Pat Fenlon saw some positives for Hibs in the truncated game at Fir Park last night. The second game in the SPL's Friday night football experiment was abandoned at half-time due to an electrical fire with the 7,080 fans asked to leave the ground. Fenton saw his first taste of action as Hibs manager from the dugout although he spent most of the first 45 minutes on his feet guiding his players from the edge of the technical area. Hibs were one goal to the good after Garry O'Connor scored from the rebounded shot off the post from Leigh Griffiths when the game was called off. Firefighters put out an electrical fire in the South Stand floodlight column but could not guarantee the safety of the system and the decision was taken to halt the game 25 minutes after the half-time whistle.
Fenlon said: "There's not a lot we can do about it. We're very disappointed, but you take something out of every performance and it's important that we take the positives. When you put in a shift like that, you get what you deserve and that's what we've got to take, the positives of the performance for 45 minutes." Fenlon had indicated that he would be getting his players to up their work rate and Hibs quickly closed their hosts down to deny them a clear chance, although Graham Stack saved well from Nicky Law's long-range drive. The drizzle and the wind behind Motherwell could have been played to the home side's advantage but not that many shots were sent into trouble Stack. Fenlon went on: "I thought we defended really well as a unit, and that's a big plus for us, we haven't been doing that well. We worked them hard this week, the players embraced that, and we got it on the park."
Motherwell manager Stuart McCall admitted the events had made him think back to the Bradford fire in 1985, when 56 people died and more were injured, including his father. McCall said: "Football-wise, Hibs deserved to go ahead, we didn't start well. Then we forced a few corners and got a foothold in the game. We thought in the second half we could have a right go but it's just one of those things. On a lighter side, the most disappointed man is Stephen Hughes because he only gets appearance money. He's absolutely gutted. The lads have got their Christmas weekend off, although they will be in in the morning working their socks off. When I told them the game was being replayed at three o'clock tomorrow, they all went white."
Source: FOOTYMAD
