TWO police officers were injured in the shameful scenes within the Motherwell end during last night's cup tie at Cappielow.

Away fans clashed with police and stewards as trouble flared shortly after Morton retook the lead in extra time.

The game had to suspended by referee Greg Aitken for around five minutes as police reinforcements were drafted in to calm things down.

Two men have aleady been arrested and officers have today issued an appeal for information as they probe the disturbance.

Chief Inspector Elliot Brown, Area Commander for Inverclyde, said: "Around 2145 hours on Tuesday 22 September 2015, police were called to a report of a disturbance within the Wee Dublin End of Cappielow Park during the Morton v Motherwell football match.

"Additional officers attended and assisted, and two officers received minor injuries.

"A female officer was taken to RAH in Paisley where she was treated for a hand injury then later released. A male officer received an injury to his back but did not require medical assistance at the time.

"Two men were arrested in connection with the disturbance and are subject of a report to the procurator fiscal.

"Enquiries are continuing today to find out the exact circumstances surrounding the incident and I would ask anyone with information or footage that will help officers establish what happened to contact Police Scotland on 101."

Supporters who were at the game told the Tele that police appeared to be prepared for the prospect of trouble in the away end, with a bigger presence of officers and stewards than usual.

A police van was deployed at Cartsdyke station up until the kick-off and a large number of officers and stewards were positioned around the ‘Well fans behind the goal.

A supporter who was at the match said: “To begin with it looked like some Motherwell fans were fighting amongst themselves.

“The stewards and police went in and it became a bit of a scrum.

“Everyone could see what was going on, including the players, and the referee stopped the game and took them into the centre circle away from the trouble. A squad of extra police arrived and sprinted down trackside towards the trouble.” It took around five minutes for order to be restored and the match was restarted.

Ch Insp Brown said: "We take incidents of this nature extremely seriously. We are fully investigating and pursuing all lines of inquiry to find out exactly what happened and how these officers were injured. The safety of everyone attending football matches - including our officers - is a priority for us and violence and disorder will not be tolerated."

On the field, Morton triumphed 3-2 after extra time to move into the next round of the League Cup.

Meanwhile Motherwell could now potentially face action from the football authorities over the shameful scenes, which were branded a ‘disgrace’ by Ton boss Jim Duffy.