McFadden mars Rangers' record

Motherwell 1 Rangers

Motherwell ended Rangers' unbeaten run for the season yesterday with a controversial second-half goal from James McFadden.

The single goal of the Fir Park encounter was allowed to stand despite claims that Rangers' Lorenzo Amoruso had been fouled by Dirk Lehmann in the build-up to the 66th-minute strike.But the visitors squandered several chances to win and their manager, Alex McLeish, offered no excuses.

"The defenders certainly feel that [Amoruso was fouled], but we are not using that as an excuse because of the way we played," McLeish said. "I thought that the home side deserved to win. We started okay, but then Motherwell carved out the better chances in the first half. They won the individual battles and this was a game that we have to look back on and say: 'Have we learned from it?'

"We have been on a phenomenal unbeaten run for a long time, and now we have to start all over again, but I'm sure that we have the character to do that."

The Motherwell manager, Terry Butcher, whose side had beaten Celtic earlier in the season, said his own players had admitted that their winning goal could easily have been given as a free-kick for Rangers instead.

"Dirk Lehmann said that it was a possible foul and, if the same incident had come when we were on our bad run, it would probably have been given as a free-kick," Butcher said. "But Lady Luck was with us this time – it wasn't a pretty goal but I'd take anything as long as it goes in the back of the net.

"I said to the players before the game that it doesn't matter if it's the scruffiest, messiest goal, because it could turn out to be the best goal of the season. Our game plan was to not allow them to settle.

"It isn't rocket science. We set our stall out to frustrate them and I knew that it could end up one on one, so I told the players, if that happens, stand up and be counted," added Butcher.

Motherwell's victory eased them off the bottom of the table, two points ahead of Dundee United.

Motherwell: Dubourdeau, Kinniburgh, Corrigan, Partridge, Hammell, Adams, Cowan, Leitch, Pearson, McFadden, Lehmann. Substitutes not used: Woods (gk), Ramsey, Ferguson, McDonald, Clarkson.

Rangers: Klos, Malcolm, Moore, Amoruso, Muscat, Ricksen, Ferguson, Lovenkrands, De Boer, Mols, Caniggia (Dodds, 72). Substitutes not used: McGregor (gk), Nerlinger, McLean, Reid.

Referee: W Young.