Latest News

[tab:Match report]

Lewis Irons at Global Energy Stadium

It was a case of too little too late for Motherwell as a poor first-half ultimately led to a fifth domestic defeat this season.

Second-half headers from Ryan Bowman and Louis Moult decreased the three goal deficit inflicted in a poor opening 45 minutes, but the Fir Parkers couldn’t muster enough to grab a point.

Stephen Robinson, forced to spectate from the stands at the Global Energy Stadium, named three changes from the defeat to Hibs, opting for Craig Tanner, Gaël Bigirimana and Richard Tait in place of Allan Campbell, Elliott Frear and Ryan Bowman.

And despite a positive start to the match, with Tanner causing problems playing just off frontman Moult, County took the lead with virtually their first attack when Michael Gardyne roamed in to acres of space in the box and smashed Andrew Davies knock down beyond Trevor Carson.

Straight up the other end, Peter Hartley flicked a header off the top of the crossbar as the Steelmen looked to respond immediately.

However, the home side punished the travelling ‘Well in the 25^th minute to double their lead.

Davis Keillor-Dunn, afforded far too much time and space, wandered in to the box and finished across goal as Robinson’s side looked uncharacteristically slack defensively.

Matters got even worse before half time when County went three ahead through Gardyne. A low effort was cleared off the line but the home side’s tricky winger was on hand to grab his second of the afternoon.

Two changes at the break made an immediate impact as Elliott Frear’s cross was headed beyond McCarey inside the first three minutes to set the visitors en route for what could have been an unlikely comeback given the deficit.

It was almost a mirror image for the second goal, Cadden crossing from the opposite flank towards Moult who headed beyond the Staggies stopper to set up a grandstand finish in the Highlands.

Cedric Kipré headed a Deimantas Petravičius throw-in straight at McCarey before a goal-mouth scramble in the final seconds, but the elusive goal could not be conjured.

[tab:Reaction]

 Alastair Reilly at Global Energy Stadium

FT: Ross County 3 – 2 Motherwell

90+3 | 3-2
So close to an equaliser as the ball bounces around the County box but nobody can finish.

’90+1 | 3-2
County sub, Curran off for Mikkelsen

’90 | 3-2
Three minutes added on.

’89 | 3-2
Great chance from Petravicius’ long-throw but Kipré heads straight at McCarey

’84 | 3-2
Frear comes in off the left but his shot hits the side-netting.

293 ‘Well fans have made the journey up. Thank you, as always, for your support.

’79 | 3-2
Moult heads in Cadden’s cross to set up a big finish here in Dingwall. Come on!

GGOOAALL!!

’75 | 3-1
County sub, Lindsay on for O’Brien

’66 | 3-1
County sub, Keillor-Dunn off for Dow

’60 | 3-1
Motherwell sub, Petravicius on for Tanner.

’58 | 3-1
Kelly knocks the ball out for a corner but incredibly the ref gives a goal-kick.

’52 | 3-1
Hartley booked for a tackle in midfield. Looked harsh.

’48 | 3-1
GOAL! Bowman claws a goal back with a fine header from Frear’s cross!

McHugh gets the second 45 underway.

Two changes at the break, Bowman and Frear on for Rose and Dunne

HT: Ross County 3 – 0 Motherwell

’41 | 3-0
Goal – County make it 3. Gardyne firing home after the ball is knocked around the box.

’36 | 2-0
Cadden gets past Kelly but is cross is routine for McCarey.

’29 | 2-0
Decent chance for County as Draper’s shot is diverted goalwards but Keillor-Dunn but it lands on the roof of the net.

’27 | 2-0
O’Brien tries his luck with a half-volley from distance but it’s well over the bar.

’25 | 2-0
Goal – County are two up, Keillor-Dunn the scorer after finding plenty of space on the left and finishing cooly.

’22 | 1-0
Hartley’s deep free-kick is headed wide for a corner. Good ball in from Cadden but it’s punched clear for another corner.

’12 | 1-0
Close! Free-kick is clipped into the head of Hartley who heads off the bar!

’12 | 1-0
Goal – The home side take the lead as Gardyne pokes home Davies’ cross along the face of goal.

’11 | 0-0
Nice football as Bigirimana and Tanner combine. Moult sticks it in the net with a great finish but the flag is up.

’10 | 0-0
McHugh plays in Tanner down the left who produces a great little turn to create some space but he can’t pick out a man with cross

‘9 | 0-0
Tanner does well down the right and forces a corner…..Bigirimana plays it short to Cadden but he curls it over the bar

‘2 | 0-0
Decent chance for Motherwell! Tait’s cross from the left flashes across the face of goal but Tanner just can’t get his head on it.

We’re up and running here in Dingwall. Ross County kick off.

Out come the two sides at a sunny but cold Global Energy Stadium.

[tab:Reaction]

Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson:

Ross County manager Owen Coyle

[tab:Man-of-the-match]

[poll id=”332″]

Motherwell head north to face Ross County in the Ladbrokes Premiership tomorrow afternoon.

And following last weekend’s loss against Hibs, the Steelmen are set for a showdown with Owen Coyle’s County at the Global Energy Stadium as they search for a return to winning ways.

Eight points separate the Northerners in 9^th from the ‘Well in 5^th as the two sides meet for the third time this season.

On both occasions, the Fir Parkers have emerged victorious.

The first meeting was in the Betfred Cup, when the ten-men of Motherwell managed to bag an extra-time winner to progress to the quarter-final.

Ten-days later, the Staggies travelled south to Fir Park, where the Steelmen notched their first league victory of the season and the first in a five game unbeaten run.

Richard Tait’s opener was followed up by Louis Moult’s penalty to secure a 2-0 victory thanks to a much-improved second half.

Much like the previous two fixtures against the Northerners, Stephen Robinson’s side head in to the clash on the back of defeat.

But Stephen Robinson is confident his side can bounce back to winning ways this weekend.

Speaking to the press this morning, the Northern Irishman said: “We’ve started well but on Saturday we stopped the things we’re very good at.

[pullquote]We’ve trained hard this week, and we’ve had three, four good days of training so I’m confident we’ll be back on Saturday.[/pullquote]

“We didn’t deliver enough balls in to the box to create opportunities, which was very evident, so we’ll get back to doing that again.”

He added: “We’ve trained hard this week, and we’ve had three, four good days of training so I’m confident we’ll be back on Saturday.”

And one player who also has his sights set on bouncing back from Saturday’s defeat is Craig Tanner.

The 23-year-old, who scored the winning goal against Dundee, revealed that everyone thrives under the competition in the squad.

Speaking to the broadcast press this morning, the Englishman looked ahead to tomorrows trip to the highlands.

“It’s part of my game to create and score goals so thankfully I was fortunate enough to put one in the corner against Dundee and hopefully I can add a few more to help the team throughout the season.” The creative attacker said.

“When you have a squad like we have here and everyone’s pushing in the same direction, I think you can’t always expect to start.”

He added: “There’s a lot of games and the manager changes it due to tactical decisions or fitness and I think it’s working throughout the season because the lads who play give their all.”

The Fir Parkers will need to be at their best this weekend, as they travel to the Global Energy Stadium to take on a County side who have recently picked up their first home league win of the campaign.

The Staggies will be keen to follow that up tomorrow, but face a ‘Well side brimming with confidence and fuelled by the hunger to return to winning ways.

	Ross County V Motherwell
	Saturday 4th November 2017
	3.00pm
	Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall
	Pay at the gate.

Admission prices are as follows:

• Fans who require ambulant or wheelchair access should contact Brian Davidson on 07725 917161

If you can’t make it tomorrow, don’t miss the action by tuning in to mixlr.com/motherwellfc for live commentary or follow the match on Twitter @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.

Darts stars from the PDC visited Fir Park this week to take on the members of the players’ dart school.

Kyle Anderson, who last week hit the first ever nine-darter to be shown on terrestrial television in the UK against Michael van Gerwen, was joined by Corey Cadby and Dimitri van der Bergh.

They paired up in a pro-amateur competition with Liam Grimshaw, Richard Tait, Chris Cadden and Ross MacLean. Watch our video to see how the boys fared.

The Ladbrokes World Series of Darts Finals will be held from November 3-5 at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, live on ITV4.

For tickets, visit braehead-arena.co.uk or call 0844 499 1700.

‘Well boss Stephen Robinson is confident his side will bounce back as the Steelmen head north to take on Ross County.

The Fir Park manager looked ahead to tomorrow’s clash with Owen Coyle’s County and admitted he expects an improvement from the weekend’s defeat against Hibs.

Speaking to the broadcast press this morning, Robinson also discussed his one-match ban following yesterday’s hearing at Hampden.

[pullquote]We’ve trained hard this week, and we’ve had three, four good days of training so I’m confident we’ll be back on Saturday.[/pullquote]

He said: “We’ve started well but on Saturday we stopped the things we’re very good at.

“We didn’t deliver enough balls in to the box to create opportunities, which was very evident, so we’ll get back to doing that again.“

He added: “We’ve trained hard this week, and we’ve had three, four good days of training so I’m confident we’ll be back on Saturday.”

Craig Tanner has his sights set on scoring and creating more goals for the Steelmen as the club prepare to take on Ross County.

The 23-year-old, who scored the winning goal against Dundee, revealed that everyone thrives under the competition in the squad.

Speaking to the broadcast press this morning, the Englishman looked ahead to tomorrows trip to the highlands.

[pullquote]When you have a squad like we have here and everyone’s pushing in the same direction, I think you can’t always expect to start.[/pullquote]

“It’s part of my game to create and score goals so thankfully I was fortunate enough to put one in the corner against Dundee and hopefully I can add a few more to help the team throughout the season.” The creative attacker said.

“When you have a squad like we have here and everyone’s pushing in the same direction, I think you can’t always expect to start.”

He added: “There’s a lot of games and the manager changes it due to tactical decisions or fitness and I think it’s working throughout the season because the lads who play give their all.”

Motherwell goalkeeper Trevor Carson has been answering some quick fire questions in the latest instalment of Getting to Know.

The 29-year-old reveals what he would be doing for work if he wasn’t a footballer, and talks about the darts league between the players which is keeping the competitive streak going all through the week.

For more exclusive content, subscribe to MFC TV’s official YouTube channel.

Getting to know…

>> Cédric Kipré

>> Gaël Bigirimana

>> Charles Dunne

Manager Stephen Robinson has been banned for one match after admitting a Scottish FA charge of misconduct.

The ban is effective immediately, meaning he will be in the stands for this weekend’s Scottish Premiership match at Ross County.

He will therefore be free to lead the team as normal at the Betfred Cup final with Celtic later this month.

[pullquote]I respect and accept the judgment of the panel. We can now draw a line under this and move on.[/pullquote]

The manager has also received an additional suspended one match ban, which will come in to effect if he breaches the rule again before the end of the season.

Robinson said: “I attended Hampden this morning and I received a fair hearing. I respect and accept the judgment of the panel. We can now draw a line under this and move on.”

The manager admitted breaching rule 203 during the Betfred Cup semi final victory against Rangers, which states “no member of Team Staff shall commit misconduct at a match.”

Referee for the Steelmen’s trip to Dingwall to face Ross County is Euan Anderson.

Anderson, 34, will be handling his first Motherwell match of the season as Stephen Robinson’s men aim to bounce back from the 1-0 loss against Hibs.

The official took charge of three ‘Well matches last term, including the 1-0 loss away to Aberdeen in March, the 2-1 loss against St Johnstone at Fir Park back in August and the dramatic Lanarkshire derby draw on Hogmanay.

A solitary, late strike from Niall McGinn was enough to snatch all three points for Derek McInnes’ men at Pittodrie in the last ‘Well outing for Euan Anderson. 

Prior to that, a last minute Louis Moult header snatched a point for the ten-man Fir Parkers at the SuperSeal stadium.

A goal from Chris Cadden gave the Steelmen the lead in Anderson’s first ‘Well fixture of the 2016/17 campaign, but just after half time St Johnstone responded through Danny Swanson to draw level before Steven McLean snatched the win with 15 minutes remaining.

The Dumbarton-based whistler was promoted to category one in the summer of 2011 and has taken charge of a number of Motherwell matches in the past, his first coming in the Scottish Cup fourth round defeat to Albion Rovers at New Douglas Park on November 2013 where a first goal of the season for Albion’s Gary Phillips ensured the Coatbridge outfit’s qualification to the next round of the cup.

He was also in charge of Motherwell’s 2-1 win away to Kilmarnock in 2014/15 season where goals from Stephen Pearson and Lee Erwin secured three points for Well’ on this occasion with an Anthony Straker own-goal being the only blotch to the copybook on that day.

The win was part of a three match win streak that Well’ put together on the backend of the 14/15 season, commencing with a 4-0 victory over Hamilton and a 5-0 victory over St Mirren to bookend the Kilmarnock fixture.

Euan will be assisted by Douglas Ross and David Doig, with Kevin Graham on fourth official duties.  

The best of the action from tonight’s goalless draw with St Johnstone in the Development League.

Under-20s boss Stephen Craigan admitted his side were lacking composure as they drew 0-0 with St Johnstone in the Development League.

Following Sunday’s 9-0 victory in the Scottish Youth Cup, the Northern Irishman admitted his players looked a bit tired and didn’t hit their usual standards.

Speaking to MFC TV at full time, Craigan reflected on his side’s draw with the Saints. 

[pullquote]We didn’t get about the pitch the way we’d like to, we didn’t pass the ball the way we’d like to and we lacked composure.[/pullquote]

He said: “I don’t stand here very often and be critical of my players but I just thought that tonight the younger St Johnstone side wanted it more.