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  • Archive

    Manager: We won’t change our style

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    Don’t miss our Black Friday deals

  • Archive

    McHugh: We’re not going for a day out

  • Archive

    Humbling the Hoops: Part one

  • Archive

    Betfred Cup final ticket latest

  • Archive

    Cadden ready to live out ‘wildest dreams’

  • Archive

    Thomson in charge of cup final

  • Archive

    Win a car at Betfred Cup final

  • Archive

    Hartley: We won’t change for Celtic

  • Archive

    Ross County U20s 4-3 Motherwell U20s

  • Archive

    Manager: We won’t change our style

    Motherwell have had success this season sticking to their own style of play, and manager Stephen Robinson says they won’t change it as the team bid to end their 26-year trophy wait against Celtic.

    The Steelmen have won 14 of their 20 competitive matches this season, topping Aberdeen and Rangers on the way to Sunday’s Betfred Cup final.

    Opponents Celtic are on a 64-game unbeaten run in domestic fixtures but the Fir Park boss says there’s no point trying to change the team’s philosophy to match their opponents.

    “If we try to play Celtic at their own game and try to outpass them and outplay them then we’ll get beaten,” he said. “Simple as that.

    [pullquote]We have to find a way that suits our personnel and our players and our budget. That’s what we’ve done and we’ve been pretty successful so far at it.[/pullquote]

    “We’re not going to change that on Sunday. We believe every team have weaknesses so how we play, our strengths and how we set up can cause them problems.

    “We’ve been relatively successful with what we’ve done. We’ve tinkered and twigged at systems and shapes, and different personnel.

    “We’re going to play our way and try to impose our way of playing on them.

    “Celtic have proved over numerous games now that when they impose their game they win football matches so we have try to disrupt that and interrupt their pattern of play.”

  • Archive

    Don’t miss our Black Friday deals

    It’s Black Friday and we’ve cut the cost of some of our most popular items in our shop.

    We’ve extended our deals until Monday and you can choose from:

    • Cooper Bricks down from £55 to £27.50
    • Tunnel Tiles down from £25 to £12.50
    • Our Christmas Party Nights down from £35 per person to £30
    • Hospitality at our next game with Ross County available for £40 for season ticket holders and £5 for kids.

    Head to motherwellbuyonline.co.uk to buy or call us on 01698 333333

  • Archive

    McHugh: We’re not going for a day out

    Motherwell have already seen off Ross County, Aberdeen and Rangers, amongst others, along the way to reach the Betfred Cup final.

    And having won all seven of their fixtures in the competition to date, ‘Well captain Carl McHugh says the team won’t be heading back to Hampden Park just to enjoy the occasion against Celtic on Sunday.

    “We’re not going there for a day out or to make up the numbers, we’ve worked really hard to get to this stage,” said McHugh.

    “We’ve played a lot of games in the cup going back to the group stage games in July. We’ve come through tough quarter-finals, semi-finals and even up at Ross County in the round before that.

    “We don’t want to go there to have a day out, we want to win the cup.”

    [pullquote]There’s been a complete change in the mindset this year to last season. The gaffer has to take the credit for that with the players he’s brought in and the mindset in general.[/pullquote]

    “Last year we would have been delighted to go to Aberdeen and get a point but this year we went on Saturday and fully expected to win the game.

    “That’s a shift in the mindset and I think you’ve seen that in the results and performances.”

  • Archive

    Humbling the Hoops: Part one

    It may have taken fifteen attempts and eight seasons for Motherwell to register their first ever victory over Celtic. But since that fateful day on 4th February 1911, when a double from Brand helped secure a 2-1 win for the Fir Parkers, Motherwell sides of old have produced more than enough results to inspire the current incumbents of that claret and amber jersey when they take on Celtic at Hampden Park on Sunday.

    Between 1904/05 and 1947/48 only three teams were Scottish Champions. Celtic, Rangers and of course Motherwell who won the title in season 1931/32. Around the mid-1920’s something of a golden era in the club’s history began which saw the Steelmen become perennial title challengers and regularly make it towards the latter stages of the Scottish Cup. To do so the Motherwell sides of the day required to hold their own against Celtic and this they began to do with increasing regularity.

    Of course there were some defeats along the way, and one or two heavy losses at that, but none before or since has replicated the severity of the thrashing that Motherwell inflicted upon the Hoops on 30th April 1937 when Celtic were humiliated 8-0 at the hands of the Steelmen.

    It was a particularly momentous afternoon for Alexander Stewart, Motherwell’s centre-forward, who netted no fewer than six times against the beleaguered Glasgow side.

    Ogilvie put Motherwell ahead in the 9th minute and turned provider four minutes later when Stevenston put ‘Well two goals to the good. Stewart netted his first of the afternoon on 21 minutes with Ogilvie once more the architect.

    Just six minutes later the Steelmen went 4-0 ahead when Stewart netted his second of the game. Already effectively playing with a man down through an injury to Morrison, Celtic’s woes were compounded when Kennaway, who had thus far performed heroics between the posts in keeping the scoreline to four, had to retire injured.

    It was almost midway through the second half before ‘Well struck again with Stewart getting his hat-trick in the 64th minute. Now smelling blood the striker struck again just two minutes later to make it 6-0 to the Fir Parkers.

    In the 78th minute Stewart made it 7-0 before completing the scoring and grabbing his second hat-trick of the day with seven minutes remaining.

    It is a result that remains Celtic’s record defeat to this very day!

    Whilst not quite matching that incredible eight goal tally another high scoring Motherwell victory at Celtic Park in 1950 proved arguably even more significant.

    Having topped a League Cup section that included Hearts, Airdrie and Partick Thistle the Steelmen were paired with Celtic in a two-legged Quarter Final tie; with the first of the two matches taking place at Parkhead on 16th September 1950.

    The home side took an early lead through McPhail in the 2nd minute but their lead lasted just six minutes before ‘Well levelled through Watson.

    A 38th minute own goal from Haughney gave Motherwell the lead at half-time and following the interval the Fir Parkers pressed home their advantage scoring in the 50th and 60th minutes through Forrest and Hunter all but securing their place in the Semi Finals and leaving the bulk of the 50,000 crowd stunned.

    When the sides reconvened in Lanarkshire four days later the visitors made several changes as they attempted to find a way back into the tie. It was McPhail again opened the scoring but this time there would be no further goals beyond his 24th minute opener and a crowd of 29,000 would witness Motherwell go through 4-2 on aggregate.

    Little more than four weeks on and Andy Paton would be holding the League Cup trophy aloft at Hampden Park with the Steelmen having seen off Hibernian 3-0 in the Final front of 64,000 spectators.

  • Archive

    Betfred Cup final ticket latest

    Limited tickets are still available for Motherwell’s Betfred Cup final with Celtic on Sunday, November 26.

    Fans are encouraged to buy as soon as possible. Tickets can be purchased in person at the ticket office between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. We have extended our normal Friday opening time until 5pm this week. The ticket office will also be open 10am-1pm on Saturday.

    You can also buy over the phone by calling 01698 333333. Please note telephone bookings will not be taken on Saturday.

    Tickets must be collected in person by the close of business on Saturday.

    West Stand tickets are available at £30 for adults and £15 for concessions. South Stand tickets are available for £35. No concessions are available for this stand at the decision of the SPFL.

    Pre-match entertainment

    We’re pleased to advise we now have our licence granted to trade from the kiosks on the lower level of the Cooper Stand on the day of the final.

    The kiosks will open for the sale of alcohol, as will the Cooper Bar, at 11am. Food will available to purchase from both.

    Face painters will also be in the Cooper Bar and lower levels. Access can be gained by showing your Cooper bus ticket.

    Buses will leave from the Cooper end of the stadium at approximately 1pm. Kick off at Hampden is at 3pm.

    All fans attending the Betfred Cup Final should note that enhanced search arrangements will be in place at this fixture.

    This additional safety measure has the potential to delay entry into the ground, so fans are strongly encouraged to get to the stadium as early as possible. Turnstiles will be open at 1.30pm.

  • Archive

    Cadden ready to live out ‘wildest dreams’

    As a local boy, Chris Cadden knows what it would mean to Motherwell to end their 26-year wait for silverware.

    The Steelmen face Celtic in the Betfred Cup on Sunday looking to emulate the 1991 Scottish Cup winning team, a feat which happened five years before the youth academy product was even born.

    Cadden was in the stands as a fan the last time the club reached a major final in 2011 and says he can’t believe he’ll now be taking to the pitch.

    “When I was growing up through the youth ranks, my dream was to play one game for Motherwell. But to go out and maybe get a cup with them is beyond my wildest dreams.

    “The fans have been brilliant with me everywhere I go. They’ve been talking away to me and you can tell they’re all really up for it.

    [pullquote]”There’s a good feeling about the club and the town. There’s a real buzz, a real atmosphere, that’s what a football club can bring so hopefully we can keep it going.[/pullquote]

    “I’ll know [what they’re going through], they kick every ball. At the semi final they were unbelievable, they were the 7,000 happiest people I’ve ever seen in my life.

    “I’ll let them know anyway if they don’t but they all do, they all know what it means. They all live about the area as well because most of them are from down south so they know the feeling.”

  • Archive

    Thomson in charge of cup final

    Referee for Sunday’s Betfred Cup final clash against Celtic at Hampden Park is Craig Thomson.

    The 45-year old takes charge of his third Motherwell fixture of the season, as the Steelmen look to end a 26-year wait for silverware.

    The official was in the middle for the trip to Hamilton earlier this campaign, when a spirited fightback saw the Steelmen come from a goal down to win 2-1, and prior to that he oversaw the forgettable clash with St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

    Thomson took charge on four occasions last term, which included both the first and last games of the season, starting with a win against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park and ending with a 3-2 loss away to Inverness.

    In between those clashes, the official oversaw a 1-1 draw away to Partick Thistle in September and the crushing Scottish Cup defeat against Rangers at Ibrox.

    One of the top Scottish referees in the game, Thomson has been in charge of fixtures at all levels, including the UEFA Champions League and World Cup Qualifiers.

    Of the three matches he refereed in Europe’s premier club competition last season, one match included 2015/16 finalists Atlético Madrid.

    His record in charge of the Steelmen is a bit of a mixed bag with 17 wins from 51 matches. There have been 24 defeats and ten draws too.

    Not included in that list was the 2007/08 Scottish Cup fourth round replay win against Hearts at Fir Park, when he replaced the injured Stuart Dougal midway through the second half.

    In those games, Motherwell have scored 72 and conceded 78.

    A total of 173 players have gone into the book, 89 were wearing claret and amber. Up until the Saints clash, seven players had been shown a red card, including former captains Stephen Craigan and Keith Lasley. That total surged to ten following the dismissals of Trevor Carson, Carl McHugh and Charles Dunne back in August in Perthshire.

    Craig will be ably assisted by David McGeachie and Sean Carr. Andrew Dallas is fourth official.

  • Archive

    Win a car at Betfred Cup final

    The SPFL Trust will give away a brand new car to one lucky supporter at Sunday’s Betfred Cup final.

    The official charity of the league this week launched Superdraw and have offered up the prize of a Hyundai i10.

    Tickets will be sold around Hampden Park before kick off, priced at £2. One winning ticket will be drawn during the half-time break.

    Every penny of profit from the SPFL Trust Superdraw will be used to support community activity across SPFL clubs. 

    The SPFL was recently ranked the fourth most community engaged league in the world, in the widely respected annual RESPONSIBALL ranking in a field of the world’s 25 biggest clubs. This marks a three-place rise, year on year.

    Analysis on behalf of the SPFL concluded that clubs engage with about 772,000 people every year and earlier this year, the SPFL Trust launched its mission to engage with one million people annually by 2022.

    Clubs engage with people through a range of meaningful programmes which support identifiable need in the communities in which clubs are based.

    They engage in a range of community programmes which show how sport can be used for good. These focus on improved physical and mental health, raising education standards, developing citizenship, and providing specific help to families in need.

    Twenty-three clubs now have registered charities, up from three a decade ago, with every SPFL club committed to engaging communities.

    The SPFL Trust is committed to making Scotland’s league the most community engaged in the world.

    For full information visit spfltrust.org.uk/superdraw

    The SPFL Trust’s Gambling Commission Operating Licence is 000-049950-M-327178_001.

    The SPFL Trust is committed to gambling responsibility and its social responsibility policy commits to donate sums on an annual basis to GambleAware which raises funds to support research, education and treatment of problem gambling. Visit gamblingcommission.gov.uk or gamcare.org.uk for more information.

  • Archive

    Hartley: We won’t change for Celtic

    Peter Hartley says Motherwell will stick to their all-action style of play when they take on Celtic in this weekend’s Betfred Cup final.

    The Steelmen have made it to Hampden by toppling Aberdeen and Rangers along the way, and have done so with a philosophy of playing physical but fair football against their opponents.

    With the team also fifth in the Scottish Premiership table, Hartley is targeting an upset on Sunday by sticking to the style of play that has got the team this far.

    “It’s a contact sport, isn’t it?” he said “Go and play basketball if you want a non-contact sport.

    “We’re a physical team. If we try to play Celtic at their game, they’re going to beat us. We’ve got to play our game and being physical, getting on to second balls, being organised and drilled is what we’re about.

    “We’re not going to change the way we are.

    “I fully believe we can get a result. I think we’ve got a great group of lads and we’ve shown that we’re no pushover.

    “It’s not a fluke or luck that we’ve beaten Aberdeen because we’ve scored five goals against them in three games.

    [pullquote]I fully believe we can get a result. We have shown we are no pushover. It’s not a fluke that we beat Aberdeen 3-0 because we have scored five goals against Aberdeen now in three games.[/pullquote]

    “I know Celtic’s a completely different team to Aberdeen but we’re going out there with full belief.”

    Hartley scored against a star-studded Chelsea side last season, but says it will all pale into insignificance if Motherwell can beat Celtic and lift the Betfred Cup.

    The centre back headed past Asmir Begovic at Stamford Bridge as Bristol Rovers narrowly came close to beating a side with £150m worth of talent on the pitch.

    “I played in the League Cup against Chelsea last season with Bristol Rovers,” he said. “They put practically a first team out against us. It was a tough game at Stamford Bridge with 45,000 there.

    “I managed to score but this is going to be completely different. This is a cup final and there’s a trophy to lift at the end of it.”

    The 29-year-old was also on target in the quarter-final win against Aberdeen at Fir Park and has been an ever-present in Stephen Robinson’s defence since making the switch north.

    The playing squad turned down the chance to wear suits to Hampden Park for the big occasion, with Hartley saying that’s down to their attitude towards trying to win the match.

    “That’s not for us, the suits and stuff,” he added. “That doesn’t win you a game. We are not a suits type of team.

    “We don’t want to be sweating on the coach driving to Hampden and YouTubeing how to do a Windsor Knot and stuff like that. We will wear a tracksuit, turn up and do what we’re there to do, which is play football, and hopefully we will come out with a result.

    “I fully believe we can get a result. We have shown we are no pushover. It’s not a fluke that we beat Aberdeen 3-0 because we have scored five goals against Aberdeen now in three games.

    “I know Celtic are a completely different team to Aberdeen but we are going out there with full belief. We’ll get a game plan and I’d like to think we will execute it.”

  • Archive

    Ross County U20s 4-3 Motherwell U20s

    ‘Well Under 20s suffered just their second loss of the season as Ross County edged a seven-goal thriller in the Highlands on Tuesday.

    And it was a spirited performance from the Fir Park youngsters, who battled their way back in to the game after falling two goals behind to an experienced, strong Staggies side – including Billy Mckay and Thomas Mikkelsen.

    But ultimately, it was the hosts who edged the encounter and picked up three points in the Development League.

    A bright start from Stephen Craigan’s side was knocked by County’s opener, which came somewhat against the run of play.

    Thomas Mikkelsen’s downward header on 25 minutes opened the scoring, and things got worse for the ‘Well when the Danish forward bagged his second from 15-yards after half an hour.

    With the youngsters still pressing as the first period wore on, the half time whistle was the spark in which Craigan’s youngsters sparked in to life.

    Davie Turnbull lashed a 20-yard strike past the diving Ross Munro on the hour mark, and it was very much a case of game on.

    No less than four minutes later and Motherwell were on target again to level the match at 2-2, with Luke Watt drilling home at the back post after stepping neatly beyond his marker.

    County went ahead just three minutes later though through senior player Billy Mckay, who lifted a cute finish over Rohan Ferguson, making his first appearance in Claret and Amber.

    And in a thrilling second half, the Steelmen were level again when Jack McMillan nipped in at the back post and finished low past Munro to make it 3-3.

    With 15 minutes left to play, Ross MacIver conjured up the winning goal, crashing a deflected effort beyond the ‘Well youngster to make it 4-3.