Motherwell0–1Inverness CT

Another SPL scalp on the Scottish Cup totem pole. Motherwell came highly recommended but despite playing good football they could not break down the visitors’ resolute defence and Mark Brown was rarely troubled by his old club. Barry Wilson’s opportunist goal in 10 minutes was enough to earn a Scottish Cup semi final spot for the second season in a row. It was not a pretty game but the Caley Thistle tactics were very effective. The SPL’s long list of membership rules obviously does not include the condition of the pitch – it was dreadful. Bobby Mann blocked a Scott McDonald shot in the second minute and after further Motherwell pressure Caley Thistle took a stunning lead. What proved to be the winning goal came in 10 minutes when Barry Wilson took a neat pass from Russell Duncan then spotted Gordon Marshall off his line. He decided to try his luck with a 30 yard lob and it came off in spectacular style. With the bright sun Marshall’s only defence the ball dropped behind him and into the net. It was backs to the wall after that with only occasional breaks upfield. The Caley Thistle defence handled everything thrown at it including a Steve MacDonald angled shot in 31 minutes which Brown did well to hold. At the other end Marshall held a Darran Thomson chip in 37 minutes then a Wilson deflected shot four minutes later. The Motherwell pressure continued into the second half and on the hour mark a close-range Alex Burns header was deflected for a corner by Duncan. The corner was cleared and a Wilson/Liam Keogh break set up a Paul Ritchie shot which went wide. In 77 minutes Mann sent Wilson off down the left – the goal hero turned infield but this time shot over from 18 yards. With seven minutes left Martyn Corrigan shot well wide from distance and with a minute left Steve Hammell’s free kick from 25 yards was headed clear. Keogh collected it and headed for goal. A flick from Wilson set up Duncan in the area but his low shot was saved by Marshall. There were three anxious added minutes but finally the whistle went. The Caley Thistle players took the applause of their fans in the South Stand and all the talk was of Hampden. As a bonus St Johnstone beat Clyde in the league to narrow the effective gap between first and second.