NI keeper Carson returns to action as Motherwell lose to Crues in friendly

Northern Ireland international Trevor Carson returned to action as his club Motherwell played out a pre-season friendly 1-0 defeat to Crusaders.

The 31-year-old missed most of last season after being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis, diagnosed shortly after he returned to Scotland having been on international duty in Belfast.

He was called up to the national side's training camp in Manchester by Michael O'Neill, but wasn't able to play any part in the Euro 2020 qualifying games in Estonia and Belarus.

However, Carson played the full 90 minutes at Seaview, and was called into action several times.

In the 20th minutes, he had to palm away a fierce volley from Paul Heatley struck from inside the box, and 5 minutes later, he had to pick the ball out from his net.

The 2 Motherwell centre halves made a mess of a 25th minute cross from Ross Clarke, and Rory Hale was in the right place to poke the ball the right side of the post.

5 minutes before the break, Carson looked beaten when Clarke's 25-yard free kick smashed against his crossbar.

The keeper was the only member of the visiting team to return for the second half, as manager Stephen Robinson made 10 changes to his side.

His opposite number Sean O'Neill enjoyed a much better night, pulling off 2 impressive saves as the Crues held on for a win.