Stephen Robinson hails Motherwell youngsters after win over St Mirren

Posted Thursday, February 07, 2019 by PA

Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson hailed the freshness his young players have given the team after goals from Jake Hastie and Allan Campbell earned a 2-1 win over St Mirren.

Hastie struck a stunning 10th-minute opener and Campbell headed a 77th-minute winner to make it five Ladbrokes Premiership wins on the trot.

Seven of Motherwell’s last eight goals have come from academy players with David Turnbull also weighing in.

Hastie has scored four goals in five matches since returning from a loan spell at Alloa while Campbell has returned to the starting line-up with real purpose after a much-needed rest following a hectic 2018.

Robinson said: “In truth I don’t actually care who scores, as long as someone scores them. But the amount of work we put in behind the scenes to work on these boys to keep pushing them.

“There’s more to come as well, putting them in at the right times, taking them out at the right time.

“We have got a terrific response from the freshness, the lack of fear that they play with.

“But I keep reiterating, I didn’t get too down when we weren’t winning games and I’m not going to get carried away now we’ve won five in a row.”

St Mirren were level for three second-half minutes after Paul McGinn headed home and boss Oran Kearney was disappointed with their response to the equaliser.

“I am expecting people don’t go gung-ho and make sure we keep the back door shut,” he said. “The reaction didn’t come.

“Our goal nearly took a bit of steam out of us, which was strange. We were tentative during that three or four-minute spell and it has hurt us big time.”

Meanwhile, Kearney had no problem with the reaction of centre-half Jack Baird to his 22nd-minute substitution in favour of winger Kyle McAllister as the Saints boss changed tactics.

Baird shook his head as he refused to acknowledge Kearney as he stormed into the dugout.

“Football’s an emotional game,” Kearney said. “Would I expect him to be fully understanding coming off the pitch at that point in time with how it looks? Not at all. It was an absolutely normal human reaction.

“It was nothing to do with performance, it was purely that we had to change tact.”