Alfred Johansson was delighted to make a winning start as Motherwell beat Havnar Boltfelag 2-0 in their Europa Conference League opener, despite a host of challenges including players not knowing each other's names.
Goals from Martin Moormann and Lukas Fadinger secured the win at Fir Park. Johansson was down to the bare bones due to the sales of Elijah Just, Elliot Watt and Callum Ward, plus several key injuries.
The new head coach had to play some stars against medical advice, handed eight debuts, and some players were so new they didn't even know each other's names.
Unprecedented circumstances
Johansson said: “It was a decent performance from us. Given the context, we did many things really well. I am pleased. They were good goals. Everybody thought we were scouting Martin for his build up and his defence play but we saw he had a good shot from distance.”
“I think we definitely deserved to score another goal but I don’t want to say I am disappointed. They could have scored as well. If we had scored the third goal we could have taken the edge off their push. We played some good football and some really good periods.”
“Given the context of eight players making their debut for Motherwell, six in the starting XI, two off the bench and three academy graduates making their debut. When you put that in context and then the sports science department wanted them to play zero minutes and they played 60 - some players even more.”
“We had a situation where I was coaching a player to make a pass to another player and he asked, 'Who is that?' That again puts it into context. It is quite impressive to look that much of a collective.”
Fan support
The Swede was pleased that Motherwell’s support had turned up in numbers. “Fantastic,” he stated. “More than 7,700 Motherwell supporters here. There are 4,500 season ticket holders so that is a lot more who decided to come here tonight. That shows the buzz and vibe around the team and how the fans and everybody around the club enjoy what the club is doing.”
Tie not over
Johansson warned the tie still has to be finished off in the Faroe Islands. “It is half-time and you win zero games at half-time. You win after the two legs, 180 minutes plus. It is going to be very difficult in the Faroes. This is a team with a European pedigree.”
“Whether we want to admit it or not, they have it. It is not long ago they played in the group stages. It is regular basis for them to play these type of games. We have to give them respect. We have seen other Scottish teams not achieve what we achieved.”
“We had moments that were really, really good. We need to go there with confidence but we need to understand that it will be a completely different type of game.”
He expects some injured stars to return for the second leg. “I would hope so. Who and how many? I can’t tell you just now. We will have to assess the situation in the coming week.”
Opposition view
HB boss Lukasz Cieslewicz is confident his side are still in the tie. “We always give ourselves a chance. We have tried it before in Europe when we have been behind. The games in the Faroes are completely different. We always play for a win and feel we have a chance.”
“We are not happy with the result. We always go on the pitch to win. I am happy with the performance. The boys did everything they could and two good goals from Motherwell decided the game. I thought we did well.”
Captain Per Magnus Steiring believes his side can turn it around with more cutting edge. “We were unlucky not to get a goal. We had chances and moments in the game. We just need to be a bit sharper at home and we can beat them.”
