Motherwell’s European adventure suffered a blow at Fir Park as Freiburg came from behind to claim a 3-1 victory in the first leg of their Conference League play-off.
Motherwell will have it all to do in Germany next week after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Freiburg at Fir Park.
Alfred Johansson’s side made the perfect start when Regan Charles-Cook fired Motherwell ahead inside just two minutes, sending the home support into raptures.
The Steelmen were fearless in the opening stages and looked capable of causing a major upset against a Freiburg side preparing for another European campaign.
Charles-Cook’s opener came after Emmanuel Longelo created the opportunity, with the forward keeping his composure to fire into the bottom corner.
Freiburg gradually began to settle, however, and started to exert greater pressure on the Motherwell defence.
Alex Paulsen was called into action on several occasions, while Derry Scherhant struck the post with a free-kick as the visitors began to find openings.
Motherwell’s resistance was eventually broken in the 28th minute.
Matthias Ginter rose highest from a Freiburg set piece to head past Paulsen, with the goal eventually confirmed following a VAR review.
The equaliser changed the momentum of the game, but Motherwell went into the interval level at 1-1 and still had every reason to believe they could take something from the tie.
The decisive moment came just after the hour mark.
Martin Moormann was initially shown a yellow card after a challenge inside the Motherwell box, but following a VAR review the decision was upgraded to a straight red.
Freiburg were awarded a penalty and Ginter stepped up to send Paulsen the wrong way, completing his second goal of the evening and putting the German side 2-1 ahead.
Motherwell were now facing the difficult task of taking on Bundesliga opposition with ten men.
Despite being reduced to ten, Johansson’s side continued to battle and had opportunities to make life uncomfortable for Freiburg.
Seb Palmer-Houlden went close with a header late on, while Paulsen continued to keep the visitors from extending their advantage.
Motherwell’s effort deserved credit, but Freiburg’s quality eventually told in stoppage time.
Keisuke Goto rose to head home Vincenzo Grifo’s corner in the sixth minute of added time, putting the visitors 3-1 ahead and leaving Motherwell facing a huge challenge in the return leg.
It was a harsh ending for a Motherwell side who had competed bravely for long periods, but the red card and penalty ultimately swung the tie firmly in Freiburg’s favour.
Johansson’s team will now travel to Germany next Thursday knowing they need something special to overturn the two-goal deficit.
Motherwell 1-3 Freiburg
⚽ Motherwell: Regan Charles-Cook (2′)
⚽ Freiburg: Matthias Ginter (28′, 65′ pen), Keisuke Goto (90+6′)
🟥 Motherwell: Martin Moormann (65′)
Second leg: Freiburg v Motherwell — Thursday, August 27