‘Write your name in history, go further than those before you’ read the banner which greeted the players on to the field at Fir Park last night.You can’t accuse Motherwell of not giving it a right good go. Sadly for them, this wonderful European run will in all likelihood reach its end in Germany next Thursday after going down to a first-leg defeat here.Barring a miracle, the wait for group-stage football for the first time in the club’s history will almost certainly go on. Yet there is so much for the supporters to be proud of.Indeed, for 26 glorious first-half minutes, the Steelmen were dreaming of one of their greatest-ever results after taking an early lead through Regan Charles-Cook before reality hit.Let’s be frank, this was a mismatch in every sense of the word. This is a proper team with real pedigree which saw off the likes of Basel, Nice, Braga and Celta Vigo on their way to the Europa League final last season where they were eventually dispatched by Aston Villa.Their main man on that journey, Johan Manzambi, was snapped up for a meagre £50million by Villa over the summer, as it turned out. Goto celebrates scoring a late third for Freiburg to all-but put the tie beyond Motherwell Ginter scores from the spot to put the Germans in the driving seat at Fir ParkAround £30million of that has already been reinvested in recent weeks, with three of their big-money arrivals starting last night.Simply put, Freiburg are operating in a different stratosphere than Motherwell. On paper, this wasn’t a fair contest.But to their immense credit, Alfred Johansson’s men gave as good as they got. Yes, the better team won on the night. However, they were made to work for it.Even after going behind and seeing Martin Moorman sent packing early in the second half, the hosts refused to throw in the towel. There wasn’t a failure amongst them.And although class told in the end, they did at least give their supporters – who more than played their part in the spectacle – a moment they’ll no doubt remember for the rest of their days within the first two minutes.Alfred Johansson couldn’t have scripted a better start to the tie if he tried. He demanded bravery from his players before kick-off, and the message was evidently received.Starting in their own box, his side worked the ball out brilliantly from the back before it made its way to the feet of Emmanuel Longelo on the left-hand side.A razor-sharp one-two with Joe Hodge released the full-back down the line, and he galloped clear of his marker, then picked out Charles-Cook with a low ball into the middle.The run from the striker to steal half a yard was delightful. The first-time finish into the bottom corner was even better.It’s been some time since Fir Park experienced a noise quite like the one which erupted from the stands when the ball nestled in the back of the net.The visitors took a while to gather their thoughts as Motherwell hassled and hurried them all over the park.Phillip Treu had the first opportunity for the Germans, finding far too much room on the edge of the box to send a rasping half-volley towards goal. Alex Paulsen in the Motherwell goal was relieved to see it sail wide of target. Regan Charles-Cook’s early opener was a moment to savour for Motherwell fans Ginter celebrates after netting the spot-kick which also saw Motherwell go down to 10 menMatthias Ginter was next to try his luck, spinning his man 12 yards out before getting a shot away which was well held by Paulsen. Ginter’s complaints of a tug on his shirt fell on deaf ears.For all that Motherwell were keeping the opposition at arms’ length, they were struggling to get out. Easier said than done, of course.Captain Lukas Fadinger at least tried to restore some calmness within the chaos, dropping deep to retain possession in tight areas and attempting to play forward. Nothing was sticking up top, unfortunately.On the other hand, some of Freiburg’s intricate passing was a joy to watch. Yuito Suzuki glided across the pitch – albeit he was afforded a little too much room to do so – and winger Derry Scherhant was a menace on the left.An intricate move involving both ended with Suzuki firing straight down the throat of Paulsen from just inside the box. Anywhere else and it would have been a goal. It should have been.You just got the sense a goal was coming, however, and just before the half-hour mark, Ginter duly obliged, heading Scherhant’s wicked set-piece delivery beyond the reach of Paulsen. In truth, it was deserved.The subsequent VAR check was a joke. The best part of five minutes passed without anyone having the slightest clue what was going on before the goal was finally awarded. Just do away with the whole thing.Igor Matanovic caught one sweetly from range as Freiburg went about searching for a quickfire second, but Paulsen was equal to it.The introduction of new signing Seb Palmer-Houlden at the interval in place of Charles-Cook gave Motherwell something different in the final third. His ability to run the channels at least got the visitors’ backline turned around and facing their own goal.Tawanda Maswanhise should have done much better from the edge of the box after showing great tenacity to engineer an opportunity to test Mio Backhaus in the Freiburg goal. His effort though, was wild.It sort of summed up his evening. A bundle of energy, but too often lacking composure.Despite making the better start to the second period, Motherwell were undone when a slick move involving Matanovic, Suzuki and Yannik Engelhardt, with the latter going down inside the area under a challenge from Martin Moorman.The penalty was given without hesitation, and Moorman picked up a yellow for his troubles which was soon upgraded to a red following another long VAR check.Ginter wasn’t particularly bothered by the delay, and coolly slotted home to put his side in front.Given what Motherwell gave to the match, it was incredibly harsh to see them concede with the last action of the game, with substitute Keisuke Goto rising unchallenged to power a header into the net from six yards.