Motherwell were a credit to themselves as they pushed Rangers all the way in their Premier Sports Cup semi-final.
In the end, they have nothing to show for it apart from pride but it very much looked at one stage as if they could book themselves a return to Hampden.
It was a spirited and dogged performance and Andy Halliday added something tangible to it by getting on the end of Steve Seddon’s cross to score against his old club.
The Steelmen continued to fight but lost an equaliser to Cyriel Dessers early in the second half. They remained level all the way until the 80th minute when Nedim Bajrami put a dagger to their hearts with a well-taken winner.
Stuart Kettlewell proud of Motherwell players
Well boss Stuart Kettlewell spoke with a lot of pride when he went over the efforts of his team post-match.
He admits losing in that manner is a particularly sore one to take, especially when he could see how much his players put into the game only to end up empty handed.
Kettlewell told Premier Sports: “I think the fashion of it is always a sore one to take. Whenever you lose a semi-final you’re always going to be disappointed.
“I just felt that we had the game in a really good place, we know Rangers are going to come at us in the second half. We’re forced into one or two changes within our team and I don’t think it affects us in any way.
“I just feel that it’s bitterly disappointing when the players pore in so much. We knew it was going to have to be that but you see the group of players that finished on the pitch, they hadn’t another step left in them.”
Kettlewell on areas Motherwell were lacking
While full of praise for his men, the 40-year-old did admit there were areas where they were slightly lacking which contributed to their downfall in the end.
For all their efforts, he still felt they could have shown more quality in certain moments in dangerous areas to generate more for all their hard work.
And there are also slight defensive issues to iron out for both of Gers’ goals.
Kettlewell added: “We keep speaking about trying to evolve, trying to go that extra yard as a football club, a group and a team.
“I just feel that in moments today wee bits if quality would have been enough to potentially get across the line and then one or two wee bits of decision making that lead to the two Rangers goals.
“We’re always going to dissect that but I think fundamentally I need to look at the players and say that they’re giving me absolutely everything. An achievement for this club to get here but I can assure you I wanted to go one step further.”