Latest News

Action pictures from this afternoon’s frustrating 1-1 draw with Ross County at Fir Park.

Snaps courtesy of SNSPix.

[svgallery name=”rosscounty020515″]

[tab:Match report]

Phil McGhee Fir Park

It was a frustrating afternoon at Fir Park as Motherwell were held to a 1-1 draw by a stubborn Ross County.

Despite creating enough chances to add to Scott McDonald’s early strike, and being denied a couple of penalty claims, the Fir Parkers failed to close the gap on the Highlanders and now need three wins starting with another ‘six pointer’ against Kilmarnock on Friday night.

With Ian Baraclough recognising that it was a must win game, ‘Well were boosted by the return of Stevie Hammell for his first appearance since New Year’s Day. Mark O’Brien also came into the defence for the injured Louis Laing while Conor Grant was preferred to Lionel Ainsworth in midfield.

In a game branded as a cup final, both teams made a determined and robust start. And within four minutes Scott McDonald was the first of seven bookings for simulation, although it looked a fairly strong penalty claim after being clumsily challenged in the box by Rafael de Vita.

Remarkably, Michael Gardyne then escaped a yellow card when he took out Marvin Johnson as the ‘Well winger broke wide on the left.

It was Johnson who had the first strike at goal latching onto McDonald’s pass before forcing Mark Brown to dive and palm his powerful drive round the post.

The County ‘keeper was forced into another save in the 18th minute when he held McDonald’s volley from the corner of the box after a quick throw in from Hammell.

A minute later, though, the former ‘Well ‘keeper was beaten. Grant rolled the perfect ball in front of Josh Law who swept a low cross into the six yard box finding McDonald sliding in to poke the ball over the line to make it a perfect start for ‘Well.

The Fir Park players took confidence from the goal, dictating the play and appeared the more likely to add a second with Brown and his defence having a few anxious moments.

Just when they seemed to be heading for a half-time lead, though, ‘Well conceded a sloppy equaliser.

There was no real danger as O’Brien sliced his clearance off Liam Boyce allowing the Northern Irishman to nip in and curl the ball beyond George Long to make it 1-1 at the break.

‘Well resumed pressing towards the visitor’s goal but Long had to be alert to Gardyne’s shot through a ruck of players forcing the ‘keeper to throw himself full length to smother the ball.

As the game entered its final 30 minutes both teams were intent on finding a winner and Grant’s run and low drive from the edge of the was saved by Brown after a slight fumble.

After 66 minutes Lionel Ainsworth took Johnson’s place as Baraclough desperately attempted to unlock the County defence. Within minutes an explosive run and cross from the substitute was just too far in front of Erwin.

Pearson was then caught by Boyd as he tried to turn ten yards from goal but the referee once again waved aside appeals for a penalty.

Brown spilled another 20 yard drive from Grant but as the ball bobbled about the 6 yard box it failed to fall to a ‘Well player.

John Sutton came on with 14 minutes remaining and with four goals from a similar position in his last two home games, there was a buzz of anticipation that a winner might follow.

And two minutes later Pearson twice came close to nicking it when his low drive was heading inside the post until Brown at full stretch pushed the ball to safety. Then as the clearance fell across the box Pearson stretched to head the ball towards goal but Brown reacted well to save again.

As ‘Well pushed for a winner Long kept them in it with a fine block to prevent Rocco Quinn from stealing all three points for the visitors.

In the end although Motherwell couldn’t find a winner, a point was enough to keep their slim hopes of surviving the play-offs alive.

[tab:As it happened]

 Ally Reilly at Fir Park

 FT | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Full time whistle goes, Motherwell 1 – 1 Ross County

93′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Only two minutes to go, no sign of a winner 🙁

90′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

5 minutes added on.

88′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Rare County chance goes a begging, Rocco Quinn firing straight at Long from 18 yards.

86′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Final throw of the dice for ‘Well, Dom Thomas is on for Grant.

81′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Ross County sub, Curran off for Rocco Quinn.

79′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Curran seems to fall over at every opportunity. Fair enough, it’s enough to fool the ref.

78′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Great chance for Pearson but Brown gets down well to his low shot from just inside the box!

76′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Motherwell sub, Erwin off for Sutton.

74′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Stunning volley from Grant is beaten away by Brown after it comes through a crowd of bodies!

72′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Big penalty claim as Pearson as clattered in the box but Allan waves away the claims!!

67′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Motherwell sub, Johnson makes way for Ainsworth.

65′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Ross County make the first change of the game, De Vita off for Dingwall.

64′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Good break-away for ‘Well ends with Grant taking a pot-shot from range. Straight at Brown though.

63′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

O’Brien enters the ref’s booked, hacking down Boyce on the half-way line.

59 | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

‘Well work a short free-kick to Erwin and Pearson’s touch at the front post from his cross is deflected wide.

54′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Gardyne manages to get past Hammell but his shot from the edge of the box is tame and fails to test Long.

51′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Pearson is then booked for a rugby tackle on Irvine.

48′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Boyd is booked for hauling down Johnson as he jinked past him.

47′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

‘Well switch off at a short corner to Gardyne.Thankfully Boyd can only sweep his shot wide of the post.A let off there

HT’ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Johnson and Lasley get the second 45 underway. COYW!

HT | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Both sides are back out for the second half. Fingers crossed….

HT’ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Motherwell 1 – 1 Ross County

44′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Quinn booked for tripping Johnson as he broke away.

41′ | 1-1 | #MFCvRCFC

Goal – County equalise through Boyce who cuts in past McManus and fires past Long from 12 yards

39′ | 1-0 | #MFCvRCFC

Hammell to the rescue! Follows in Wood’s spilled shot and slides clear from Curran. Great defending!

37′ | 1-0 | #MFCvRCFC

Johnson whips a great ball in for Erwin but Reckord just gets there first! Corner….cleared for a throw-in,

36′ | 1-0 | #MFCvRCFC

Erwin and De Vita run into each other. De Vita hits the deck and Erwin is booked.

34′ | 1-0 | #MFCvRCFC

Fraser impedes Erwin down the left hand side. Free-kick taken by Johnson which Brown flaps it! Good chance in the end.

33′ | 1-0 | #MFCvRCFC

Grant swings in a great inviting corner from the right but disappointingly, there is no takers!

31′ | 1-0 | #MFCvRCFC

Gardyne cuts inside Hammell and gets a shot away but he’ll be disappointed with it. Well over the bar.

27′ | 1-0 | #MFCvRCFC

Motherwell counter but Johnson blazes well over the bar form 25 yards.

26′ | 1-0 | #MFCvRCFC

O’Brien deflects Gardyne’s cross out for a corner, which Lasley clears at the front post.

19′ | 1-0 | #MFCvRCFC

Motherwell take the lead!! McDonald on hand to poke home a low cross into the box! COYW!!!

GGOOOAALLLL!!!!

18′ | 0-0 | #MFCvRCFC

McDonald spins and hits Hammell’s throw-in first time but it is straight at Brown.

14′ | 0-0 | #MFCvRCFC

Another Motherwell corne….but again ‘Well can’t muster any sort of effort on goal.

12′ | 0-0 | #MFCvRCFC

McManus can’t make anything of Johnson’s deep corner and County clear.

12′ | 0-0 | #MFCvRCFC

Johnson stings the palms of Brown with a volley from a tight angle. Corner to ‘Well.

5′ | 0-0 | #MFCvRCFC

Erwin’s long range shot is deflected wide for a corner. It’s a deep delivery and De Vita hooks it clear.

5′ | 0-0 | #MFCvRCFC

McDonald goes down in the box but receives a booking as ref says he dived. Not overly convinced he did!

4′ | 0-0 | #MFCvRCFC

County win the first corner of the game,Lasley sweeps Wood’s delivery away at the near post.

Out come the teams…. #COYW

Kick-Off | #MFCvRCFC

Boyce and Woods get the game underway. COYW!!!

Pre-match | #MFCvRCFC

Teams just coming out the tunnel. It’s a huge one, and we’ll have all the action as it happens. #COYW

[tab:Reaction]

Motherwell manager Ian Baraclough:

“There were two teams giving absolutely nothing away and the intensity never dropped. From both sides, the commitment and desire was fantastic.

“The boys did everything we asked, made them defend, last-ditch tackles and but for the roll of the ball at times, we could have had a lot more goals.”

Ross County manager Jim McIntyre:

“Motherwell, without a shadow of a doubt, were the better side for periods of the first half, especially the first 25 minutes, but we got ourselves back in the game with a great goal from Liam and a fabulous finish. That was pleasing that we didn’t play that well but showed the character.

“I don’t think there was a great deal of quality in the second half, the wind certainly never helped either side, and obviously the tension with what’s at stake, both sides were guilty of being a bit wasteful.

“The important thing was, if we weren’t going to win the match, just make sure we don’t lose it. I was really pleased with the battling qualities of the players.”

[tab:Man-of-the-match]

[poll id=”230″]

Fans of Motherwell and Ross County are welcome to join us in the Davie Cooper Suite today both before and after the match.

Open from 12pm, we have a range of free fun events and offers in the lead up to the match such as:

• FREE juice/drinks for kids (must be accompanied by an adult buying drinks from the bar).
• FREE Face Painting in the Cooper Suite entrance.
• FREE GAME area where you can play FIFA against some first team players!
• FREE Match Attax Albums, Cards and Stickers.
• Filled Rolls available (£1.50 each).
• Cooper Suite Raffle.
• Autograph/Picture zone with selected players from 1.45pm-2.15pm.

Chairman Brian McCafferty said: “We’ve been really pleased with the response to these new initiatives in the last four home matches and would again welcome fans to join us today.

“Not only do we have activities and free drinks for kids, a selection of our first-team squad will be in attendance and we’ll have live football on the big screens.

“You can also pop in after the game and, hopefully, be toasting a fine victory.”

Marvin Johnson hopes victory against Ross County will give ‘Well the edge going into the last few games of the campaign.

The Fir Parkers face a difficult test against a team who have won an incredible nine of their last eleven matches.

‘Well sit six points adrift of the Dingwall club in the battle to avoid the bottom two ahead of the clash at Fir Park tomorrow.

And Johnson, so impressive since his move north from Kidderminster, is hoping for a victory in Saturday’s must-win match that can spur the team on in the closing fixtures.

[pullquote]You have seen from our home games, where we have managed to beat Hamilton and St Mirren, there was a real belief playing in front of our own fans[/pullquote]

He said: “Obviously any victory starts to build momentum and gets you on the front foot.

“If we can win tomorrow, it takes some of the heat off us as the chasers and onto them as the team trying to avoid being caught, particularly being just three points with three games still to go.

“You have seen from our home games, where we have managed to beat Hamilton and St Mirren, there was a real belief playing in front of our own fans. That’s been missing in the last two away games but we need to get back to that. Get back to believing in other, not being afraid to make mistakes. Do that and we can get all three points.”

Ian Baraclough has urged his players to retain belief and their team shape as they bid to rejuvenate their survival hopes against Ross County.

Motherwell have scored nine goals without reply in their last two games at Fir Park before the Dingwall side visit but have since lost 2-0 on the road to both Partick Thistle and Hamilton to leave them six points – and eight goals – adrift of 10th-placed County.

Well have little room for error if they are to avoid the play-offs and Baraclough wants his players to impose themselves on Jim McIntyre’s side.

When asked what attributes are needed to get back on track, he said: “Passion, endeavour, a team ethos, work hard as a group and be very, very confident in your own ability and your team-mates’ abilities, and you will get your rewards. If you can guarantee those bullet points you will win most games.

“We have opposition who have done very well and are not going to roll over, we have to be ready for what they throw at us and be ready to counter that with our own style of play.”

[pullquote]”If we’re going to give ourselves a chance then for me in my mind we need to win this game. There’s no getting away from that.[/pullquote]

A win would get us to within three points of Ross County, which would give us more of a chance to drag that back.”

Motherwell have three of their last four games at home so there remains a glimmer of hope for their bid to avoid a season extension but that could be extinguished if they fail to win on Saturday.

But Baraclough is looking for his players to throw off the fears and go out and take the game to County.

“A manager is the focal point for the football club, the one who sits here and speaks to the media a lot of the time, he tries to instil confidence in players to try to go out and perform to their best with no inhibitions, with no shackles on, to allow them to express themselves,” the former Scunthorpe manager said.

“From day one I want players to do that within a team framework. There is pressure at any stage of the season wherever you are in the league.

“You would all like to be at the top end but there are pressures there as well. If you are going to be a professional player you have to learn to deal with these situations, otherwise it will be a short career.”

I would like to thank all the fans who turned up in such large numbers to New Douglas Park last Friday night to support our team. When the players came out onto the pitch, the colourful display of claret and amber in the away stand provided by the fans was simply fantastic.

Your enthusiasm and vocal encouragement for the players were the most redeeming features of a game that had a very disappointing result for the club.

Following that result, there is no hiding from the stark reality now facing us. Our current position in the league tells its own undeniable story. We are second bottom of the Premiership.

From time to time, I think about games we played during the earlier part of the season. I imagine goals that should have been scored or goals conceded that should have been avoided in games that we should have won.

But I realise that there is no point. We are where we are and we all have to do something to change that.

So, if we have any chance of avoiding an unwelcome extension to our season we need to see more points on the board.

For their part, the manager and players know in no uncertain terms what they have to do. I believe that now, more than at any time of the season so far, we have to play our part by giving the team our unwavering, unconditional support no matter what.

Clearly, following the results at the weekend, our encounter with Ross County takes on greater significance than we would have wished for at this stage of the season.

But we can still avoid the drop and the play-offs. That is a distinct possibility. With Ross County and Kilmarnock dropping three points on Saturday there is everything to play for until the end of the season.

Together, I believe emphatically that we should remain optimistic, positive, mentally strong and steely focused on securing as many points as is possible between now and the end of the season, starting with the game against Ross County.

Please, don’t give up the fight.

Brian McCafferty
Chairman

Ross County visit Fir Park  on Saturday and we are putting on a fantastic lunch menu in our hospitality suites.

It’s on a Saturday and it’s a 3pm kick off so an idea opportunity to combine a lovely afternoon meal with a game.

The Suites are already filling fast so it is sure to be an great atmosphere.

All hospitality packages include your match ticket, programme, team sheet and half time tea.

A Former player will host the afternoon with your chance to meet first team players and club staff whilst enjoying your afternoon’s football .

On the menu will be:

Soup
Roasted Carrot and Lentil
Served with continental roll & butter

*********

Main course
Scottish Rib Roast & Yorkshire pudding
Roast Sirloin of beef with a rich herb jus

*********

Sweet

Mile High Chocolate gateau
Served with fresh cream

Tea coffee & mints

You have a choice of three packages:

• Centenary Claret: Arriving at 1pm prompt for meal. Full service with access to a pay bar till kick off and then again for an hour post match. All this in the comfort of our Centenary Lounge. Book now from only £60 for an adult and £45 for a child under 16.
• Centenary Amber: Arriving at 1pm prompt for meal. Full table service with complimentary bar and then again for an hour post match. All this in the comfort of our Centenary Lounge. Book now from only £99 for an adult and £55 for a child under 16.
• Millennium Ticket: Enjoy a lighter bite with a complimentary bar for one-hour pre & post. Soup pre-match and half time refreshments, team sheet, match day programme for only £70 for an adult and £35 for a child under 16.

Remember, Season Ticket holders can upgrade to hospitality for just £25.

If you would like to book a place at our fantastic Hospitality Lunch, please phone Jennifer Reston on 01698 338 008 or email jennifer.reston@motherwellfc.co.uk.

Motherwell FC is pleased to announce a three-game ticket package for the remaining home matches of the season.

‘Well face an almighty battle over the next few weeks with Ross County, Kilmarnock and Partick Thistle all to visit North Lanarkshire between now and 23rd May.

And fans can do their bit with a combined ticket that will allow you into all three games for a reduced rate.

Tickets are priced at:

ADULTS:	£45
CONCESSIONS:	£30
JUVENILE:	£20
FAMILY:	£55

• Fans must purchase the ticket either from the Fir Park Ticket Office or online by CLICKING HERE.
• The ticket is non-transferable and refunds will not be given for any unused tickets.
• Concessions are listed as Over 60s and Full Time Students with a valid matriculation card.
• Juveniles are Under 16s.

Club Chairman Brian McCafferty said: “The next four games are going to be huge for this football club and we need everyone to play their part.

“The team need to give everything they can and to help them, we need supporters to come along and make Fir Park as noisy and supportive as possible.

“We’ve put this initiative together to try and help bolster the support – effectively making it £15 per game, or about £9 per head if you’re an adult bringing a youngster via our family ticket.”

Extended highlights from Fir Park as Motherwell beat Partick Thistle 2-0 in the Development League.

Under 20s boss Jonatan Johansson was satisfied with his side’s second half performance in today’s 2-0 win over Partick Thistle

After a dull opening forty-five men, JJ’s men sprung into life, with goals from Conor Grant and Steven Higgins enough to secure all three points for ‘Well.

Speaking post-match to MFCTV the Finn said, “I thought it was a good competitive game.

“I enjoyed it and although the first half was scrappy, I was pleased with the second half.

“In the first half we wanted to play the ball from the back, as we didn’t do that well enough last week but it became  a little bit too laboured. We didn’t go forward enough – it’s alright playing from the back but there has to be an end product too.

“In the second half we were sharper and looked forward more. We put Conor in the hole behind the striker and I thought he did really well. He’s got a fantastic left foot and did well for his goal.

“It’s great to get a team on the back foot straight away after scoring and we did that. I said to Higgy after the game that it’s not often you see him in the box getting tap-in’s, but today he did that, got his reward and killed the game.”