Stephen Robinson pleased with Motherwell’s response to half-time ‘rattle’

MOTHERWELL boss Stephen Robinson gave his players a half-time “rattle” amid their emphatic 3-0 victory over Partick Thistle.

Robinson gave an indication of his high standards after being disappointed that his side could not keep up their blistering start to the match.

Peter Hartley gave them a seventh-minute lead when he netted after Louis Moult’s free-kick had come off the post and Motherwell were relentless with their pressure during the first quarter.

They remained comfortable as the pace wore off – Trevor Carson never had a save to make all game – but Robinson was not satisfied at the midway stage.

“We started really well, the first 20 minutes we came out the blocks really well,” he said. “We could have been two or three up and then we took the foot off the gas.

“But Partick are a good side. Make no mistake, they have players that can hurt you. So I gave them a wee bit of a rattle at half-time. I wanted more from them. But the second-half performance was excellent.”

Craig Tanner netted in the 56th minute and Ryan Bowman struck eight minutes from time after Hartley’s Cruyff-turn helped keep a corner alive.

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Motherwell were dominant throughout as they sealed their fifth win in seven matches and consolidated their place in the top six of the Ladbrokes Premiership.

On his half-time team talk, Robinson added: “I can’t tell you what I said but, listen, we have high standards. We were waiting for something to happen rather than making it happen in the last 20 minutes of the first half. The decision-making on the ball could have been better in the 20 minutes before half-time.

“But when you are able to take Louis Moult off and get three different goalscorers, then it shows we have a decent squad. We had more chances and there was some really good play in the last 20-25 minutes.

“I keep saying to the boys, earn your right to play football, and they did that. They scrapped, battled and earned the right to pass the ball.”

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Things could easily have been even worse for Thistle. Goalkeeper Tomas Cerny received a yellow card for taking out Bowman before Moult’s free-kick when a red looked distinctly possible.

They remain without a victory after eight Premiership games and looked a beaten team after the second goal.

Manager Alan Archibald said: “I was disappointed with the manner we lost the game. The start and the final goal typified the whole performance.

“The first one was a moment of madness from Tomas coming out that leads to the free-kick. But the biggest one was the third one, the corner where the ball falls to Motherwell three times in the box, and that’s hard to take.

“We didn’t deal with the second balls and the ugly side of the game. That’s no disrespect to Motherwell, they did it very well and had quality in with it as well.”