St Mirren 0 Motherwell 1

Picture courtesy of Jeff Holmes

The Ian Baraclough era at Motherwell got off to an ideal start as John Sutton's goal helped them defeat 10-man St Mirren 1-0 in a controversial match in Paisley.

But despite being depleted in numbers, St Mirren were the better team for long periods of the match, although they now find themselves six points adrift of 10th-placed Motherwell at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership table.

After a drab and dreary opening period, the game came to life in the 18th minute as the normally mild-mannered St Mirren captain Steven Thompson was sent off by referee Alan Muir after a strong challenge on Motherwell's Mark O'Brien. St Mirren appeared to be coping well with their loss, but with 18 minutes remaining John Sutton got on the end of Josh Law's cutback to steer the ball home and hand Well a vital three points in what was Baraclough's first game in charge.

Saints were given a mountain to climb when Steven Thompson was dismissed for his thundering challenge on O'Brien. The Motherwell man was strong in his attempt to win the ball - but Thompson was late and Muir adjudged his attempt to win the ball to be dangerous.

But despite Motherwell's advantage in terms of numbers, St Mirren had the better of the first half possession and half-chances, with Jim Goodwin having a shot from a corner saved by Dan Twardzik in the Motherwell goal before Marc McAusland saw a header cleared off the line by Josh Law.

O'Brien and defensive partner David Ferguson were withdrawn at the interval by Ian Baraclough for Fraser Kerr and an additional striker in the shape of Lee Erwin. But his bold attacking move almost backfired within two minutes of the restart as again McAusland won a header from a corner - and after seeing it crash off the bar, it bounced down on the line before being hooked away to safety by Josh Law.

The St Mirren fans and players claimed the ball had in fact crossed the line - but Muir and assistant Mark McLean waved away the protests.

The hosts continued to dominate the play, but Motherwell at last made their man advantage count the as they took the lead following a terrific passing move.

Stuart Carswell found Law on the right wing and his first-time ball was

inch-perfect for Sutton to stab the ball home for his fourth goal of the season. From there, Motherwell at last took control of the game and managed to see it out to claim their first victory since November 7, although they survived a late scare as Kenny McLean's free-kick was only gathered at the second attempt by Twardzik.