Stephen Robinson: Motherwell deserved more than a point against Rangers

The Steelmen snatched a point in the final seconds of a six-goal thriller at Fir Park as captain Peter Hartley headed home a Gael Bigirimana corner.

Rangers had twice come from behind as Kyle Lafferty cancelled out goals from Danny Johnson and Carl McHugh in a frantic first half.

Ovie Ejaria had given Rangers the lead just before the break but Steven Gerrard’s side struggled in the second period as Motherwell piled on the pressure.

And it paid off for the hosts when Hartley earned Well their first point of the campaign in injury time.

Robinson said: “I definitely think we deserved more. To score three goals at home and not get all three points is disappointing.

“I don’t want to dwell on too many negatives but the goal that went into the box from a throw-in, it is a simple one to deal with and Lafferty scores. The third is a break from our corner.

“So, they are the negatives but other than that I thought we were excellent and I thought we showed some really good quality as well.

“Everyone talks about our battling qualities and how physical we are but I thought we outplayed them at times as well.

“You don’t have 85 per cent possession in the last 30 minutes if you are not outplaying a team so it was thoroughly deserved and I am disappointed that we didn’t get all three.”

The header from Hartley was the final drama in a terrific top flight clash and came just days after he sparked controversy ahead of the Fir Park showdown.

The defender had to apologise for pre-match comments regarding former Ibrox stopper Fabio Cardoso and the broken nose he suffered against Well at Hampden last term.

But boss Robinson was pleased to see his skipper make headlines for all the right reasons this time around.

He said: “Actions speak louder than words and I would prefer he did that than say what he did.

“He has apologised, he has accepted that he has made a mistake and that is the way you do it. You do it on the pitch, not talking off it.”

Motherwell went into the Rangers showdown on the back of successive Premiership defeats after losing to Hibernian and Hamilton Accies so far this season.

But Robinson reckons there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the Steelmen after an impressive showing against Rangers.

He said: “Listen, you could see with the boys that we brought on that we have got a little bit more depth in the squad and people are fighting for places.

“We are in the quarter-finals of a cup and people told me there was a crisis. You can see by the performance there is no crisis and now we have to build on that performance.

“It was a big, big point for us. Disappointed with certain aspects of our defending but we will get better and if you show that fight and desire then we have got every chance of having a decent season.”