Motherwell boss Mark McGhee: Christopher Cadden is a great asset to team

Motherwell boss Mark McGhee hailed 19-year-old midfielder Christopher Cadden after his man-of-the-match display against Stranraer helped inspire a 3-0 Betfred Cup victory.

Second-half goals from Cadden, Marvin Johnson and Scott McDonald secured the win at Stair Park, as well as their place in the last 16.

The result saw Well finish second in the group with nine points, three points in front of Stranraer in third and three behind group winners Rangers.

Cadden has now scored for Motherwell in his last two games, after hitting the back of the net against East Stirling on Tuesday.

McGhee said of the teenager: ''I feel like that Cadden should get goals. His energy is boundless. Sometimes he's just got to channel his energy into productive things, and today he did. He was terrific in the second half and he is getting goals as well, which can only give him confidence. He's going from a player who came into the team after Christmas and looking like a lad who didn't quite believe that he should be here, now to a player who is chasing the likes of Marvin (Johnson) who has been getting a lot of man of the matches. He wants that, he is ambitious, determined and that's terrific and he's a great asset to the team.''

Stranraer manager Brian Reid felt tiredness played a factor in his team's exit from the competition, but praised their performance.

He said: ''It's definitely not a 3-0 game. I think we held our own. We were very strong in the first half. Having to go to Ibrox on Monday night and playing another Premier League team here, maybe tiredness played its part. The three goals were just a bit of slackness and, against a team like Motherwell and the finishers they've got, we got punished.''