Motherwell 0, Hibs 0: Stalemate at Fir Park as ten-man 'Well hold on for point

Motherwell and Hibs played out a towsy goalless draw at a blustery Fir Park as neither side gave an inch in the battle between fourth and fifth in the Scottish Premiership.

With horizontal rain and hefty winds battering the ground from before kick-off the first half was short on chances and quality with a greasy surface making control difficult.

Kevin Nisbet had an early sight of goal after springing the offside trap but his angled effort was deflected behind for a corner.

At the other end, Liam Donnelly sent a long-range effort skidding harmlessly wide while a Kevin van Veen free kick on 12 minutes was straight down Matt Macey's throat.

Chris Mueller of Hibs and Motherwell's Stephen O'Donnell battle for the ball

Josh Doig was storming up and down the left flank but most of his crosses were either blocked en route to goal or didn't quite reach their intended target.

It wasn't a particularly dirty game but the conditions and the greasy surface were perhaps prompting greater use of referee Andrew Dallas' whistle.

Midway through the first period the ball fell for Nisbet but he was unable to get the shot away. Lewis Stevenson then picked up the first caution of the game for thundering into Jordan Roberts, Dallas not interested in the veteran's protestations.

Seconds later van Veen knocked the rebound high and wide when it looked easier to score after Macey had beaten away Donnelly's effort following a set-piece.

Hibs then attempted a neat routine from a corner but Nisbet's flick was just too short to reach Josh Campbell who was lurking on the edge of the penalty box and Motherwell cleared their lines.

The rest of the first half was spent shuttling around in the middle of the park with neither team able to carve out any clear-cut chances.

The second period picked up where things had left off, with the most notable event that two hats belonging to Motherwell fans in the John Hunter Stand blew onto the pitch, such was the strength of the wind blowing into the stadium.

Shaun Maloney made his first change shortly after the hour mark, bringing on Drey Wright for Chris Mueller and the replacement was involved ten minutes later when he was scythed down by Donnelly who, already on a booking, was shown a second yellow followed by a red.

'Well boss Graham Alexander was also dismissed for his reaction and eventually made his way to the stand after a bit more shouting and gesticulating.

A flurry of yellow cards followed in the final ten minutes with Paul McGinn booked for a foul, followed by Sondre Johansen of Motherwell.

Substitute Ewan Henderson screwed a shot just wide as Hibs tried to capitalise on the man advantage and fellow replacement Christian Doidge fired over from a tight angle moments later.

Rocky Bushiri, who had an impressive game in defence then charged down a Ross Tierney effort from the edge of the box.

Van Veen entered the book late on for catching Macey as he chased down a loose ball, which was the last real moment of note in an attritional meeting.

Motherwell: Kelly, O’Donnell, Johansen, Carroll, McGinley, Donnelly, Maguire, Goss, Shields (Tierney 66 (Slattery 85)), van Veen, Roberts (Shaw 85). Subs not used: Fox, Amaluzor, Cornelius, Nirennold, Ojala, Woolery.

Hibs: Macey, McGinn, Bushiri, Stevenson (Henderson 75), Cadden, Doyle-Hayes, Campbell (Demetri Mitchell 75), Newell (Doidge 81), Doig, Nisbet, Mueller (Wright 62). Subs not used: Dabrowski, McGregor, Allan, Murphy, Scott.