Motherwell 1, SC Freiburg 3: ahead after two minutes, a red card, and 26 shots faced

Date: 2026-08-20 Author: MotherwellFC match pipeline

Question

What happened in the first leg of the Conference League play-off, and what does it say about where Motherwell are?

Data

Stat pack data/processed/motherwell/statpacks/2026-08-20_401910991.json (ESPN box score ✓, xG ✗ (non-league), market ✗).

Results

Match story — Charles-Cook in the second minute, Ginter twice, Moormann off, Goto in stoppage time

Motherwell lost 3-1 to Freiburg at Fir Park (referee Radu Petrescu; no attendance in the pack) in the first leg of the play-off round. Regan Charles-Cook scored in the 2nd minute, Emmanuel Longelo credited with the assist. Matthias Ginter equalised in the 28th. Joseph Hodge and Lukas Fadinger were booked in the 21st and 39th; Charles-Cook was replaced by Seb Palmer-Houlden at half-time. The match turned in the 65th minute: Martin Moormann was sent off and Ginter scored the resulting penalty. Alexander Lowry was booked in the 67th and replaced by Ewan Wilson in the 70th; Willy Gabriel Vogt Veigantes replaced Tawanda Maswanhise in the 71st; Olly Whyte and Stephen O'Donnell replaced Hodge and Jake Girdwood-Reich in the 78th. Keisuke Goto, on in the 80th, scored Freiburg's third in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Motherwell played 4-3-3 against a 4-2-3-1.

What the numbers say — 26 shots against, 10 on target, seven saves

Freiburg had 60.4% possession, 26 shots to Motherwell's 4, 10 on target to 1, and 8 corners to 2; Alex Paulsen made 7 saves, and Motherwell made 32 clearances. Freiburg completed 509 of 566 passes to Motherwell's 305 of 384. Ginter alone had 4 shots, all on target, and two goals; Igor Matanovic had 6 shots. There is no xG or market block for a European tie.

Personnel and usage — four bookings, one red, and the two forwards' only shots both went in

Charles-Cook and Maswanhise each had 1 shot on target, and the pack's player stats credit each with a goal; the events and the 1-3 score record one Motherwell goal, Charles-Cook's, and the events are what this report follows. Longelo assisted. Moormann was sent off; Hodge, Fadinger and Lowry were booked. Sixteen players were used. Minutes are estimated from substitution times.

Where this leaves the season — two defeats in four days, and a two-goal deficit to take to Germany

Eight competitive matches: 4-2-2, 11 scored, 6 conceded. The League Cup exit and this defeat came within four days. The tie needed a two-goal recovery in Freiburg a week later.

Limitations

One leg; vendor box score; estimated minutes; no xG. Player-stat goal attribution conflicts with the events for this match.

Takeaway

Motherwell led a Bundesliga side after two minutes and lost 3-1 with ten men, conceding 26 shots and a stoppage-time third. Ginter's two goals, one from the penalty that followed Moormann's red card, decided the leg, and the seven saves from Paulsen kept the deficit at two.

Next iteration

The second leg pack (2026-08-27) carries the aggregate.