Alfred Johansson believes Motherwell’s second-half struggles in their goalless draw with Falkirk were partly self-inflicted after slackness in possession took its toll.
The Fir Park side controlled long spells of the first half, but found themselves hanging on during the closing stages as the Bairns finished strongly.
Johansson acknowledges his side are still adapting to the demands of balancing European and domestic football, but believes they made life harder for themselves with their use of the ball. “In the second half we didn’t quite play as well as we expect on the ball,” Johansson said.
“If you waste the ball as much as we did in periods of the second half, you are going to have to run a lot — that took its toll more than anything else. We need to learn so we don’t end up in these situations and can maintain the quality in our ball possession and attacks.
“We’ll then have to run less, be more fresh and be much better in the second half, but we dug deep and got the clean sheet. We are not satisfied with the performance today, but we’re super happy with the effort the players are putting in.
“I’m so proud to be their coach; they are doing brilliantly. You are not going to hit the nail on the head every day, but it’s still a really positive start.
“It’s a new thing for many, some players haven’t been in that European rhythm before, it’s a skill you have to learn.”
Motherwell captain Tom Sparrow limped off in the second half after taking a heavy challenge. However, Johansson is hopeful his skipper will recover in time for the return leg of their Conference League third-round qualifier against HJK Helsinki.
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“Tom got a knee in his back, he has pain, but this is football in Scotland,” he continued. “I’m pretty sure he’ll be ready in the next couple of days, but we’ll need to assess him in the next couple of days.”
Falkirk boss John McGlynn was delighted with the response from his players after they demonstrated the qualities that were missing during their opening-day defeat to St Mirren.
After surviving some pressure during the first half, the Bairns finished the game strongly and could have snatched all three points at Fir Park.
Following a hard-earned point in North Lanarkshire, McGlynn’s side will now be out of action until the end of the month after exiting the Premier Sports Cup and seeing their Premiership meeting with Hearts postponed due to the Jambos’ European commitments.
“We wanted an improved performance, and we got one. I’m really happy, I think there’s a lot of positives for us to take,” boss John McGlynn said. “There was a bit of character, personality and resilience in the team.
“Last week we didn’t work hard enough; we didn’t do the basics well. This week we grew into the game, and I think we finished the game stronger and potentially could have won the game.
“We’ve not really had enough clean sheets, so it’s pleasing to come here and get one. We maybe rode our luck on one occasion when they hit the bar and Bainy (Scott Bain) has had one or two saves.
“Motherwell have almost seamlessly transitioned from last season, but we’re almost a new team, and there are still players to come in.”
