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    Robinson: Focused on the here and now

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    Rose: We kick on from here

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    TV: Highlights from Forthbank Stadium

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    Craigan: Wasteful in final third

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    Motherwell U20s 1 – 2 Hibs U20s

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    Thank you from the chairman

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    TV: Highlights from Hampden

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    Betfred Cup final in pictures

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    Robinson: I’m really proud of my team

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    Motherwell 0 – 2 Celtic

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    Robinson: Focused on the here and now

    ‘Well boss Stephen Robinson believes focus is key for his players as they head in to their second meeting with Celtic in the space of four days.

    The Northern Irishman admitted that he felt it wasn’t necessary to appeal Cédric Kipré’s red card, and that he’d much rather have the defender in training this week than involved in any hearings.

    The manager also revealed a hunger and determination in the dressing room and around the club to go head-to-head with Celtic straight away.

    Robinson said: “We’ve appealed numerous decisions and we’ve wasted a lot of time and money because it costs us money every time we appeal.

    [pullquote]I think we need to concern ourselves about the here and now, and the here and now is Wednesday night and Saturday.[/pullquote]

    “Another reason is we want Cédric Kipré totally focused on Wednesday night and Saturday, and the reality is the ban wouldn’t be until next season and by then he could be in the Premier League.

    “I think we need to concern ourselves about the here and now, and the here and now is Wednesday night and Saturday.”

    Robinson added: “Obviously there was disappointment around the club after the game which was only natural, but we’re over that now and you get another opportunity in football.

    “What an opportunity on Wednesday night because we were in the game for 55 minutes, make no mistake, so we’ll make sure we’re prepared and ready to go again.”

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    Rose: We kick on from here

    Andy Rose has stood beside teammate Cédric Kipré following his cup final red card, saying the defender is destined for a bright future in the game.

    The Australian midfielder revealed the togetherness in the dressing room at full time on Sunday, as the ‘Well squad made sure to comfort and motivate 20-year-old Kipré.

    Rose, who is hungry for a second bite at Brendan Rodgers unbeaten Celtic side, insisted the loss on Sunday only fuels more determination around Fir Park.

    “I don’t know if it’s revenge, maybe just added determination,” the 27-year-old said. “We had a great meeting yesterday and came to the conclusion that we can use it to fuel us for the rest of the season.

    “We can feel good about what we’ve done but at the end of the day you want to win trophies and we had a fantastic opportunity to get one and we just missed out. So we kick on from here, take a lot of belief out of it and look forward to the rest of the season.”

    On teammate Kipré, Rose added: “Cedric, first and foremost, is a really great guy. He was devastated and I felt really sorry for him, mainly because he’s had such a brilliant season and it’s his first season really in mens football.

    “Playing week in, week out at the back he’s been a rock for us and there’s some big, big matches in his future that’s for sure. He’s a great guy, he’s a great player, he’s learning every day and comes in with a great attitude.

    “He’s very popular in the dressing room so of course the boys were very quick to make sure he knew what we thought of what happened and that we’re with him, and I look forward to his performance tomorrow.” 

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    TV: Highlights from Forthbank Stadium

    Despite take the lead, the Under 20s lost 1-2 to Hibernian this afternoon at Forthbank Stadium.

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    Craigan: Wasteful in final third

    Under-20s boss Stephen Craigan admits his side have been wasteful of late in the final third.

    The Northern Irishman has been largely impressed by a number of aspects of the youngsters play, but after the 2-1 defeat against Hibs he insisted things need to improve in front of goal.

    Speaking to MFC TV at full time, Craigan reflected on a frustrating but dominant 90-minutes for his side.

    [pullquote]It’s probably summed up where we’ve been in the last three or four games where we’ve been pleased with our general play.[/pullquote]

    He said: “It’s probably summed up where we’ve been in the last three or four games where we’ve been pleased with our general play.

    “Probably at times the final thing we do with the ball – we had some good crosses in, we had some missed placed passes in the final third, the final shot.”

    He added: “So I think the bottom two-thirds are fine but it’s just that final thing that we do with the ball is letting us down.”

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    Motherwell U20s 1 – 2 Hibs U20s

    Motherwell under-20s conceded late goals in either half as they lost 2-1 against Hibs this afternoon.

    Stephen Craigan’s youngsters surrendered a one goal lead at Forthbank Stadium on an afternoon in which they dominated large spells of the game.

    And in truth, the ‘Well were unlucky not to get anything from the Development League clash.

    An early penalty claim went unrewarded when Jake Hastie was bundled to the deck in the opening ten minutes. The youngster was set to nod Adam Livingstone’s pin-point cross on goal before he was blatantly pushed in the back. 

    Less than a minute later though, and it was a penalty for the Fir Park side thanks to the terrific anticipation and pace from Alfie Agyeman to latch on to a ball from Luke Watt. The young forward knocked the ball beyond Hibs stopper Maciej Dabrowski but was wiped to the ground – allowing Ross MacLean the chance to dispatch the spot kick confidently.

    Despite a dominant opening 45, somehow Craigan’s side went in to the break level when the visitors capitalised on a lapse at the back. Jordan Armstrong lost the ball when put under pressure and a low delivery across goal was tapped beyond PJ Morrison by Olly Shaw to equalise for the Edinburgh side. 

    The second half panned out in a similar nature to the first, with the hosts controlling the match but failing to make their dominance count. 

    Another penalty claim in the 51st minute could have reasserted the Fir Parkers lead, but yet again, Hastie was denied and play was waved on.

    Agyeman struck a venomous effort narrowly over the bar as Craigan’s side pushed to try and edge the encounter.

    However, with just five minutes left, Hibs snatched the win with a fortuitous counter attack.

    The ball broke kindly for the visitors but some neat play afforded Shaw space in the box, and he curled an impressive finish beyond Morrison to strike a second consecutive defeat for the under-20s. 

     

     

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    Thank you from the chairman

    Chairman Jim McMahon has today released the following statement:

    Almost 12,000 of you made the trip to Hampden Park on Sunday and, although you were sent home ultimately disappointed, I want to thank you for your incredible support.

    I want to express my pride for how the players, manager and staff performed, and I extend that to the supporters as well. Together, we never gave up. We supported each other throughout, even long after the full-time whistle.

    Like everyone else watching, I was completely engaged in what was a fascinating, end-to-end first half.

    The second half started with a bang and was building towards a contest that would’ve been a perfect advert for Scottish football. A match that all parties – fans, broadcasters, sponsors and commentators – could relish.

    To have the game as a sporting spectacle killed off by one incident changed what most were talking about after the match, leaving them feeling ‘What?’. That’s a great shame.

    But we now have to move on. We hold our heads high and behave with dignity. As Stephen Robinson said so eloquently after the game, our season doesn’t end here.

    I am sure that you will give all our players, Cédric in particular, a special welcome on Wednesday night and roar them on to what will hopefully be an important three points.

  • Archive

    TV: Highlights from Hampden

    Highlights from Hampden Park as Motherwell put on a brave show but fall short in the Betfred Cup final against Celtic.

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    Betfred Cup final in pictures

    Images from Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Celtic in the Betfred Cup final.

    Snaps courtesy of SNSPix

    [svgallery name=”celtic261117″]

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    Robinson: I’m really proud of my team

    ‘Well boss Stephen Robinson expressed his pride for his players as they fell just short of lifting the Betfred Cup.

    The Steelmen dispatched the likes of Aberdeen and Rangers en route to the final, but lost 2-0 at the final hurdle.

    And after the match in Glasgow, Robinson reflected on the 90 minutes in a post-match interview with MFC TV.

    [pullquote]I’m really, really proud of the players and of everybody at the football club. We’ve worked tremendously hard to get here, but what I will say is it isn’t the end of our season.[/pullquote]

    “We were very much in the game, we went toe to toe with them in the first half and they made a lot of mistakes and that was because we were pressing them and we were right up against them.

    “We went 1-0 down and we could’ve controlled that. We gave possession away, we needed to get tighter for the goal, so that’s something that I can control and we can get better at, but the game was changed by a decision.”

  • Archive

    Motherwell 0 – 2 Celtic

    [tab:Match report]

    Phil McGhee at Hampden Park

    Stephen Robinson and his Motherwell side were denied a fairytale ending to their terrific cup run when favourites Celtic produced two goals early in the second half to claim the Betfred Cup.

    The scoreline only tells part of the story as the Fir Park men more than matched the much fancied Parkhead side, only to get caught cold at the start of the second half when James Forrest squeezed his side in front.

    However, Moussa Dembele’s second before the hour mark, from a highly controversial penalty award which also saw Cedric Kipre red carded, killed the tie.

    Confident that they could upset the odds, the ‘Well boss stood by the same starting team that won at Aberdeen, and in the same formation, with Chris Cadden playing in front of a midfield three and supporting Louis Moult and Ryan Bowman.

    That shaped the first half with the Steelmen tactically astute and determined to nullify Celtic’s threat. That left the Parkhead men with plenty of possession in the middle of the park but Trevor Carson was seldom troubled in the first 45 minutes.

    Indeed it was 30 minutes before the ‘Well ‘keeper was forced into his first save – routinely gathering a weak Moussa Dembele header.

    Until then there was nothing of real note, except both sets of fans poignantly sharing a minute’s applause for Phil O’Donnell in the 10th minute.

    At the other end, Craig Gordon was equally quiet, despite Richard Tait swinging a series of tempting crosses into the visitors’ box. The ‘Well full back also found himself with half a chance when Charles Dunne’s cross found its way to him but his angled drive flashed over the bar.

    Ten minutes from half time, the Celtic ‘keeper made his first save, stretching to take Moult’s dipping free kick from under his crossbar.

    While Motherwell took the half time plaudits for their disciplined first 45, it took Celtic only three minutes to break the deadlock in the second. Forrest was allowed to cut in from the corner of the box and from 15 yards he delicately curled the ball beyond the diving Carson inside the ‘keeper’s right hand post.

    If that was a blow to the Steelmen their response was immediate. Craig Tanner came off the bench to immediately send Andy Rose to the byline. And when his cross found the onrushing Moult, his powerful header seemed destined for an equaliser until Gordon, with a stunning reaction, beat the ball away with his forearm.

    In the next attack, ‘Well had appeals for a penalty turned down after Kieran Tierney barged into Moult as the striker raced to get on the end of a Tanner pass across goal.

    However, minutes later referee Craig Thomson did award a penalty. But it was in Celtic’s favour, much to Motherwell’s amazement and anger. AlthoughKipre was in close to Scott Sinclair as he burst into the box, it was insufficient to bring the Celtic striker tumbling to the ground.

    After pointing to the penalty spot, the referee further infuriated the ‘Well players by showing Kipre a red card. As the Fir Park defender headed up the Hampden tunnel, Dembele confidently fired the spot kick beyond Carson to put Celtic in the driving seat.

    With the extra man, Celtic created a number of chances in the latter stages but Carson was determined to restrict them to a two goal advantage. In particular the ‘keeper produced some stunning saves to block Stuart Armstrong, a Leigh Griffiths free kick and especially to deny Sinclair from four yards.

    Motherwell, though, never gave up the chase and 12 minutes from time Tait’s free kick found Moult, but his downward header was smothered by Gordon.

    In injury time the competition’s top scorers were denied the consolation goal their efforts deserved, when Moult curled a free kick beyond the defensive wall and the ‘keeper, only to see it rebound from the post.

    The ‘Well fans remained buoyant and in good voice until the final whistle to acknowledge the team’s memorable cup run which started and concluded at Hampden.

    [tab:As it happened]

     Alastair Reilly at Hampden Park

    FT : Motherwell 0 – 2 Celtic
    Ten man Motherwell lose to a second half Forrest goal and Dembele penalty.

     

    There will be two minutes added on.

    88′ | 0-2
    Celtic sub, Rogic on for McGregor

    88′ | 0-2
    Roberts comes in off the left and his cross/shot is knocked over the bar by Griffiths.

    80′ | 0-2
    Griffiths is through 1v1 but makes a mess of the finish, striking the post with only Carson to beat.

    78′ | 0-2
    Chance! Tanner’s free-kick is headed towards goal by Moult but Gordon makes the stop.

    78′ | 0-2
    Celtic sub, Roberts on for Forrest

    70′ | 0-2
    Motherwell sub, Frear on for Rose.

    64′ | 0-2
    Motherwell sub, Campbell on for Bowman

    59′ | 0-2
    Goal – Dembele fires the penalty straight down the middle.

    58′ | 0-1
    Penalty to Celtic and a red card for Kipré who was judged to have pulled Sinclair’s shirt.

    55′ | 0-1
    Celtic have a corner and Dembele heads wide of the post.

    53′ | 0-1
    Chance!! Rose fires a great ball across goal and somehow Gordon manages to get a hand to Bowman’s powerful header.

    50′ | 0-1
    Motherwell sub, Tanner on for Grimshaw

    49′ | 0-1
    Goal – Celtic take the lead after Forrest came in off the left and slotted past Carson

    Goalless first 45 with a couple of half chances for each side. Let’s see what the second half brings.

    HT: Motherwell 0 – 0 Celtic

    43′ | 0-0
    Armstrong with a poor effort, curling well over the bar from 25 yards.

    41′ | 0-0
    Brilliant ball in by Tait which again is headed away just before Moult. It falls as far as Cadden but he can only poke a shot wide of the post.

    35′ | 0-0
    Bowman goes down after a forearm from Simunovic. Free-kick about 30 yards out in a central area….. great effort by Moult! Gets it over the wall but Gordon gets across to make the save.

    31′ | 0-0
    Ball into the back post area which Dembele heads tamely at Carson.

    29′ | 0-0
    Cadden with a great ball into the box but Simunovic gets his head to it just before Moult.

    25′ | 0-0
    Chance!! Dunne hooks in a cross to the edge of the box which Tait drills just over the bar.

    18′ | 0-0
    Great last-ditch challenge there by McHugh to clear from Forrest. Leads to a corner but it’s defended by the Steelmen

    16′ | 0-0
    From that free-kick, Hartley sends a header looping wide of the post.

    15′ | 0-0
    Dembele booked for a wild tackle on McHugh.

    11′ | 0-0
    Half a chance as Tait puts in a good deep ball but it just didn’t quite fall for Cadden on the edge of the box and Celtic clear.

    7′ | 0-0
    Tait blocks Sinclair’s cross which leads to the first corner of the game…..headed away to safety by Hartley

    5′ | 0-0
    A sniff of goal there for Dembele but thankfully the linesman’s flag goes up straight away.

    McHugh gets the game underway. COYW!!!