Motherwell dumped Shaun Teale for being too old last month - but tonight 40-year-old Tommy Bryce threatened to dump them out of the Scottish Cup.

Bryce grabbed Arbroath's equaliser 10 minutes before the interval at Gayfield but the Second Division side were unable to stun their Premier League opponents again and were forced to settle for a Fir Park replay.

The veteran striker rose unchallenged to meet Craig Cooper's cross with a firm header to the far post.

Steven McMillan looked in a good position to clear by the post but failed to connect as the ball bounced beyond Andy Goram and into the roof of the net.

It sent the home fans into raptures and levelled the scores following Don Goodman's opener midway through the opening period of this third round tie.

Ged Brannan was the inspiration behind the former Wolves star's strike, picking him out in space with a ball straight through the middle of the Arbroath defence.

Goodman's first shot cannoned back of a post but with keeper Craig Wight still on the floor, the Englishman lashed the rebound into an empty net.

Arbroath had been more than a little aggrieved at the abandonment of Saturday's tie, even they were 1-0 down when referee Mike McCurry called it off at the interval because of high winds.

Yet, with conditions as still as they can be at a ground which literally backs onto the North Sea, it was Motherwell who enjoyed the early initiative.

Home keeper Craig Wight was forced to pull of decent saves from Brannan, Kevin Twaddle and Lee McCulloch before the match was 20 minutes old.

And Bryce was the only man to hint at a reply, flashing his shot over from the edge of the area.

Greig Denham and Steve Florence, the long-serving Arbroath defender, were both booked as tackling became more difficult on a pitch which was badly cut up when the game began and resembled a ploughed field by the end.

But if Motherwell were to stand any chance of repeating their 1991 Cup triumph, it is at places like Gayfield they have to win and Goodman seemed to have put the Premier League side on the way with his opening goal.

Derek Townsley almost looped a shot over Wight as the Fir Park side went looking for a second.

But Bryce had a shock in store, although visitors boss Billy Davies will have been desperately disappointed to see Steven McMillan well-positioned on the far post to make a clearance only to completely miss his kick.

The goal seemed to sap the visitors' confidence and they emerged with caution after the interval.

While the failure of a team poised to secure a UEFA Cup spot to beat a side halfway up the Second Division table could be viewed with some embarrassment, in a sense a draw suited both teams.

Motherwell could feel confident of securing their passage into the last 16 at Fir Park, while Arbroath could claim a welcome pay-day.

That may or may not have been the reason for the second half largely turning into a midfield scrap.

Townsley flicked a header wide from a corner and Dave Arbuckle fired over from the angle of the penalty area for Arbroath.

But neither side was fully committed to attack, and even Pat Nevin was unable to provide some magic on his entrance from the substitutes' bench - although in the former Scotland international's defence, conditions were hardly suitable to his impish skills.

Arbroath finished in the ascendency but Motherwell were strong enough at the back to keep themselves alive with a little bit to spare.

Teams

Arbroath: Wight, Florence, Peters, McAulay, Thomson, Arbuckle, Cooper, Bryce (Devine 81), McGlashan, Tindal, Mercer.

Subs Not Used: Crawford, Gallagher.

Booked: Florence, Arbuckle, Peters.

Goals: Bryce 35.

Motherwell: Goram, Doesburg, McMillan, Brannan, Valakari, McCulloch, Goodman, Craigen, Denham, Townsley (Nevin 67), Twaddle.

Subs Not Used: Nicholas, Davies.

Booked: Denham.

Goals: Goodman 24.

Att: 2,509

Ref: Michael McCurry (Scotland).