Aberdeen win would've been pointless if we didn't beat Livi, says Well ace

Motherwell midfielder Blair Spittal says Saturday's 1-0 win over Livingston was important to back up last week’s triumph over Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

In previewing the Fir Park clash, which Motherwell won through Kevin van Veen’s 68th-minute penalty, Spittal said last weekend’s 3-2 win over the Dons would have been pointless if they didn’t grab their first home win of the season against Livi.

While Spittal admits it was a hard-fought tussle between the teams, he’s delighted to be on the winning side.

“It was important to back up last week’s win,” he said. “There’s no point in going up to Pittodrie, putting in the performance and getting the win – and rightly getting the plaudits – if you come here and don’t back it up.

“We’ve managed to do that now, and it puts us in a good position.

“It was a bit of a grind at points, but it’s a big win for us.

“I said during the week there that we needed to try and get the first home win of the season and we’ve managed to do that.

Spittal says Motherwell controlled large parts of the game against Livingston (SNS Group)

“I think there are bits that we could have done better, but in large parts of the game we controlled it really well.”

The 26-year-old added: “I thought we knocked the ball about pretty well, moved their striker {Joel Nouble] about pretty well, and our use of the ball was probably too safe – the manager said that at half-time.

“It wasn’t a rollicking, it was just a case of asking us to play it a bit quicker, threaten a lot more to their goal, and in the second half we did that a wee bit more.

“Probably not as much as we would have liked, but we did it a lot more.”

Motherwell’s win hinged on two moments as referee Nick Walsh awarded a penalty after Ricki Lamie’s header struck Christian Montano’s arm.

Spittal was felled just outside the box by Ayo Obileye in the first half, but referee Nick Walsh correctly judged it to be a good tackle (SNS Group)

Substitute Dylan Bahamboula then received his marching orders in 77 minutes for a second booking, having been cautioned just three minutes earlier.

On the penalty, Spittal said: “I never saw the hand-ball at the time, I was a wee bit confused when the ref points to the spot, but you take them – and you back Kev 100 per cent when he’s 12 yards out.

“It’s a great penalty that gets us the three points.”

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