Motherwell’s Europa Conference League aspirations came to an end when another defeat to Sligo Rovers sent them out of the second qualifying round with a final score of 3-0.
Graham Alexander’s men took a 1-0 lead from the first leg at Fir Park and the second leg at The Showgrounds only entered the fourth minute when defender Shane Blaney hit a stunning free-kick from 25 yards to double it. Far away.
The Lanarkshire side’s reaction was poor and an unconvincing performance and quality took a turn for the worse as substitute Max Mata added a second in extra time to win 2-0, which further fueled the fury and fury of 300 Well’s supporters.
The home team deservedly won and will meet Viking in the next round.
Motherwell’s European journey ended in Ireland
On the contrary, it is a miserable night for the Steelmen, who will begin their Premier League campaign to St Mirren on Sunday under a European cloud and boss Alexander will emerge in the limelight.
Pressure was on the Steelmen during the game and while John Russell’s team was unchanged, the visitors made a substitution with Ross Tierney in place of Connor Shields.
The game was still quiet as the Irish Premier League side took the lead, after Well defender Bevis Mugabi clumsily conceded a goal after a foul on former Falkirk striker Aiden Keena, who scored the only goal at Fir Park.
Blaney stepped up and, to the delight of the Rovers fans, shot over the bar past Motherwell goalkeeper Liam Kelly and into the top corner.
After 13 minutes, Well defender Ricki Lamie let the ball into the net after Blair Spittal’s free kick from inside the Sligo box but Swedish referee Bojan Pandzic flagged for offside.
Motherwell lacked creativity and cohesion and was unable to make any real progress.
And five minutes from half-time, after Niall Morahan had made a cross into the Motherwell box, Keena rushed to clear the ball but was saved by Kelly from close range from 6 yards.
Shields replaced Spittal early in the second half but it made no discernible difference.
Indeed, in the 58th minute, it took a save from Motherwell’s Barry Maguire to stop David Cawley from scoring his second, after a strong run from Will Fitzgerald.
Alexander brought in Joseph Efford, Sean Goss and Sondre Solholm Johansen in place of Maguire, Tierney and Mugabi but to no avail.
In the 75th minute, Efford volleyed from eight yards in an effort to help keep Well’s night of terror before Lamie headed the ball over the bar.
The evening turned even worse for the guests.
As the game entered overtime, Mata came on for Morahan in the 69th minute, making a Keena pass to slide the ball low past Kelly to seal the famous victory as Sligo reached the third qualifying round for the first time. of the European qualifiers.
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