What Nick Walsh told Motherwell players about Rangers winning goal after Andy Halliday exploded and wanted it ruled out

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Lennon Miller says it was a proud moment to lead Motherwell out as captain - but he can't shake the feeling that a bit more 'belief' from his side and it could have been different at Hampden.

And he revealed what ref Nick Walsh told the Well players after they wanted Rangers' winner chalked off for a foul in the buildup. Miller's team led Rangers 1-0 at the national stadium but a second-half comeback, with Cyriel Dessers and Nedim Bajrami on the scoresheet, ended their hopes of a final with Celtic. Miller wasn't getting too down about it though as he said: "Personally, it was a proud moment to captain the team in a semi-final at Hampden. But overall, I am disappointed to come away from the game and not be in the final. We went in at half-time 1-0 up but then the early goal in the second half kills us a bit.

"It probably deflates us and we became a bit rushed. We weren’t as controlled on the ball and we gave it back to them too easily. I felt we could have created more chances if we had been more confident on the ball.

“We were disciplined off the ball and we limited them to two or three big chances. But we would have liked to have created more.

Asked what that was down to, he went on: "It’s a big game and maybe there were some nerves in there. Rangers are a good team and they press well. There is always going to be the challenge there. I just felt we could have had more belief in ourselves, but we didn't.

"This was a big achievement for us to get here in the first place and we won’t let it set us back in any way. We look forward to Saturday now. The fans were great and they backed us in their numbers. We are proud of that. We thank for that and for creating that kind of atmosphere."

There was some controversy in Rangers' second goal with Andy Halliday remonstrating with Nick Walsh over a perceived foul in the buildup. Motherwell felt Zach Robinson had been fouled as Miller said: “We thought Zach had been fouled but the referee said he played the advantage and we had the ball in control and it was outwith the attacking phase. We thought it was a foul at the time but these things happen.

Steve Clarke was in attendance at the national stadium while Miller, despite his impressive form, gets set to go off with the Under-19s during the next international break. And after that he's focused on making sure it's not the last time he plays at Hampden in a semi-final. He said: “That’s the plan (more games at Hampden). I hope to play here as many times as I can. That’s the first and I hope there are more to come.

“The Scotland manager will watch most of the games, I presume. I just need to keep my head down and focus on myself."

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