Motherwell got their Betfred Cup campaign off to a flying start as three goals in the final 20 minutes earned them a 3-0 win over Queen of the South.
A Liam Donnelly penalty opened the scoring before two late goals from Sherwin Seedorf and Jermaine Hylton killed off the hosts.
But the match started badly for Motherwell, with striker Christopher Long taking a Darren Brownlie clearance full in the face from close range after less than a minute and collapsing in a heap. He received treatment for a few minutes before being replaced by James Scott.
Scott missed a great chance to put the Steelmen 1-0 up after 12 minutes. A mix-up between Lewis Kidd and Brownlie allowed the forward in, but on-loan Rangers goalkeeper Robby McCrorie saved his effort.
The Doonhamers should have gone one up before the half-hour mark. A quick move forward from Allan Johnston’s team presented Dan Pybus with a clear sight of goal, but he could not get his effort on target.
After the break the visitors put Queens under some real pressure.
Jake Carroll played in Scott and his effort was blocked by Scott Mercer for a corner. From the set piece Charles Dunne’s header crashed off the crossbar, with Donnelly’s follow-up cleared off the line by Brownlie.
Well took the lead after 71 minutes from the penalty spot. Mercer was judged by referee Don Robertson to have fouled substitute Hylton and Donnelly made no mistake as he sent McCrorie the wrong way.
Seedorf beat a few players before curling in a second as the game entered the 90th minute.
But there was still time for Hylton to fire a sensational third goal high into the top corner from 25 yards with the last kick of the game.
