Assistant manager Russell Anderson was frustrated Formartine United weren’t able to give Motherwell a tougher contest during a one-sided Scottish Cup tie.
The Pitmedden men were beaten 5-0 by their Scottish Premiership opponents at North Lodge Park in the third round of the competition.
The Highland League side had earned their place in the last-32 with a dramatic penalty shootout victory against League Two side Annan Athletic.
But Motherwell proved too strong for a United team playing only their third competitive match of 2021.
Goals from Christopher Long, Devante Cole, Allan Campbell and a brace from former Caley Thistle winger Jordan Roberts ensured Graham Alexander’s side progressed safely to the fourth round.
Anderson admitted Formartine paid the price for making too many defensive errors.
He said: “There is a feeling of frustration that they didn’t have to work too hard for some of the goals they scored.
“If we had managed to get to half-time at 0-0 then you would think that the pressure would start to build on them.
“The frustrating part was that I don’t think we showed what we are capable of.
“You could say that was maybe down to Motherwell being the better team.
“We are disappointed.”
Formartine United went into the match knowing it would be their last game of the season if they lost following the decision to curtail the Highland League season last week.
Anderson said: “It seems like a bit of an anti-climax that the season was called last week.
“It has been a strange year for everybody and it is no different for football.
“The players deserved to have this game.
“It was a good chance to test themselves and see where they are.
“It didn’t tell me anything new that I didn’t know about us as a team.
“It was good to get here, but that shouldn’t be enough.
“You always want more. The overriding feeling is that we didn’t do ourselves justice.”
Formartine made a bright start with right-back Jonathan Crawford crossing for Garry Wood, but the former Ross County forward’s downward header was well saved by Liam Kelly.
The visitors soon seized control of proceedings with Roberts sending a powerful drive the wrong side of the post before heading over from a Steven Lawless cross moments later.
The hosts were almost gifted the lead after 21 minutes when the omnipresent Roberts almost headed a Daniel Park free-kick into his own net.
The visitors finally got the goal their dominance merited when Formartine goalkeeper Kevin Main hesitated coming out to collect a searching pass from Tyler Magloire, which allowed Long to take a touch past the stranded stopper and fire into an unguarded net.
A Lawless cross was flicked wide by Campbell before the Steelmen doubled their advantage when a Nathan McGinley cross fell for Roberts to drill home from 12 yards.
Only seven minutes of the second half had elapsed when the visitors added a third, with Roberts stabbing home a wayward shot by Cole with the Formartine appeals for offside falling on deaf ears.
Motherwell were cruising now and grabbed a fourth after 64 minutes when Scotland international Stephen O’Donnell crossed for Cole to head past Main.
Campbell completed the scoring with 14 minutes remaining when he exchanged passes with Long before drilling the ball beyond Main.
Motherwell manager Graham Alexander was pleased to send a small band of supporters home happy after advancing to the last-16.
Despite the current ban of fans attending games in Scotland, a group of around 20 supporters managed to get a vantage point to watch the match by scaling walls, buildings and trees adjacent to North Lodge Park.
Alexander said: “They were singing our names, so we’ll take it.
“We haven’t seen it for a year, so it was great to hear them and go and acknowledge them at the end of the game.
“It gives us a little bit of a taste of what’s to come when supporters are allowed back in grounds.
“If they are from Motherwell, we’re delighted they’re going home with smiles on their faces, because we are.”
