Raith Rovers 3-1 Motherwell: Hapless Motherwell outclassed by hosts
- Published
Jamie Gullan celebrates after sending Raith Rovers ahead
Raith Rovers roared into the Scottish Cup quarter-finals after outclassing lacklustre Motherwell, who continued their dismal run.
Jamie Gullan and Sam Stanton had the Scottish Championship side deservedly 2-0 up at the break as Well floundered.
Kevin van Veen's scrappy finish sparked flickers of life for the visitors after the break at Stark's Park.
But debutant Esmael Goncalves made sure of Raith's win late with Well boss Steven Hammell being sacked post match.
It's the Fife side's first last-eight appearance since 2015, while Motherwell's win to Arbroath in the last round is their only victory since October.
Many were pointing to Kirkcaldy as the venue of a potential cup shock given Motherwell's poor form of late and Raith's spirited comeback in the midweek, stretching their unbeaten run to 11 games.
Such predictions were initially supported when Gullan stroked the ball down the middle from 12 yards after his first shot struck the arm of Callum Slattery.
They were further validated when Stanton poked the ball over the line after a calamity from Liam Kelly. The Scotland international spilled his capture of Gullan's chipped effort, allowing Stanton to nab the ball from beneath him and leave the goalkeeper embarrassed. He protested for a foul, but referee Nick Walsh was unmoved.
Unimpressed, Hammell rung in the half-time changes, swapping three of his starters. There was an immediate impact from Max Johnston and Stuart McKinstry, carving out an opportunity for Van Veen to claw Motherwell into the contest, after a bit of bobbling in the box.
The healthy, albeit unhappy, travelling support were somewhat buoyed by the goal, but such sentiments were not replicated on the park.
Failing to truly test Raith again through their own creativity or desire, an equaliser came closest when Ryan Nolan's kneed clearance skimmed off the framework of his own goal.
Raith's name in the hat was firmly secured when Goncalves powered a composed finish through Kelly from a tight angle to mark his welcome at Stark's Park.
Player of the match - Tom Lang (Raith Rovers)
Tom Lang was a colossus at the back for Raith Rovers, vital in keeping Kevin van Veen quiet and spearheading attacking moves for his own side.
What they said
Raith Rovers manager Ian Murray: "Second half we weathered a 10-15 minute storm, which we expected, and we conceded a really sloppy goal, but after that we were excellent.
"The resilience of the players is incredible, their character this season has been remarkable. I really can't speak highly enough of them, we were bang on it today."
Motherwell captain Liam Kelly: "Collectively as a team, we are not good enough. Confidence is really low but only ourselves can get us out of this situation. It's really tough but we'll fight, we'll grind and we need to stick together.
"We've let the fans and manager down. He's been good to a lot of us, even when we haven't been playing well. He was really disappointed but we will absolutely keep grafting for him."
'We've let the manager down' - emotional Kelly after Scottish Cup exit