Motherwell conquered in Romania

Motherwell’s hopes of playing in the tournament proper for the inaugural Europa League were destroyed by Steau Bucharest last night as the Scottish Premier League club was handed a 3-0 thrashing in the Romanian capital.

The club had set out for Romania determined to keep the Romanian club in range for their home leg of the Europa League tie. However, the night got off to a dreadful start when Stephen Craigan scored an own goal after a period of sustained pressure from the hosts.

The floodgates opened following this goal, as Steau Bucharest secured and converted a penalty before Bogdan Stancu smashed home the final goal for the Romanian side.

The result of the match leaves Motherwell with the unenviable and improbable task of reversing a three goal deficit when they host Steau Bucharest at the Excelsior Stadium next Thursday.

“We’ll be concentrating on the game and looking to improve the way we play the game,” Motherwell coach, Jim Gannon, said after the match. “It’ll be another opportunity for us to improve our fitness and our speed of play going into the SPL season.”

“We will get something out of the game, even if it’s only just preparation for the forthcoming season.”