Motherwell boss Graham Alexander was delighted with his side’s second-half improvement in the 1-0 win over Queen’s Park.
Steven Lawless’ strike on 14 minutes handed the Steelmen all three points in their opening game of the season in the Premier Sports Cup.
Motherwell had to withstand some heavy pressure from the Spiders towards the end of the first-half as the League One side impressed.
Liam Kelly made a couple of smart saves but the Fir Park side showed their class and experience after the break to control the game to leave Alexander pleased.
The 49-year-old said: “I was delighted with how our players adapted to what we needed to do at half-time.
"We looked better in possession, we looked more patient and that’s a real improvement in the game.
“We were too frantic in the first-half and we turned the ball over way too many times. We adapted to that in the second-half and we kept the ball a lot better.
“We were more patient and we found spaces to play. We are still looking for more efforts on goal in the second half but we controlled more of the game.
“It is important but we were looking for a lot of other things like the work ethic and we are still building up.
“We’ve only been in pre-season for three and a half weeks. We’ve got some new players and some returning from injury so we have to manage that as well.
“I’m delighted we won the game, kept a clean sheet and got ninety minutes into a lot of boys for the first time in a long while.
“We were made to work for it and it was a great game for us.
Alexander was unable to name a full bench due to injuries and the ‘Well boss admits he’s still looking to sign more players.
“It’s still pre-season in real terms,” Alexander said. “We are missing, probably, six players that would be competing for a starting berth and we didn’t have a full bench tonight.
“We only had three seniors on it and we are still light on numbers. We are working hard to bring players in and get players back - it’s mainly short-term injuries.
“As soon as we do that, we know that we’ve got a real competitive team. We are just a bit light at the minute.
“We are delighted to get through tonight’s game with no injuries and to win the game.
“The work is going to continue week in and week out to get ready for the football league season.
“We are in competitive games and we’ve got some boys that can come into the team but we are still trying to build boys up.
“Ricki Lamie has been off for a few weeks with illness and that was his first game for quite a few months - a few of the other boys as well.”
Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.
.jpg?w=600)
