12/01/2014 Sportscene

Good evening and welcome to the programme. Outstanding goals and

outstanding matches as well as outstanding talking points this

evening and two outstanding guests. Marc Wilson has pled against the

elite footballers in a career that has taken him to Celtic and back

again to Dundee United. He is joined by Stephen McManus who is now a

defensive linchpin at Motherwell. It should be at clean sheet this

evening. We start with Dundee United. All the talk had been of the

tangerine bubble bursting. Three straight beats. Last weekend they

stopped the rot. This lunchtime Deborah Wade to Inverness Caledonian

Thistle and still looking for their first home win. He earns himself a

corner kick. Danny Williams with the corner. The opening goal comes after

five minutes. The top goal-scorer for Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

The first to react with Billy McKay. He scored the only goal between the

sides in August. Armstrong takes this. That is cleared into the

stand. It tricky one. Gary Mackay-Steven swings it in. That is

a great header from Keith Watson. You could see his neck muscles

moving a crash that in. -- as he crashed. Dundee United eyelevel.

Another goal for Keith Watson. He is happier now. Sent away by the

goalkeeper. Here is John Rankin. That is deflected. Hits the post and

comes back. That is blocked. What a chance for Brian Graham. Rankin was

there and it was deflected. The goalkeeper was struggling. Watson

goes after it. He goes for the shot. Some errors starting to creep into

the game of Johnson. -- Johnson. Tucked away. A great save from the

goalkeeper. Danny Williams. He takes the corner. Was that taken back?

John Hughes thinks so. He cant believe it. This is an entertaining

game. Graeme Shinnie goes through. That is a penalty! The referee does

not hesitate and points to the spot. The penalty was awarded. Nic Rouse

has taken to successful penalties this term. -- Nick Ross. Off the

post! What a wonderful move from Dundee United. Setting up the

chance, but that is long. Gary Mackay-Steven. The referee has given

a corner. I think that should have been a goal kick. The hand was

across and it came out from Gary Mackay-Steven. To be fair to him, he

just shrugged it off. I felt was a good game. I do not think there was

much in it. There was a few of the woodwork. There were some good

chances to score. Obviously we are disappointed not to get the win. I

turned around and saw the substitutes having a laugh. They are

in for extra training tomorrow! Hopefully you will be back next

weekend but the Ross County match. Was that a fair result today? I

think so. I think both teams will be happy enough. There was a lot of

chances in the game. Inverness Caledonian Thistle missed a penalty.

We had the goal post twice. But I think that was a fair trial. In

terms of the goals when a defensive point of view, could there be any

improvement? They will be disappointed in some respects. The

striker loses the first header. He will be disappointed with this one.

This is a fantastic header. Your protege, Mark. Keith Watson. Every

time I miss out, he tends to score, so I am delighted for him. He

generated such incredible power. Fantastic. A couple of penalty

incidents and one was given and were not given. Was this a penalty? I

think being honest, you would say this is a penalty. A great first

touch from Graeme Shinnie. He gets caught flat-footed. Perhaps if he

just moved to speak that bit quicker, he would have gotten away

with that. Is that a sign of inexperience? It is one of those

things in the game. That was well followed up. In terms of Dundee

United, they had a penalty? It was not given. You give it? If you are

Jackie McNamara you will be bitterly disappointed. It is a great ball

over the top from Gary Mackay-Steven. He has not got a

touch on the ball. The centre back knows he is struggling to get back

and I am amazed there were no claims from Gary Mackay-Steven. He is just

such a nice guy and solely act. He did not complain. Because he did not

complain, there were no protests from the other players. We will talk

more about Motherwell and Aberdeen in a moment. I Inverness and Dundee

United still in the mix? I think so. Dundee United had been in great

form. Inverness have had a change of manager and John Hughes has come in.

He is a great coach. Both teams will be right up there. I Dundee United

author of that blip? It was a tough Christmas period for us. We did not

pick up any new enough points. We lost confidence and we lost our way

but we came back against Hibernian last week. Hopefully that is ours

over it. Motherwell have become real contenders for the second spot this

season. Ever since the shock defeat to Albion Rovers and a heavy loss to

Celtic it has been five wins on the trot. They were at Tynecastle today.

The experience to Jamie Hamill returns for Hearts in a side that

has seven players aged 21 years or under. Sending it out to McFadden. A

fine stop there. Saving his blushes. Almost an own goal. That is a great

strike. He is on loan from Rotherham. He also says he will not

shave until the recent good run of wins comes to an end! That is

another fine stop by the Hearts goalkeeper. He is on top form. John

Sutton scores! The former Hearts man returns to haunt his old club. He

opens the scoring for Motherwell. It is five minutes before the interval.

That was a lovely pass. Sutton will claim it. His 11th goal of the

season. What a terrific pass that is. Is this a chance? That was

denied again by Jamie MacDonald. What great goalkeeping. Hearts have

readjusted. That takes the deflection. What was the goalkeeper

doing? Calum Paterson. I wonderful effort that was turned away. -- a

wonderful. That was knocked away by Motherwell. This is Walker. That is

a great effort from Jamie Walker. This is better play from heights. So

much more in this game now. -- from Hearts. The corner from Smith.

Hearts are desperate to level this match. A second chance by Paterson.

He is claiming for a penalty. The fossil has sounded. -- the fossil.

Stevenson knocks it on. He could not get that out from under his feet. He

is now appealing a penalty. That was blocked by Nielsen.

Every single one of them gave us everything. We dominated later on in

the match. We played some really good stuff. We could have gone in

more but in fairness to them, it was a spirited performance. They gave us

a few frights in the second half. I woke up this morning and heard a

celebrity Motherwell fan talk about title challengers. If you win next

weekend it is on, is it not? We have managed a day 's and run so far. I

do not think the manager gets as much praise as she should do. In

terms of what has happened over the past half-dozen games, it is about

what happens on the pitch, a huge amount of energy from Motherwell

players. The manager works the lot on pressing. You know when to press

and when not to press. Macfadyen knows when to put pressure. When we

win the ball back we are comfortable in possession. That is what a lot of

it has been down to, trying to work as hard as we can to win the ball

back. That is a great strike but there is a slight deflection from

the gallon? I think so. It would be hard to take the ball and the goal

away from him but from this angle I think it was deflected. Hearts have

had plenty well documented problems in recent times. The second half

seemed to have a courageous performance from Hearts. Yes, they

have showed enthusiasm. The fans have showed just how passionate they

are. We managed to ride the storm. There were a few penalty claims

here. I would think that was very harsh if it was given. Slight

handball? A macro possible, it kind of came off of his face and he was

quite far away. My feeling is that none of them where penalties. They

showed for handball? From this site you can see it is more shoulder,

chest, it would be very harsh if that was given. We talked about

Motherwell's great run of recent form. It stems from when things were

going badly. They hiding from Celtic, the shock from Albion

Rovers. House or was that defeat? It was a tough one to take but when you

see the results we have had, we have experienced leaders who have been in

the game a longer time and you find when you take a knock, that is when

it is a test of character. The lads have shown we have a good test of

character. We had a group that are good together and have managed to

run a few wins together. They will be challenging for second. It is an

important time of the season to pick up points. Dundee United were on a

great run, winning every game. You feel invincible, you keep going and

keep going. Next weekend in other chapter of the Scottish Premiership

will right itself. Join our team at half past four on BBC One on

Saturday. We are back with all the Premiership delights on Sunday

night. The highlights are available online as always. Next we are off to

Firhill where the home side are looking to free themselves of the

shackles of an unfortunate statistic. It is Saturday the 11th

of January 2014 and Thistle have still not won a home match or

season. I think we will win. New hope so what has changed? I hope he

sticks with 4-4-2. Both teams looking like picking up

more points these days. Wins over St Johnstone for County last week. It

is a good all in. It almost found Taylor in the middle and it is the

wonder save as well. Higginbotham's shot caused him the biggest problem

dear. That is good play. Fraser is happy to see that goal. A good

build-up from the hosts. Something had to happen at Ross County and

Derek Adams trying to do that by making personnel changes at Ross

County. That is picked up. Britain. It is 1-0. On the face of it, that

is a magnificent finish from Kiss. He should have done better with

that, Fox. Partick Thistle will feel aggrieved that they are behind in

this game as the pick-up. Dilbert! It is 1-1. It is two in two for

Taylor. Again the goalkeeper has surely got to do better than that.

Michael Fraser beaten by Lionel Taylor. That free kick causes the

problem for Fox. County threatening again. A good open game. That is for

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair. And then Taylor. He has done it again. What a

good signing he is proving to be for Alan Archibald. A great cross from

Taylor-Sinclair. It was met by Taylor who gets his third in just

two games. Partick Thistle turning it around in the first-half. They

are looking for another one here. They might get it as well, you know.

That is Wallace! And are Partick Thistle going to win at home for the

first time this campaign? The dock by Higginbotham initially. Where has

it all gone wrong for Derek Adams and Neil Cooper? They led 1-0, did

Ross County. They are trying to respond. Britain off the line. It's

Mixon. It is chaos again at Firhill. Derek Gordon somehow has squeezed

this past Fox. It came off of the line initially for Elliott and

Gordon, well, not great goalkeeping. Up and under time for County. He

gets it to Kiss. He gets it again. It is 3-3. Lionel Taylor grabbed the

44 Partick Thistle. Their new signing, Kiss, on his debut, he has

done well. On loan from Cardiff City he brings Ross County right back

into it. Meanwhile, Gary Glen replaced by Stuart Kettlewell. That

is for Kettlewell. That is a horrible challenge on Ross Forbes. A

red card will be flashed in the face of Stuart Kettlewell who is only

just on as a second-half sub. Ross County are now down to ten men going

into the closing stages. Taylor-Sinclair, is the to be a

winner in this game? O'Donnell. That was not far away. A wonderful

attempt. It came to him on the volley and a yard or so past. We

were down at half time and conceded two goals. The goals we conceded

were very poor. It was disappointing, to score three goals

at home you have got to go ahead and win the match. It is something we

have struggled with all year. Maybe not the greatest defending you will

ever see in the world but let's talk about Lionel Taylor. He is on loan

from Sheffield United, two goals yesterday. How important do you

think he might be? I think he will do a fantastic job. Alan Archibald

obviously knows of him. He has come in and scored a couple of goals

already. Partick Thistle have missed that kind of presence. The

disappointing thing for Ross County is that he has not had to do much to

lose his man. The centre back gets attracted to the ball. All credit to

him for the finish. It was a tale of two new signings. Kessler has just

arrived from Cardiff City looked a class act. It was against the run of

play and perhaps the goalkeeper will not want to see this again. I do not

think he would be too happy with this but it was a nice touch. Just

shaped around the defender into the corner. It is a goalkeeper's

nightmare when we see is down their ready to save it and it bounces over

him. And this turned out to be the equaliser. Not the best defending.

Good composure when he gets into that area. He knows he has to tuck

it away and he has rolled it under the goalkeeper. We talked about how

Partick Thistle have not won this season then they throw away that 3-1

advantage, do you think it has become a psychological problem? For

Alan Archibald that will probably be as saw a draw as you can ever

imagine, it will feel like a defeat. They were 3-1 up, then to lose three

goals at home, it is hard to take for anybody. They will be bitterly

disappointed and no doubt they will be trying to work out that on

Monday. Last weekends and Johnstone had slipped into the bottom six. St

Mirren where keen to make up ground on their fellow Saints. The was a

poignant start to the proceedings with a one-minute silence for the

former player. Chris Millar onto Hasselbank. Stevie

May and pork sit inside. Hasselbank. He pulled that inside and Stevie May

cracks it off of the top of the Bard. Hasselbank tried to drag it

back, it deflected in and almost fell well. Hasselbank to Davidson.

Here is Stevie May. Hasselbank has got the right side. He just sends it

wide. Great football from St Johnstone from just outside their

own penalty area. What a pass. Hasselbank beat the goalkeeper but

beat the post, too. St Johnstone are bright and breezy at the moment.

Through two Stevie May. He has to go down to make the save. Again the

passing has been crisp. A great run from Stevie May to get himself into

shooting position. They have won only one of the last four matches.

Looking for a breakthrough. A great free kick. It just get in but of the

bar it went. -- Rowan-macro the bar. Will It was Marc McAusland with the

first one. Great play by Hasselbank. Marie Davidson. The goalkeeper

lacked conviction. Back down the middle. Davidson simply could not

miss. It is the breakthrough they needed. They will be feeling they

have not really got started in this game. Stevie May! What a great goal!

He took control of it and looked for the corner and sounded. He knew

exactly what he wanted to do. -- he founded. Frazer Wright knew that was

in. Going forward again and looking for offside. He gets it away at the

second attempt. A third goal looked virtually certain. Stevie May missed

it the first time. He did not get a touch on the second time. Stoppage

time here. And again, the French man is denied. A great save. We lacked a

good head on over and that disappoints me. Is it a bad day? I

hope so. But we must start doing if we want to compete, we must come to

places like this and pick up points. I thought we were excellent. We have

worked really hard this week trying to get more bodies in the box. I

thought to date we created some great opportunities. The only

disappointing thing is that it was 0-0 at half-time. St Johnstone

showing great result to get back in the top six.

showing great result to get back in the top They created a multitude of

chances. When you see the highlights, they certainly deserve

that. One thing they have got is goals on their team. When you see

some of the chances they created, they were wonderful. They were the

better side. At the break they were unlucky not to be in front. You

think St Johnstone do not get as much credit as they are due?

Possibly, because they are difficult team to play against. When you see

them play, see the quality of their kicking, they perhaps do not get the

credit of the teams that are ahead of them. We went there with Dundee

United some weeks back. They turned us over pretty convincingly. Let us

look at the goals from yesterday. Anything that could have been

improved on? That was great play from Marie Davidson. This was an

excellent goal. Their front players set the tempo of the team and we

found that when we went up there. They worked tremendously hard. That

is the starting point of the team. Stevie May was impressive. Will

January be a tough month for St Johnstone fans? You would think so.

When you have a man playing like this 16 goals, or something like

that, he will attract attention. Teams like this must sell players to

make money and it would be very difficult for them. Finally, do you

think St Mirren could get sucked into the fight for escaping from the

play-off at the bottom? When you get to this stage of the season, the

league is taking shape. There will be changes all over the place. When

you look at St Mirren and teams like Partick Thistle, they will be the

teams that are in the mix. St Mirren have the players to get themselves

out of difficulty. I think it would be disrespectful to all the other

teams to highlight just one team right now. Freddie nights in

Aberdeen is usually a lively experience and it was no different

last Friday and Hebburn Ian were in town. A healthy crowd of 13,000

attended. The faithful fans have faith in the manager and the team.

Alan Tate makes his debut. Terry Butcher has brought some continuity.

This is the same team that tree with Dundee United last Sunday. -- that

true. Friday night football at Pittodrie. Not the surest touches

from Tate. The referee says that is not a penalty. But was the contact?

-- was there? That is a handball! Craig Thomson leaves the scene. He

refuses to point to the spot. The ball brushed off the arm of Michael

Nelson. No joy for the Aberdeen manager. Mark Reynolds with the

header and it is tapped away. Pressure on the goal of Hibernian.

That is dangerous. That could well have been punished. He must have

been surprised it came his way. That skips away from Stevenson. That is

lovely play. And now the chance to deliver. McGinn! So often in his

time with Aberdeen he has hit the target but not this time. That

header slipped wide. Midland. -- McGinn. What a strike! 86 minutes

into the game. Another late winner for Aberdeen and they had done it at

Tannadice. This could complete an amazing hat-trick. Tim Williams can

only stand and watch. It is 1-0 Aberdeen. It was no more than we

deserved. It was a tight and competitive match. We are

disappointed. I thought we would maybe have gotten a draw. But it is

one of those things. We must take it on the chin and bounce back. A

fantastic strike from flood. We will look at it again in a moment. Should

there have been more goals from the penalty spot?

there have been more goals from the When you see the two instances just

there. They are both great opportunities for a penalty. This

one, looking out of, not quite sure there are. Was he touched? Was he

not? That should have been a penalty. When you see it, Mark

Reynolds is expecting someone to come and take it. You will be

sticking up for Nelson here? I would not say so. He is fortunate to get

away with that. That is an incredible decision, even when you

are watching it. That has penalty with all over it. Absolutely. It was

a fantastic strike so let's look at it again. Would you know he could do

this? Could the defence had done anything about it? They had done

remarkably well just to reach the goal. He has been a tremendous

player at Aberdeen. This man has been wonderful this year. Another

decisive goal for Aberdeen and they have done this in previous games.

They keep going. That is the belief and the wicket -- the work ethic.

They are bringing some great results. They had great drive and

commitment to go right to the end. It is no coincidence. Briefly, it is

disappointing for Hebburn Ian to lose that much. Do you think they

will get into the top six? I would think so. I would think Terry

Butcher has installed a good game plan. It is further they can get

some players in. A few players have been told they can look for other

clubs and that suggests he is looking to bring some of his own

players. I think when a new manager comes in and he has fresh ideas and

will be looking to bring in new faces. With Burnley and you can see

that Terry Butcher has having a great effect on the team. They are

going more directly than they did previously. There will be hard to

play against. Who will finish higher the season? Motherwell or Aberdeen?

Aberdeen certainly have a bigger budget and a bigger squad. We are

doing all right. I will keep the pressure on Aberdeen! Thank you both

very much. A quick look at the Premiership table. Celtic are way in

sunnier climes and Aberdeen have momentarily reduced the lead at the

top. At the bottom it is getting interesting.

That is all for now. We will be back next week for more of the same.

Motherwell continued the charge. From all of us here, good night.