Motherwell 6 Hibernian 6

MOTHERWELL manager Craig Brown admitted he had never seen a game like it in his life after his team came from four goals down to draw 6-6 with Hibernian.

The former Scotland boss was proud of his players’ character after they refused to be beaten, even after Ross Forbes missed a late penalty with Well still behind.

Lukas Jutkiewicz scored a stunning injury-time volley to keep Motherwell in pole position in the race for Europe.

The game was the highest scoring in Scottish Premier League history, just beating another Fir Park clash, which came in 1999 with Well on the losing side.

‘‘They tell me there was a game here before between Motherwell and Aberdeen that finished 6-5 and the goalkeepers were Jim Leighton and Andy Goram,’’ Brown, 69, said.

‘‘So it’s not uncommon here. But I can’t recall anything like it.

‘‘When I was coach of the Under-21s we were 4-1 down against Germany and won 5-4 in a quarter-final but I can’t recall a game like this one.’’ Well trailed 6-2 with 23 minutes left after Anthony Stokes struck a quickfire double to add to Colin Nish’s first-half hat-trick and Derek Riordan’s goal.

But Giles Coke and John Sutton both netted their second goals and Tom Hateley’s free-kick helped set up an unforgettable finale.

Brown said: ‘‘At 6-2 I thought it was gone but I had said to the players at halftime, the most worrying thing in sport is a losing lead. It was only 4-2 at the time but it’s a psychological thing.

‘‘Another five minutes and I think we’d have won. I think they were out on their feet. I did say after Hibs lost to Hearts at the weekend they tend to lose goals late.

Jutkiewicz’s goal was like van Basten’s.’’