Steelmen defeated 2-1 by Hibernian at Easter Road

Goals by Florian Kamberi and Brandon Barker in either half had the Hibees 2-0 up before Curtis Main scored his third goal in as many matches to give Motherwell a 77th minute lifeline.But the Steelmen - for whom goalkeeper Trevor Carson came into the Hibs penalty area to try and net an equaliser from a last minute corner - couldn't quite emulate Saturday's Edinburgh late show when they grabbed an injury time equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Hearts.This capital clash saw Hibs come close to breaking the deadlock inside the opening 10 minutes after 'Well's Craig Tanner had given the ball away cheaply from a free-kick near the Hibs box, leading to a speedy breakaway by Hibs' Swiss ace Kamberi.The impressive debutant's final shot was cleared off the line by Cedric Kipre at the expense of a corner, which when swung in by John McGinn from the right wing was headed off the far post by Paul Hanlon.Motherwell skipper Carl McHugh then went down injured for a couple of minutes after taking the brunt of a strong Hibs tackle, but he was fit to continue.Visiting striker Main rasped a left footed 25-yarder wide of target and was involved in the action again following a 17th minute Tanner corner.Main, a recent signing from Portsmouth, found himself unmarked at the back post following Tanner's flag kick delivery. His header across goal threatened Hibs keeper Ofir Marciano but McHugh couldn't quite make contact.After Motherwell's Richard Tait had been booked for a foul on Martin Boyle, there was an even period before Hibs broke the deadlock on 28 minutes.Charles Dunne's attempted clearance went straight to Kamberi, whose shot went in off the underside of the bar.The Steelmen came close to levelling within six minutes as a fine passing move involving Andy Rose and Tanner ended with Allan Campbell shooting just off target.Motherwell continued to enjoy most of the territorial advantage for the remainder of the first half without being able to carve out a clear scoring chance.Tanner sent a whipped shot over the bar early in the second half before Hibs went two up on 48 minutes when Boyle found acres of space on the left before crossing to Brandon Barker to knock the ball into the roof of the net.Motherwell made a double substitution on the hour mark, throwing on Gael Bigirimana and Chris Cadden for Rose and Grimshaw respectively.And within three minutes the pair nearly combined to devastating effect as Cadden's fine run and cross down the right just missed Bigirimana's head in the middle.An inswinging Tanner free-kick from 35 yards just missed Hibs' far post and the Steelmen came close again when Cadden's volley was saved after a Bigirimana free-kick had been partially cleared.But Motherwell did pull a goal back on 77 minutes when that man Main shot low left footed past Marciano.This had 'Well fans wondering if their side could repeat their escapades on their last visit to Easter Road in September, when they trailed 2-0 before snatching a point thanks to a double by the now departed Louis Moult.And Main did have another late goal attempt but the effort was saved by Marciano and it was the hosts who landed all three points.

Motherwell: Carson, Tait, Grimshaw (Cadden 60), McHugh (Ciftci 74), Main, Rose (Bigirimana 60), Dunne, Aldred, Kipre, Campbell, Tanner.Referee: Alan MuirCrowd: 15,459