what the decisions are, if they affected the game then that’s out of my control.
“There’s a lot of positives, I thought our performance was very, very good.”
Kyogo Furuhashi struck twice as Celtic continued their imperious start to the season with a 6-0 triumph over St Johnstone in Perth.The Japan forward scored either side of Paulo Bernardo in the final 10 minutes of the first half.Callum McGregor added to the lead with his fourth long-range goal of the season, Daizen Maeda got on the scoresheet after having a first-half effort controversially disallo...
Liverpool’s impressive start under Arne Slot continued as they moved to the top of the Premier League after a 2-1 win at Wolves.Life after Jurgen Klopp is not turning out to be too bad as Ibrahima Konate’s header and a Mohamed Salah penalty either side of Rayan Ait-Nouri’s equaliser made it five wins from six league games.Defeat at home to Nottingham Forest a fortnight ago remain...
Otis Khan scored five minutes from time to secure Oldham a 2-1 victory over National League bottom side Ebbsfleet.Mark Kitching nodded the Latics into the lead from Mike Fondop’s flick-on three minutes into the second half at Kuflink Stadium.It was all square after Dominic Poleon sent Matthew Hudson the wrong way with an 81st-minute penalty.Four minutes later, Khan restored Oldham’s le...
Blackpool assistant Steve Agnew singled out captain Lee Evans for special praise after the in-form Seasiders swept aside struggling Burton 3-0 at Bloomfield Road.Brighton loanee Odeluga Offiah opened his account for the club before Rob Apter’s solo effort made it 2-0.Summer signing Evans then added the finishing touch as the Tangerines made it four straight wins under new manager Steve Bruce...
Mikel Arteta says he loves, respects and admires Pep Guardiola in a clear move to defuse escalating tensions with his one-time mentor.Guardiola told Arteta’s Arsenal to prepare for war amid the fallout from last weekend’s heated draw with Manchester City and the Gunners responded with a last-gasp 4-2 victory against Leicester at the Emirates.Speaking on the eve of Saturday’s fixt...
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes bemoaned his side’s defending as a first league win slipped through their fingers after Dundee United came from two goals down to snatch a 3-3 draw at Rugby Park.Dundee United dominated a poor quality first half and led through Louis Moult but substitute David Watson appeared to have turned the game on its head as he levelled the scores with a remarkable scis...
Birmingham boss Chris Davies was delighted with his side’s reaction after seeing them fight back from two goals down to beat Peterborough 3-2 and reclaim top spot in League One.After a sloppy start, the big-spending Blues found themselves trailing 2-0 after just 16 minutes following goals from Ricky-Jade Jones and Emmanuel Fernandez.However, a smart finish from Willum Willumsson halved the d...
Gateshead secured back-to-back wins in the Vanarama National League with a 3-1 triumph at Southend.The visitors started strongly and took a 12th-minute lead through Jacob Butterfield but the Shrimpers levelled with a deflected strike from captain Gus Scott-Morriss before the interval.Gateshead regained the lead seven minutes into the second half after Collin Andeng-Ndi brought down Owen Oseni and ...
Scott Lindsey was satisfied with his first look at his new MK Dons side as they collected a well-earned 1-1 draw at BromleyAn early Joe Tomlinson goal gave the Dons the lead but it was cancelled out by Michael Cheek’s strike midway through the first half.Lindsey, who left Crawley to take over at the Dons, said: “It was a point in the right direction, but we wanted more than that.&ldquo...
Garry Monk felt his Cambridge side did not show enough fight as their dismal start to the season continued on Saturday.The U’s have picked up just one point from their seven games so far and already sit six points from safety as one of two winless sides in Sky Bet League One.Lincoln climbed to third with their fourth victory of the season, their 2-0 success coming courtesy of substitutes Fre...
- 1 Jamal Musiala to replace Kevin De Bruyne?!
- 2 Charlie Kelman secures point for Leyton Orient against Peterborough
- 3 Three players killed in bus crash after coach carrying Brazil football team flips
- 4 Daily Laugh - Chelsea Deng
- 5 Liverpool star could be signed for just 20m euros
- 6 Man Utd star Harry Maguire slapped with fine after being caught speeding in Land Rover
- 7 Rodri facing long lay-off and will need surgery – Pep Guardiola
- 8 Steve Bruce hails Blackpool’s new-found ‘swagger’ after victory at Huddersfield
- 9 Arsenal join race for Wirtz
- 10 Cristiano Ronaldo's hot WAG Georgina Rodriguez shows off daring new look