Soccer
Alfred Johansson thrilled with Motherwell ‘tempo’ in win over Dundee United
Motherwell boss Alfred Johansson felt his side delivered a passing masterclass in their 3-0 demolition of 10-man Dundee United at Fir Park.
Goals from Seb Palmer-Houlden, Alex Lowry and Dylan Levitt secured a comfortable win, all with their first strikes for the club, after Emmanuel Agyei was red carded for the Tannadice side in the 14th minute.
Johansson was adamant the scoreline could have been far more comprehensive as they continued their unbeaten start to the Premiership campaign.
He said: “We looked patient, but with tempo on the ball. I think 700 passes, even playing against 10 men for so long, that’s quite a lot of passes, which suggests the tempo of the passing game was high and I’m pleased with that. So then, if you play well, the goals will come.
“I’m pleased with the focus of the players and obviously with the result, which could have been even bigger so I’m very pleased.
“I think Joe Hodge deserved so much credit too. He, I think, probably played his best game for Motherwell, giving so much fluidity to our in-possession faces and so intense in the defensive transitions. He was very good for the team.
“We had three new players scoring and it’s good for them to check that box but it’s more important to be able to stay calm and focus on what they have to do on the pitch, which is more important than them thinking about scoring.”
Dundee United assistant boss Lee Sharp believes they paid the price for the early dismissal of Agyei.
He said: “I thought we started the game well, both teams kind of going at it for the first 10-12 minutes, and after that it becomes extremely difficult when you’re down to 10 men for that length of time.
“It kind of killed the game. I thought the boys were excellent in terms of how they went about it. They worked tirelessly in there but it was just disappointing.
“Motherwell are a good footballing team, so they’ll just keep the ball and make you look to get it back, which the boys have done. We still played at times when we did get it, but it was extremely difficult.
“We’ll review the red card and we’ll make a decision going forward from there. Obviously, if the footage shows that you might think you’ve got a case, given how important Emmanuel is, we’ll look at it and see.”
