Soccer
Alfred Johansson hails Motherwell spirit after snatching last-gasp point
Motherwell manager Alfred Johansson praised his side’s “strong mentality” as they battled back to equalise late on and claim a 3-3 draw at St Mirren.
The visitors led through goals from Tawanda Maswanhise, who also missed a first-half penalty, and Regan Charles-Cook before Saints hit back before half-time with three strikes in quick succession from Paul Nsio, Declan John and Samuel Ramos.
That left Craig McLeish’s side on the brink of victory before Motherwell debutant Jardell Kanga struck a spectacular equaliser in added time to earn his team a point.
Johansson said: “It’s a great start to the game that makes me excited for this group of players. I’m obviously hugely disappointed then with how we finished the first half. It was really, really poor.
“I knew that the second half was going to be some sort of chaos because we have to score and they feel that they have the chance to win this game.
“And then we have a really open second half, which then ends with us putting St Mirren down and gaining momentum at the end of the game. I’m obviously proud and impressed once again with the spirit of this group of players.
“We keep on believing until the last second of the game. And to come back from that triple punch in nine minutes at the end of the first half and make it 3-3 – that’s a strong mentality.”
Johansson praised Kanga for his late intervention after only signing for the club two days earlier.
He added: “It’s brilliant for him to go on and score in his first game. I think he is a player that we know is a lethal finisher.”
There was disappointment for St Mirren manager McLeish with the outcome, but not his team’s performance.
He said: “This match revealed a lot about what I probably knew as well about their character. I love that about them. They stick to what we’re trying to do and they don’t give up on it. They play with fight and aggression and energy.
“I think it shows how far we’ve come as well as a group that we are disappointed with a point. You look at Motherwell celebrating a draw the way they do. It hurts right now (not to win), but it’s fine margins in football.”
