Manager Stuart McCall admits there will be a long week of soul-searching at Fir Park before Motherwell can begin to atone for their Scottish Cup defeat by League 2 strugglers Albion Rovers when they host Celtic on Friday.
McCall described his team’s possession play as woeful as they struggled to break down a disciplined Rovers side before Gary Phillips struck the only goal in the 90th minute.
The tie had been moved away from Rovers’ home of Cliftonhill in favour of Hamilton Academical’s larger New Douglas Park.
But Motherwell only seriously tested Rovers goalkeeper Neil Parry once, when John Sutton had a powerful header stopped following a 78th-minute corner.
Despite having the vast majority of possession and territory, McCall’s team could not create chances against Rovers, who threatened sporadically before their winner, notably when Liam Cusack forced a good save from Gunnar Nielsen.
McCall said: “Once the dust settles we have got to look forward.
“We are actually doing all right in the league and we have got Celtic to come to us on Friday night. Between now and then there is going to be a lot of soul- searching and analysis and looking at what we can do better.”
The victory was the Coatbridge club’s first against their Lanarkshire neighbours in the 35 meetings between the teams in major competitions and Rovers manager James Ward said: “We’re delighted and based on the desire we showed, it was fully deserved.”