Fadinger's late penalty gave Motherwell a win on better chances
Motherwell1 – 0ST Mirren 
Motherwell beat St Mirren 1-0 at Fir Park, with a penalty settling a match that turned on quality rather than possession.
Lukas Fadinger scored the only goal of the afternoon from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute, after a VAR check had confirmed the award a few minutes earlier. Regan Charles-Cook was the Motherwell player involved in the decision. It was a late moment, but it was the moment that decided the game, and everything else about the match reads differently once you know it came from the spot.
Motherwell did not have many shots. They managed 11, which is fewer than the 14.1 they usually take in home matches, and only two of those were on target. What changed was where the shots came from. Ten of their 11 were inside the penalty area, and their expected goals figure, a measure that adds up how good each chance was, came out at 2.36. That is well above their home average, so the chances they made were better than their usual ones, even though there were fewer of them.
Ball possession
The ball was shared almost exactly as you would expect. Motherwell had 52% of possession, a little under the 54.7% they usually enjoy at Fir Park, while St Mirren had 48%, close to their normal share away from home. Neither side had an unusual amount of the ball, so this was not a match decided by who kept it. Motherwell completed 377 passes out of 446, which is about the level you would see from a side that was keeping the ball in good areas.
St Mirren's attack was quieter than usual. They had five shots, only one on target, and their expected goals came to 0.23. Their away average is 1.42, so this was a long way below their normal return. F. Taylor did plenty of defensive work for the visitors, making five tackles and winning nine of his duels, and it was St Mirren's failure to make chances rather than their defence that stood out in the numbers.
Discipline was messy but never decisive. Nobody was sent off, although nine yellow cards were shown in total, five of them to St Mirren. Several came late in the game, when tempers were high and the score was still level, and none of them changed the balance of the match. M. Emmanuel was among the more creative Motherwell players, creating two chances for teammates, and Fadinger's contribution was the one that counted.
The table gives this result its wider meaning. Motherwell are 10th, having picked up 9 points from 11 matches, and they have lost five of their last six games. St Mirren are seventh with 14 points from 11, and they have collected four defeats in their last six. Neither side arrived with much momentum, so a win at home was useful for Motherwell even though it came from a single penalty.
Motherwell's victory came from the chances they created, not from the amount of football they played, and that is the difference a supporter would notice. Fadinger's penalty was the only goal of the afternoon, and it was enough.
J. Girdwood-Reich5 duels won
M. Emmanuel2 chances created
L. Fadinger1 goal
A. Paulsen1 save