Motherwell through as Tawanda Maswanhise hits late double
The breakthrough came in the 52nd minute. James Storer brilliantly pushed a Johnny Koutroumbis shot up and on to the bar before Apostolos Stamatelopoulos bundled the ball over the line.
Morton pressed for an equaliser but Maswanhise collected Liam Gordon's through-ball and slotted home in the 83rd minute before curling into the top corner from 25 yards in stoppage time for his fourth goal of the new season.
Ethan Ross hit a double as Falkirk came from behind to beat Queen's Park 3-1 and move top of Group A.
The William Hill Premiership newcomers fell behind in the 14th minute when Josh Fowler netted following a set-piece.
Ross scored on the rebound three minutes before the break after Calvin Miller's shot was saved and then headed home five minutes after the interval.
Brian Graham grabbed his first Falkirk goal in the 87th minute after Scott Arfield's deflected shot fell into his path.
Cove Rangers are a point behind the Bairns ahead of their final games after David Eguaibor hit a double in a 3-0 win at Brechin.
Kilmarnock were held to a goalless draw at Kelty Hearts but they remain a point ahead of both Livingston and East Fife in Group H after losing the penalty shoot-out. Killie next host the Fifers, who beat Brora Rangers 3-0 thanks to Nathan Austin's opener and an Alan Trouten double.
Ronan Hale hit a hat-trick as Ross County thrashed Edinburgh City 8-0 but Partick Thistle remain two points clear ahead of their trip to Dingwall on Saturday. First-half goals from Aidan Fitzpatrick and Tsoanelo Letsosa earned the Jags a 2-0 victory over Queen of the South.
Dundee left it late to record a first win under Steven Pressley as they beat Bonnyrigg Rose 3-1, although they cannot progress. Clark Robertson's opener was cancelled by Cameron Ross but the visitors struck twice in the final four minutes through Emile Acquah and Billy Koumetio.
First-half goals from Dom Thomas, Curtis Main and George Oakley saw Ayr beat Forfar 3-0 and move two points ahead of St Mirren ahead of the Group D decider in Paisley on Sunday.
A Lee Kilday own goal earned Dunfermline a 2-1 win over Hamilton and kept alive their hopes of progress behind Group E leaders Hearts, who can maintain their perfect record against Dumbarton on Wednesday.
St Johnstone are in control of Group F after goals from Jamie Gullan, Josh McPake and Makenzie Kirk earned a 3-1 win over Raith Rovers. The Perth side are three points ahead of Inverness, who thrashed East Kilbride 6-2.
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South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Too much ego, too much self-preservation – Russell Martin fumes at Rangers draw
Gers skipper James Tavernier headed in from a corner in the 14th minute but the Ibrox side failed to kick on and eventually succumbed in the 87th minute when Emmanuel Longelo drove in a deserved equaliser for a 1-1 draw. It is the third successive season that Rangers have failed to win their opening game, and on Sunday they could fall behind Old Firm rivals Celtic when the champions host St Mirren. In a spectacular post-match summation of his players, Martin, whose side progressed to the Champions League third qualifying round against Viktoria Plzen with a 3-1 aggregate win over Panathinaikos on Wednesday, said: 'I'm very disappointed and a bit hurt and a bit angry at a lot of stuff I saw. 'Motherwell were really good, credit to them. But I said to the players, the problems haven't been tactical, yet. They've been mentality, about energy, about courage, intensity, aggression, to play. 'We haven't started games well enough in the first half in the two European games and then showed a bit more willingness to trust the detail in each other and work. 'And then today, we go ahead and play some OK stuff. Every time we get in the final third, we turn the ball over and make crazy decisions. 'They're either selfish decisions or they're based on anxiety, so we need to get to the bottom of that. 'Because there was far too much stuff that we haven't worked on or haven't seen. 'It's not me digging them out. I take full responsibility for it. But that hurts me more than anything. 'The problem should be tactical, it shouldn't be mentality. So we have too many guys that slip into self-preservation mode. And I think it's been a fact of this club for the last few years for sure. 'So when it's going well, you're all-in, you want to run, you want the ball. It's nice, but when it's not going well, you don't want to run so much, you pick and choose when you want to run. 'You pick and choose when you want to compete and mark your player from a throw-in or a corner. 'You pick and choose when to run back, and it's unacceptable for this sort of club. And for us as a coaching staff, this is not acceptable. 'We're six weeks in, there will be issues. But the issue today is purely mentality. 'So too much ego, too much self-preservation, and you're either all-in all the time or you're not. And if you're not, you just won't play very much.' Motherwell's new boss Jens Berthel Askou, a former team-mate of Martin at Norwich who was taking charge of his first league game, was disappointed his side did not take all three points. 'I said to players, I was very disappointed on their behalf that they didn't get the win at the end because we did everything we could to get the win,' he said. 'But again, that's down to quality also in these small situations and we'll keep working on that and sharpen that up. 'I think they gave themselves the opportunity to win, and that's where it starts with the effort and with the desperation to go forward and to punish them on their transitions and to really work extremely hard throughout the entire game. 'I was very happy with that and I know that if we are able to put our performances like this over time, that there will be many other opportunities to win games.'
Powys County Times
2 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Too much ego, too much self-preservation – Russell Martin fumes at Rangers draw
Russell Martin spoke scathingly about 'egos' and 'self-preservation' among his players after Rangers dropped two points at Motherwell on the opening day of the William Hill Premiership campaign. Gers skipper James Tavernier headed in from a corner in the 14th minute but the Ibrox side failed to kick on and eventually succumbed in the 87th minute when Emmanuel Longelo drove in a deserved equaliser for a 1-1 draw. It is the third successive season that Rangers have failed to win their opening game, and on Sunday they could fall behind Old Firm rivals Celtic when the champions host St Mirren. In a spectacular post-match summation of his players, Martin, whose side progressed to the Champions League third qualifying round against Viktoria Plzen with a 3-1 aggregate win over Panathinaikos on Wednesday, said: 'I'm very disappointed and a bit hurt and a bit angry at a lot of stuff I saw. 'Motherwell were really good, credit to them. But I said to the players, the problems haven't been tactical, yet. They've been mentality, about energy, about courage, intensity, aggression, to play. 'We haven't started games well enough in the first half in the two European games and then showed a bit more willingness to trust the detail in each other and work. 'And then today, we go ahead and play some OK stuff. Every time we get in the final third, we turn the ball over and make crazy decisions. 'They're either selfish decisions or they're based on anxiety, so we need to get to the bottom of that. 'Because there was far too much stuff that we haven't worked on or haven't seen. 'It's not me digging them out. I take full responsibility for it. But that hurts me more than anything. 'The problem should be tactical, it shouldn't be mentality. So we have too many guys that slip into self-preservation mode. And I think it's been a fact of this club for the last few years for sure. 'So when it's going well, you're all-in, you want to run, you want the ball. It's nice, but when it's not going well, you don't want to run so much, you pick and choose when you want to run. 'You pick and choose when you want to compete and mark your player from a throw-in or a corner. 'You pick and choose when to run back, and it's unacceptable for this sort of club. And for us as a coaching staff, this is not acceptable. 'We're six weeks in, there will be issues. But the issue today is purely mentality. 'So too much ego, too much self-preservation, and you're either all-in all the time or you're not. And if you're not, you just won't play very much.' Motherwell's new boss Jens Berthel Askou, a former team-mate of Martin at Norwich who was taking charge of his first league game, was disappointed his side did not take all three points. 'I said to players, I was very disappointed on their behalf that they didn't get the win at the end because we did everything we could to get the win,' he said. 'But again, that's down to quality also in these small situations and we'll keep working on that and sharpen that up. 'I think they gave themselves the opportunity to win, and that's where it starts with the effort and with the desperation to go forward and to punish them on their transitions and to really work extremely hard throughout the entire game. 'I was very happy with that and I know that if we are able to put our performances like this over time, that there will be many other opportunities to win games.'
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Celtic hero left astonished at Russell Martin's TV rant as Rangers boss fillets flops after points dropped at Motherwell
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) CELTIC hero Chris Sutton says Russell Martin looks "a bit desperate" after he "machine gunned the dressing room" on day one of the new season. In his league debut, the Rangers boss didn't hold back in his post-match interview after their 1-1 draw with Motherwell. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Rangers opened the scoring through Jame Tavernier Credit: Willie Vass 3 Longelo levels late on for Motherwell Credit: Willie Vass 3 Martin was fuming in his post-match interview with Sky He described the performance as "extremely disappointing" and urged some of his players to "drop their egos". It's as he conceded they were lucky to get a point in the Premiership curtain raiser at Fir Park. After the game he blasted his players and Sutton says he's never seen it happen so early in the season. He told Sky Sports: "He understands he has to win. "He's gone a bit early with this, but it's a bit desperate. "The first game of the season, he is easing himself in but to absolutely machine gun the dressing room the way that he did. "He sees them everyday in training, he must think they are rank rotten because why wouldn't there be a bit more balance there." Rangers opened the scoring through James Tavernier, but Motherwell got the point their play deserved when Emmanuel Longelo levelled late on. Sutton added: "When have you ever seen a manager come out and fillet the team on the first day of the season. Billy Dodds on returning to Rangers under Barry Ferguson, defeating Mourinho & ending Celtic Park hoodoo "Everybody tells you it's been wonderful in pre-season but now the season has started he has to win, but that was extreme." Former Rangers striker and SunSport columnist Kris Boyd was also a pundit for the Sky game and gave his post match thoughts. Boyd said it was "alarming" to hear Martin call out his players so early on. He added: "The opening day of the season, it's got to be a lot better than that. "There's a real lack of pace in that frontline. "And they never really created anything until Motherwell scored. "It's got to get a lot better from Rangers, there's no getting away with from it. "That's three seasons in a row they've failed to win on the opening day. "There are still players that are going to have to come in that are better than the ones already here because that - especially second half - was nowhere near good enough." Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
