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Gaël Bigirimana, Ryan Bowman and debutant Barry Maguire speak after the stalemate at St Johnstone.

Stephen Robinson felt there was nothing to separate Motherwell and St Johnstone during their 0-0 draw.

And ahead of a big semi final against Aberdeen, the Northern Irishman was pleased to see his players come through the match unscathed.

“There was nothing between the sides as the league table suggests,” Robinson said.

“It was a tough game and a tough afternoon. The playing surface meant it was hard for either side to play any sort of quality football.”

He added: “We had a couple of chances near the end and they had a chance which Trevor produced a fine save for. Overall I think a draw was a fair result.

“I earmarked Barry Maguire as a player that I thought could come in to the first team, it was just about picking the time to do so with our young players.

“But he came out here and we’ve gained a player today.”

Grant Russell at McDiarmid Park

Motherwell held on to seventh spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership after playing out a tame 0-0 draw with St Johnstone.

The visitors made three changes from the team which lost to Aberdeen at home in midweek.

Allan Campbell dropped out through injury, while Chris Cadden and Stephen Hendrie took up places on the bench. In came Gael Bigirimana and Liam Grimshaw, along with a debut for young defender Barry Maguire.

The first half failed to catch fire. Both teams were reduced to half chances, with Curtis Main firing wide at one end and then Murray Davidson sending Trevor Carson scrambling at the other, before his shot also went past the post.

The Motherwell ‘keeper had to be alert though immediately in the second half. A cross from the left found Scott Tanser in acres of space to sweep a shot towards goal, but the Northern Irishman reacted superbly to claw the ball away from goal.

The visitors immediately tried to respond. Curtis Main found himself with room to drive at the St Johnstone defence down the left channel, before cutting onto his right boot as he burst into the box. His curling attempt, however, was wide of the far post.

Motherwell introduced Cadden and George Newell for Elliott Frear and Main to try and force the issue as the game started to open up.

Maguire was impressive on his debut, looking composed on the left of the back three, and also set up an opportunity for his fellow defender Tom Aldred as the game wore on.

His in-swinging cross from the left was met by the head of Aldred but, with the centre back under pressure, he nodded wide of the target.

Manager Stephen Robinson’s final change was to remove Maguire to allow Andy Rose to make his return from a fractured kneecap.

Motherwell started to carve out half chances. Bigirimana’s free kick from the edge of the area caused Alan Mannus brief trouble before he turned the ball round for a corner, and substitute Newell was pushing to get himself into creative positions.

As the clock fast approached the 90th minute, Motherwell had their best chance. Bigirimana tied up Foster in knots on the left side before delivering deep to the back post.

Grimshaw was on hand to fire in a half volley but the ball was turned away by a desperate home defence.

Motherwell head to St Johnstone on Saturday looking to take a step towards securing their status in seventh spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

There’s also the matter of places being up for grabs for the forthcoming William Hill Scottish Cup semi final with Aberdeen a week later.

Opponents St Johnstone sit level on points with the Steelmen, albeit with an inferior goal difference, making it a huge game for both sides.

Assistant boss Keith Lasley says there’s no chance of the team letting up in the final weeks of the season, despite missing out on a top six berth.

“We know there’s a big game around the corner but this one is important to us,” he said.

[pullquote]We want to finish well in the league. Saturday will give us another opportunity to do that.[/pullquote]

“We want to finish as high as we can. We put demands on the players every single day they come in here and it will be same on every match day from now until the end of the season.

“We try and win every game we go into and that will be no different on Saturday.”

George Newell is hopeful the run-in to the end of the 2017/18 season can present him with the chance to stake a claim for a permanent striking berth next campaign.

The forward has been in and out of the first team picture in his debut year with Motherwell, having struggled with injuries since his arrival in the summer.

Newell has been on the bench in recent weeks and will be hoping for minutes away to St Johnstone at the weekend in a game where players will be looking to force their way into Stephen Robinson’s plans for the forthcoming William Hill Scottish Cup semi final.

“It’s been a frustrating season,” he said. “With the strikers doing so well, I’ve had to be patient. And that’s fair enough, they are doing well and scoring goals.

[pullquote]The injuries came at a bad time. I managed to get back in the team quite quick but then another injury came.[/pullquote]

“If I can stay injury free, I feel I can force my way into the team. I’ve just got to get my confidence going. When I get my first goal, I feel I can grow from there.”

	St Johnstone v Motherwell
	Saturday, 7 April 2018
	3pm
	McDiarmid Park
	Pay at the gate

Admission prices are as follows:

A special family deal is also in operation at turnstile five only. An adult can take up to two children, aged 12 and under, for £16.

If you can’t make it along, you can follow the match on Twitter @MotherwellFC. Live audio commentary will be available on mixlr.com/motherwellfc

You can see the match highlights on MFC TV’s YouTube channel, as well as full reaction and a match report right here on the official website.

George Newell is hopeful the run-in to the end of the 2017/18 season can present him with the chance to stake a claim for a permanent striking berth next campaign.

The forward has been in and out of the first team picture in his debut year with Motherwell, having struggled with injuries since his arrival in the summer.

“It’s been a frustrating season,” he said. “With the strikers doing so well, I’ve had to be patient. And that’s fair enough, they are doing well and scoring goals.

“The injuries came at a bad time. I managed to get back in the team quite quick but then another injury came.”

“If I can stay injury free, I feel I can force my way into the team. I’ve just got to get my confidence going. When I get my first goal, I feel I can grow from there.”

Newell has been on the bench in recent weeks and will be hoping for minutes away to St Johnstone at the weekend in a game where players will be looking to force their way into Stephen Robinson’s plans for the forthcoming William Hill Scottish Cup semi final.

“We don’t need any more motivation,” he said. “We’ve got to get the job done against St Johnstone on Saturday. It’s a big game.”

Motherwell assistant boss Keith Lasley says there’s no chance of the team letting up in the final weeks of the season.

The Steelmen missed out on a place in the Ladbrokes Premiership top six during the week but have plenty left to play for in the league, as well as having the William Hill Scottish Cup semi final on the horizon.

“We know there’s a big game around the corner but this one is important to us,” he said.

[pullquote]We want to finish well in the league. Saturday will give us another opportunity to do that.[/pullquote]

“We want to finish as high as we can. We put demands on the players every single day they come in here and it will be same on every match day from now until the end of the season.

“We try and win every game we go into and that will be no different on Saturday.”

It’s all square going into the final of our series of challenges between the players and coaches.

The two sides have played Speak Out, Pie Face, Name That Tune and even had a penalty shootout against Steelman. But the final will require a whole other set of skills.

For the last instalment, we’ve got the manager involved for a game of FIFA 18. Helping him out is his son Charlie, coming up against Gaël Bigirimana and Cédric Kipré. Who will win? Watch to find out.

Willie Collum is the referee for Motherwell’s trip to face St Johnstone on Saturday.

The experienced official takes charge of only his third ‘Well match of the season, having been in the middle for games against Celtic and Hearts.

Collum’s first game was the 1-1 draw with Celtic at Fir Park in November last year, with the Steelmen only being denied by a late penalty at the death.

He then was the ref for the 1-1 draw with Hearts at Tynecastle in January, when Curtis Main struck in the final minute to secure a point.

Collum will be assisted by David McGeachie and Frank Connor. David Lowe is the fourth official.

Motherwell’s top six hopes may have ended but there’s still plenty left to play for as the team head to St Johnstone on Saturday.

As well as having places in the semi final starting team to play for, there’s also the target of finishing as high up the Ladbrokes Premiership table as possible.

It’s been a season to remember so far and it’s by no means over yet. Get along to Perth and support the team as we start the final push.

Ticket information is as follows:

	St Johnstone v Motherwell
	Saturday, 7 April 2018
	3pm
	McDiarmid Park
	Pay at the gate

Admission prices are as follows:

A special family deal is also in operation at turnstile five only. An adult can take up to two children, aged 12 and under, for £16.

A frustrated Stephen Craigan felt his side were deserving of more as they lost 2-1 against Hearts in the Development League.

A Jake Hastie goal just before the break brought the young Steelmen level before the Edinburgh side restored their advantage on the hour mark.

And the Northern Irishman admitted his side went on to run out of ideas in the final minutes at the Oriam Sports Complex.

He said: “I’m disappointed with the result because I felt only one team really looked likely to win the game.

[pullquote]I’d be disappointed if I was standing here and we’d drawn the game, so I’m even more disappointed that we’ve lost.[/pullquote]

“We created chances, we hit the post at 1-1 and there was an iffy penalty given against us.

He added: “But we encouraged them today. We encouraged them when we gave them the first goal and then again with the second.

“After that, we lost our way a little bit in the final ten minutes and couldn’t get ourselves back in the game.”