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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Ben Banks

Motherwell 0 Hibs 0: Two red cards for Steelmen in Fir Park stalemate

Motherwell ended their 0-0 Premiership draw against Hibs with 10-men and manager Graham Alexander in the stands.

Proceedings were cagey at Fir Park and neither side managed to create anything of note in the game's opening hour of play.

Kevin Van Veen missed a big home chance in the first half during a game impacted by the wet and windy conditions in North Lanarkshire.

Hibs were handed a player and manager advantage when Motherwell's Liam Donnelly and boss Alexander were sent off in the space of thirty seconds.

They held on for a point and remain fourth in the Premiership, Hibs kept at arms length in fifth.

'Well boss Alexander made one change to the Motherwell side that edged past Morton in the Scottish Cup fourth round on Saturday. Kevin van Veen - who scored in the game - started in place of Kaiyne Woolery.

Hibs head coach Shaun Maloney meanwhile opted for more, with four changes made from the side that were taken to extra time by Cove Rangers almost a week ago.

Captain Paul Hanlon was kept out by injury with Rocky Bushiri coming, alongside Paul McGinn, Jake Doyle-Hayes and Kevin Nisbet entering the XI. Melker Hallberg, Ewan Henderson and Christian Doidge dropped out.

Within 10 seconds Hibs had their first real chance. Nisbet broke behind the home defence but could only side-foot his effort wide from a tight angle.

Donnelly had netted a fine winner for Motherwell against Morton but wasn't as successful with a similar but lower shot on seven minutes.

Windy and wet conditions meant the ball at Fir Park was either sliding across the surface or getting caught in the air - leading to a less than fluid match.

(SNS Group)

But Hibs had the better openings in the final third, albeit they were still few and far between. A huge chance would fall Motherwell's way though.

A Sean Goss corner on 27 minutes met Jake Carroll in the box, who's effort was palmed by Hibs goalkeeper Matt Macey into the path of Kevin Van Veen. 'Well's number nine blasted well over from all of six yards out.

It was the only real moment in a first half devoid of any quality. It got gradually worse as proceedings marched on and the early stages of the second half showed little signs of improvement.

Play panned out mostly in midfield and it was a slog. There was plenty of endeavour on display, but it wasn't turning into quality in the final third.

'Well captain Stephen O'Donnell was afforded a rare chance behind the Hibs defensive line on 56 minutes but his shot was tame and easily dealt with.

Former Motherwell man Chris Cadden looked a threat at right-wing-back for Hibs and his crosses into his ex-club's box were teasing, but not met by teammates.

Then the game turned on 73 minutes. Already on a booking, Donnelly was sent packing for a challenge manager Alexander deemed fine, also sent off as 'Well were down a player and a boss.

Cadden's ball into the box two minutes later was dangerous and Christian Doidge's lob on 83 minutes almost beat Fir Park goalkeeper Liam Kelly after a rare moment of indecisiveness.

The reds mattered little in the game as with a few defensive subs, Motherwell held on for a point on a night of little imagination.

(SNS Group)

Motherwell XI: Kelly; O'Donnell, Solholm, Carroll, McGinley, Goss, Maguire, Donnelly, Shields (Tierney, 66, Slattery 84) Roberts (Shaw, 84) Van Veen.

Subs: Fox; Woolery,Ojala, Amaluzor, Cornelius, Nirennold.

Booked: Donnelly (red), Alexander (red), Solholm, Van Veen,

Hibernian XI: Macey; McGinn, Bushiri, Stevenson (Mitchell, 76) Cadden, Doyle-Hayes, Newell (Doidge, 81) Campbell (Henderson, 76) Doig, Mueller (Wright, 61), Nisbet.

Substitutes: Dabrowski; Murphy, Allan, McGregor, Scott.

Booked: Stevenson, McGinn.

Referee: Andrew Dallas.

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.

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