Ricky Little ‘violently sick’ during Arbroath Scottish Cup loss to Motherwell as Ian Campbell praises fans efforts

Ricky Little was ‘violently sick’ on the Gayfield pitch as Arbroath crashed to a Scottish Cup defeat to Motherwell.

Little was taken off just 14 minutes into Arbroath’s 2-0 loss to Motherwell after taking ill.

David Gold took his place with Scott Bitsindou shifting back to central defence.

But Arbroath assistant manager Ian Campbell insists the change had ‘no impact’ on the result.

“Ricky Little didn’t get an injury,” said Campbell.

“Sadly, he took ill and he was violently sick on the park so had to come off.

“But I don’t think that’s an excuse.

“Scott Bitsindou moved back to defence and coped well so we just got on with the game.

“We played against a good quality side and, while we didn’t create gilt-edged chances, we can’t fault the players effort and commitment. That was absolutely magnificent.

“We could have got the ball into the box more and put them under a lot more pressure.

“But we have to take heart from the performance. It was never a 2-0 game.”

Ian Campbell praises Arbroath community spirit

Meanwhile Campbell has praised the efforts of the Arbroath volunteers who ensured the cup tie went ahead.

Around 60 hardy souls helped the Angus side lift the covers at 8.30am on Saturday.

🇱🇻 💪 Incredibly proud of my club @ArbroathFC & amazing community spirit in our town.

Terrific effort to get the game v @MotherwellFC ON.

If you haven’t got a ticket & fancy watching a game of fitba then get down to Gayfield to support the Lichties.

🎟️ https://t.co/UClu13bzaH pic.twitter.com/qrXIRDSjNe

— Ewan Smith (@ewansmithpr) January 21, 2023

And with one of the biggest Gayfield crowds in the last ten years – 4,145 – Campbell is disappointed Arbroath couldn’t give the fans the win they deserved.

Campbell added: “This club is a tremendous football club.

“Over the last few years Arbroath have established themselves in the Championship and we’ve had incredible backing from our fans.

“It was no surprise to me to see the efforts they made to get this game on.

“It’s tremendous. Every week we come into the club things get better and better.

“What we have to do is start producing it on the park by getting some result.

“It’s up to Dick and I to get a team that can compete on the pitch and we are striving to do that.”