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    Norris takes charge at East End Park

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    McCall pleased with Cup progression

  • Archive

    Clyde win in pictures

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    Clyde 0 – 4 Motherwell

  • Archive

    Girls Soccer Schools set to kick-off

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    ‘Well capture French youngster

  • Archive

    Clyde: Fan Information

  • Archive

    Saunders in comeback pledge

  • Archive

    Black aiming for more Cup success

  • Archive

    Officials appointed for Clyde clash

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    Norris takes charge at East End Park

    Referee for Saturday’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with Dunfermline at East End Park will be Euan Norris.

    It will be Euan’s first in charge of the ‘Well this season but Fir Park fans will be familiar as the 33-year old handled two games last term.

    The first, a 0-0 draw with Inverness was instantly forgettable. However, the other was one that will live long in the memory. Motherwell beat Championship-chasing Celtic 2-0 at Fir Park; former striker John Sutton netting a brace.

    The season previous to last, Euan also handed two matches. He was the man in the middle when Motherwell edged out Falkirk 1-0 at Fir Park. Lukas Jutkiewicz got the only goal of the game, heading home a corner from the left after 18 minutes.

    His other game that campaign was also at Fir Park; a stormy affair between Motherwell and Hibs. The Steelmen won the game 1-0 thanks to a Jamie Murphy goal eight minutes from time but the game was marred by a red card for Liam Miller for a challenge on Jim O’Brien midway through the first forty-five.

    Thankfully, FIFA referee Norris usually likes to keep his cards in his pocket with only twelve cautions handed out in those games, with six flashed at a ‘Well players.

    Euan will be ably assisted by Brian McGarry and Graeme Leslie with Brian Winter on fourth official duties.

  • Archive

    McCall pleased with Cup progression

    Stuart McCall commended the attitude of the Motherwell players as they comfortably defeated Clyde 4-0 in the second round of the Scottish Communities League Cup.

    Goals from Michael Higdon, Nicky Law, Tom Hateley and Steven Lawless put ‘Well through to the next round with ease, in what could have been a potential Cup upset.

    “It’s always a potential banana skin,” acknowledged McCall. “I saw how well East Fife played at Dunfermline last night. It was good that we got the first goal as it could have added pressure if we hadn’t done.”

    [pullquote]All the boys that played tonight have been on the bench and will be needed in the next few months.[/pullquote]

    A side which had six changes from the weekend loss to Rangers was lacking in first-team experience but packed with youthful talent, and turned in a terrific performance.

    And McCall believes it bodes well for a long season, during which the likes of Lawless, McHugh and Page may be asked to play a pivotal role.

    “All the boys that played tonight have been on the bench and will be needed in the next few months,” the former Bradford gaffer insisted.

    It was the perfect response to the first league defeat of the season, which saw Rangers run out 3-0 winners at Fir Park on Sunday. And Stuart was quick to praise the attitude and response of those who took part against Rangers – as well as the impact of the players who came in.

    There was also the added bonus of maiden goals for Michael Higdon, Nicky Law and the impressive, waspish Steven Lawless:  “It was good for Mike (Higdon) to break his duck and get on the score-sheet.

    “Little Lawless as well; he’s a Will O’ the Wisp of a player – a jinky little winger who’s played well in the bounce games.

    “In no uncertain terms, before the game, I made it clear how important it was that the attitude of the players who came in was right. It’s always the case; if your attitudes not right then you can come a cropper.”

  • Archive

    Clyde win in pictures

    Pictures from the 4-0 win over Clyde in the Scottish Communities League Cup at Broadwood.

    These action shots and more are available to buy online at motherwellPICS.

    [svgallery name=”clyde240811″]

  • Archive

    Clyde 0 – 4 Motherwell

    [tab:Match report]

    Alan Temple at Broadwood

    Michael Higdon and Nicky Law grabbed their first goals for Motherwell as the Steelmen confidently disposed of Clyde 4-0 in the Scottish Communities League Cup second round.

    Goals from Tom Hateley and Steven Lawless – also his first goal, on his first start for the club – added some sparkle to the score-line as any hopes of a cup shock disappeared in the Cumbernauld rain.

    Despite resting many of his established stars, McCall’s Motherwell were ahead within the first twenty minutes as Michael Higdon nodded home the first goal of his ‘Well career from close range.

    The lead was deservedly doubled moments before half-time as Nicky Law produced a super solo strike to make it 2-0.

    Tom Hateley’s stunning second half strike put the tie to bed completely as the travelling Steelmen support witnessed a vibrant, professional display by their side.

    And, even allowing for some second period profligacy, Motherwell still had time to make it four with a powerful left-footed effort.

    While assistant manager Kenny Black had previously insisted Motherwell were desperate for another dramatic cup run, Stuart McCall’s team selection certainly illustrated the Steelmen’s commitment to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, with six changes to the side which lost 3-
    0 to Rangers on Sunday.

    With a trip to unbeaten Dunfemline to come on Saturday Darren Randolph, Stephen Craigan, Steven Hammell, Steven Jennings, Jamie Murphy and Chris Humphrey all dropped out, meaning chances to impress for Lee Hollis, Jon Page, Jordan Halsman, Bob McHugh, Ross Forbes as well as debutant Steven Lawless.

    Conversely Clyde started with just one change from their side which defeated Montrose 1-0 at Broadwood at the weekend, with John Charles Hutchinson replacing Filip Mentel between the sticks for the Bully Wee.

    And Clyde’s established first-team players certainly started with all the vigour that you would expect from an Irn-Bru Third Division side in the mood for a giant-killing. Within five minutes Stephen McDonald had tested Lee Hollis, heading into the arms of the former Airdrie United keeper following a whipped cross from John Neill.

    Neill himself forced Hollis into action again moments later, driving from midfield and firing a low effort from 25 yards, skidding off the sodden surface into Hollis’ grateful arms.

    Those chances proved to be a false dawn for Jim Duffy’s men as Motherwell grabbed the lead on 17 minutes – with Michael Higdon opening his claret and amber account.

    Ross Forbes swung in a teasing corner towards the six-yard box, prompting Clyde keeper Hutchinson to flap at the cross as he tried to crash through a cluster of bodies, allowing Higdon to stoop and head home his first goal for his new club.

    It was a goal which saw the visitors settle and start dictating the tempo of the encounter, with Law, Lasley and Forbes patrolling the midfield with aplomb.

    Lasley could have doubled the lead just after the half-hour mark as he lashed a low shot from the edge of the box which took an awkward nick along the way, but Hutchinson went some way to redeeming himself with a fine low save.

    It was a temporary reprieve for the hosts as Hutchinson was beaten just before half-time, in mesmerizing fashion.

    Nicky Law picked up the ball on the left flank and proceeded to cut infield, dancing past three challenges and slotting the ball into the corner of the net from around the penalty spot. It was a magical strike, and a fitting way for the former Rotherham man to score his first goal for the ‘Well.

    The Law-Higdon double-act almost added to the score-line as the second half began, with ‘Well’s midfield playmaker picking out the former St. Mirren striker in the box, only for Hutchinson to tip Higdon’s powerful shot over the bar.

    And bizarrely, minutes later Bob McHugh was responsible for denying a dominant Motherwell their third goal. Big Shaun Hutchinson got his head on a Ross Forbes corner, but his goal-bound header was blocked by the helpless McHugh on the line.

    It didn’t prove decisive, as ‘Well did get their deserved third goal a matter of seconds later. Tom Hateley drove in from the right side and, from the edge of the box, rifled home a sumptuous curling effort with his left foot.

    Efforts from substitute Chris Humphrey and Bob McHugh both tested Hutchinson as Motherwell threatened to blow away the part-timers from three-tiers below.

    Indeed, Gary Smith and Bob McHugh both blasted shots off target in the latter stages in a match which Motherwell could have reaped a much larger score-line for the SPL side.

    But some deserved gloss was added to the result late on, as Steven Lawless lashed home a near-post drive from inside the box following a scramble in the Clyde box. The goal was the least ‘Well, and the industrious Lawless, deserved from a top display ahead of this weekend’s trip to Fife.

    [tab:As it happened]

    Graham Barnstaple at Broadwood

    Full time – Comfortable 4-0 win and through to Monday’s draw. Crowd tonight was 1800, with a healthy ‘Well contingent.

    85mins – GOAL! Five to go and it’s 4-0, Lawless firing home a debut goal. Three players getting their first goals tonight. Nice workout.

    57mins – Triple sub for Well as Lasley, Law and Higdon off. Good workout for the experienced trio; Humphrey, Carswell and Smith come on.

    51mins – GOAL! 3-0 Well with Hateley bending a left foot shot in from the edge of the box. Another great strike from the clinical Steelmen.

    HT – Half time and it is a comfortable 2-0 lead at the moment; Hollis barely tested apart from an early header. Good work from the young Steelmen side.

    41minsGOAL! Law cuts in from left, beats three and fires in his first goal for ‘Well to make it 2-0. Superb strike from Nicky Law.

    17minsGOAL! Motherwell! 1-0 as Higdon bags his first for Well by nipping in to head a Ross Forbes delivery past the keeper.

    10mins – The highlight so far is Lee Hollis beating two men in his own penalty area.

    [tab:Reaction]

    Motherwell manager Stuart McCall:

    “It was good we got the first goal, it could have added pressure. If your attitude’s not right, you can come a cropper. The attitude was spot-on. We had some decent play, some excellent goals, no injuries and some more experience for the fringe players.

    “All the boys that played have been on my bench and are going to be needed over the next few months.

    “It wasn’t that we were treating Clyde in any way disrespectfully, it’s just that the lads should be able to play in that game and they did do.”

    Clyde manager Jim Duffy:

    “It was phenomenal finishing. The first goal was a mistake but after that every finish was top drawer and there’s nothing you can do about that.

    “Our goalkeeper had a couple of brilliant saves from strikes. Motherwell played well and deserved to win, there is absolutely no doubt about that. All I can look at is my team’s work ethic and it was outstanding.”

    [tab:Man-of-the-match]

    [poll id=”66″]

  • Archive

    Girls Soccer Schools set to kick-off

    At Motherwell Football Club, we pride ourselves on playing as a team to produce imaginative, entertaining and skilful football.
     
    Now we have developed our first ever Girls Soccer School at Our Lady’s High School along the same lines.

    Aimed exclusively at girls between the ages of 7 and 13 the Motherwell Football Club Girls Soccer Centre will use the same  principles employed by our first team squad including players such as Nicky Law, Jamie Murphy and Tom Hateley developing technical skills, game awareness  and passion for football.
     
    Our Soccer Centre welcomes girls of all abilities and it doesn’t matter which team you support, you’ll enjoy learning to play football the Motherwell way and at £40.00 for the sessions, its great value.
     
    You can book for the Girls Soccer Centre on our website at www.motherwellsoccerschools.com or by telephone us at 01698 239 926.
     
    Download our brochure by Clicking Here

  • Archive

    ‘Well capture French youngster

    Gordon Young has moved to strengthen his Under 19s squad with the capture of talented French youngster Hermann Mboa Mekongo.

    Mboa Mekongo, a holding midfield player, has been on trial at the club for several weeks and has impressed in friendly and bounce matches, prompting Young to chase his signature.

    The eighteen-year old, who was born in Paris, was schooled at several French clubs but was most recently in the youth ranks of fallen giants Racing Club de France.

    During his Youth Development schooling, he has also spent time with Ligue 1 club Valenciennes FC and the famed INF Clairefontaine, with its notable former students such as Nicolas Anelka, Abou Diaby, Sébastien Bassong, Louis Saha and Thierry Henry.

    Speaking to motherwellfc.co.uk, Head of Youth Development Gordon Young said, “We were given the opportunity to have a look at Hermann and he has held his own. Because of his background, we have registered him as an amateur player but he will still very much form part of our Under 19s squad.”

    Hermann will most likely form part of the Under 19s squad that will take on St Johnstone at Bathgate this coming Friday – kick-off 1pm.

  • Archive

    Clyde: Fan Information

    Motherwell fans travelling to Broadwood tonight should take note of the following information.

    Tickets for the match are priced at the following:

    ADULTS:    £12  
    CONCESSIONS:                                             £5
    • Concessions are listed as Under 16s, 65+ and Full Time Students.
    • Fans who require wheelchair access should contact John McCaskie on 01555 870122 or email sharon.mccaskie@sky.com.

    SUPPORTERS ASSOCIATION BUS INFORMATION

    CENTRAL BRANCH

    The bus for Broadwood will leave the Bentley Hotel at 6.45pm. Phone Jim on (01698) 299650 or e-mail Christopher on christopher_hutton@btinternet.com.

    WISHAW BRANCH

    The Wishaw bus to Broadwood will leave at 6.30pm. To book seats please call Anne on 01698 470601 or email andrew.sim48@btinternet.com.

    BELLSHILL & DISTRICT BRANCH

    No bus running

    PARKING

    Follow the away fans signage down Westfield road, through Saint Maurice roundabout Turn Right at Broadwood roundabout follow the road to the stadium and the car park stewards will assist from there.

    STADIUM ENTRY

    Fans will enter through turnstiles Q, R, S, and T. There will be 3 adult gates and 1 concession gate.

    FLAGS AND BANNERS

    Any flags and banners being taken to the game must have a current fire certificate. There is no facility in Broadwood stadium to issue these certificates on the day.

  • Archive

    Saunders in comeback pledge

    A determined Stevie Saunders has vowed to come back from his crushing injury a stronger player after a successful operation.

    The prodigious Scotland international suffered a serious injury to his Achilles while on international duty with Scotland under-21’s recently, and despite the subsequent operation going well the 20-year old will be out for around eight months.

    But Saunders insists he can take inspiration from some of his team-mates as he battles through his rehabilitation; a testing time physically and mentally for a gifted young player forced to watch from the sidelines.

    “It’s just going to be frustrating; it’s hard watching football when you’re young, your legs twitch and you just want to play,” a candid Saunders admitted.

    [pullquote]I’ve been in the house myself for 10 days and the TV isn’t very good, put it that way. So it’s good to be back in seeing the boys and having a bit of a laugh with them.[/pullquote]

    “The surgeon just said it’s a freak injury. I have never had any pain in my calf or my Achilles. I stepped forward and it was ruptured. It’s one of those things that happen, you can’t blame anyone.

    “There are a couple of boys who have had long-term injuries so I’m looking to take something from them because they have come back stronger. Hutchinson is the main one, he was out for about a year with a groin injury so he knows how hard it is and I’ll be looking to ask him how he did it.”

    The former Queen’s Park youth player has lauded the spirit in the Motherwell squad, and how it has helped him deal with the initial despair of the injury.

    And with his team-mates ensuring he still feels part of the first-team squad the challenge is now for young Stevie to find a way to spend his time away from Fir Park – and it turns out Motherwell might not only get an international defender when Saunders returns, they might get a mechanic…who’s fluent in Spanish.

    “The boys all get on well and there will be banter flying about and I’m probably going to bear the brunt of it for the next couple of months,” he joked.  “But that’s what you expect and that’s what you want.

    “I’ve been in the house myself for 10 days and the TV isn’t very good, put it that way. So it’s good to be back in seeing the boys and having a bit of a laugh with them.

    “I think I’m going to go back and do a college course and just make my time useful, something that keeps my mind active. There are a few options; I want to learn Spanish and mechanics and maybe an electrician course – something totally different from football.

  • Archive

    Black aiming for more Cup success

    Kenny Black hopes that Wednesday’s tie against Clyde proves to be the catalyst for another magnificent cup adventure for the Steelmen.

    The trip to Broadwood may not possess quite the same glamour as Motherwell’s recent visits to Hampden, but the ‘Well assistant manager has challenged the players to deal with the match professionally as they look to navigate their way to the national stadium again this campaign.

    “We enjoyed our run in the cup competitions last year,” said Black, looking back on three visits to Mount Florida for the men in Claret and Amber. “I know the players and everyone connected with the club is desperate to get back into major Semi-Final and Finals again. It’s something which is very important to the club and hopefully this can be the first step to that.

    “You have that mentality and to know that anything is possible. If you get the luck of the draw and refereeing decisions go your way then you can be part of these big games come the end of the season.

    [pullquote]The players get to know that there are pitfalls out there, particularly in these early rounds. It’s about how you approach these games, and not being slack in any way.[/pullquote]

    “The feel-good factor from last year – although the 90 minutes in the final against Celtic wasn’t very good – is something that we want to bring back as soon as possible.”

    Despite the great expectations of another positive cup run, Black has warned against complacency as Motherwell travel to Broadwood to face Clyde on Tuesday evening.

    The League Cup tie against the Bully Wee is the very definition of a banana-skin encounter, with Jim Duffy’s side having made a splendid start to their Irn-Bru Third Division campaign this season.

    ‘Well also must recover from a heavy 3-0 defeat to Rangers on Sunday afternoon, the Fir Parkers’ first defeat this season.

    And the former Steelmen midfielder is well aware all of these factors will add up to a tough showdown in Cumbernauld: “The players get to know that there are pitfalls out there, particularly in these early rounds.

    “It’s about how you approach these games, and not being slack in any way. We’ve had Clyde watched two or three times so we know exactly what they are capable of.

    “We’re very disappointed with the result on Sunday, and with this match so early it gives us a great opportunity to bounce back very quickly.

    “There’s no way we will be underestimating the opposition. Clyde are doing really well in Division Three this year, I know Jim [Duffy] will have them well organised. We have to make sure we treat them with due respect and hopefully get the right result to take us through.”

  • Archive

    Officials appointed for Clyde clash

    Referee for Wednesday’s Scottish Communities League Cup clash with Clyde at Broadwood will be the experienced Charlie Richmond.

    Somewhat surprisingly (and unfortunately as Charlie is regarded in football circles as one of the best and most popular around), it will only be the 43-year old whistler’s second Motherwell match in the last eighteen months following his hiatus from SPL action.

    That one encounter was a Scottish Cup clash with Stranraer at Stair Park last February; Motherwell running out 2-0 winners thanks to goals from Steve Jones and Gavin Gunning.

    Previous to that, you have to go all the way back to February of 2010 to find the last time Charlie took charge of a ‘Well game. That was at the home of local rivals Hamilton Accies, when ‘Well were held to a largely uninspiring 0-0 draw by Billy Reid’s men.

    He oversaw another 0-0 draw some seventeen days previous to that Accies game when Motherwell and Falkirk drew a blank. The only real point of note from an otherwise uneventful game was the red card shown to Giles Coke for serious foul play.

    He has been a busy man in the lower leagues this season though, taking charge of five matches already. He was the man in the middle for Livingston’s 5-0 win over Airdrie Utd, Dunfermline’s 2-1 over Annan in this competition, Raith’s 1-0 home win over Falkirk, Stirling’s 5-1 success at Dumbarton and, most recently, the 1-1 draw between Raith Rovers and Morton last Saturdya.

    His overall record whilst taking charge of ‘Well games is a bit of a mixed bag. In the eleven seasons he has been officiating at the top level, Charlie has taken charge of 27 Motherwell games. The Steelmen have won seven, drawn six and lost fourteen.

    30 goals have been scored whilst 24 have been conceded. 101 players have been cautioned, 52 shown to a player wearing Claret and Amber whilst two have been ordered off; the aforementioned Giles Coke versus Falkirk and Filipe Morais in a game against Hibs back in October 2007.

    Charlie will be ably assisted by George Drummond and Stuart Macaulay with Greg Aitken on fourth official duties.