Genseric Kusunga injury adds to Dundee woes in defeat at Motherwell

Dundee defender Genseric Kusunga was carried off on a stretcher midway through his side's 2-1 defeat at Motherwell.The 30-year-old went down seconds before the second half was due to start and left the field holding an oxygen mask to his face.The Angolan had received treatment after opening the scoring in the 23rd minute.Motherwell turned the game on its head thanks to headers from Ryan Bowman and Cedric Kipre, which removed all doubt about their Ladbrokes Premiership status for next season.However, they also suffered an injury scare as Bowman went off after failing to run off a sprain picked up during a tangle with Kusunga.With forwards Nadir Ciftci and George Newell already ruled out of the William Hill Scottish Cup final against Celtic, the sight of Bowman hobbling around was the last thing manager Stephen Robinson needed.Both sides missed free headers from six yards in the opening stages with Craig Wighton off target before Bowman hit the post and saw his second effort blocked by Elliot Parish.Dundee lost Sofien Moussa to a calf injury but their opener came after Trevor Carson made saves from Mark O'Hara, Simon Murray and Steven Caulker.Caulker was again involved as he headed a corner towards goal and Kusunga nudged it over the line.Motherwell levelled five minutes later with a near identical goal. Charles Dunne headed Chris Cadden's corner into the goalmouth and Bowman nodded home from close range.Parish pushed away Curtis Main's pile-driver but Motherwell lost Bowman for 17-year-old James Scott and Murray and O'Hara were both off target from good chances as a lively half came to a close.Darren O'Dea replaced Kusunga following a 10-minute delay to the second half starting and Dundee failed to get going quickly enough.Kipre headed his first Motherwell goal in the 52nd minute after Cadden had crossed seconds after taking a short free-kick.Carson saved from Kevin Holt and O'Hara but Dundee failed to build sustained pressure until the final 10 minutes.They made up for it then as Motherwell were forced into some last-ditch defending, but O'Hara missed a glorious chance in the final few minutes when he volleyed over from six yards after another Caulker knockdown.The result saw Motherwell consolidate seventh place, while Dundee are four points above the bottom two.