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  • Archive

    Rangers U20s 1 – 2 Motherwell U20s

  • Archive

    September’s Goal of the Month

  • Archive

    September’s Player of the Month

  • Archive

    TV: Highlights from Fir Park

  • Archive

    Ross County win in pictures

  • Archive

    TV: McCall pleased with comeback

  • Archive

    Motherwell 3 – 1 Ross County

  • Archive

    Ross County Magazine Preview

  • Archive

    TV: McCall aims for home comforts

  • Archive

    Madden’s in charge this Saturday

  • Archive

    Rangers U20s 1 – 2 Motherwell U20s

    Motherwell Under 20s turned in their best performance of the season so far to record a 2-1 win over Rangers at Ibrox.

    The Steelmen came into the match on the back of two wins and were excellent throughout.

    Craig Moore put ‘Well ahead from the spot after 28 minutes only for Rangers to get themselves level three minutes later, David Templeton’s free-kick deflected past the helpless Ross Stewart.

    Motherwell were back in front just four minutes later when Dale Shirkie fired a low effort under Steve Simonsen.

    The second half was end-to-end stuff but the Steelmen held out to record a famous win, the first of any Motherwell side at Ibrox for almost seventeen years and at the same time denying the hosts a return to the top of the table.

    Jonatan Johansson made two changes to the side that beat East Fife at Bayview last weekend. Ben Hall and Steven Higgins dropped out, replaced by Fraser Kerr and Adam Cummins as ‘Well lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

    Rangers had the likes of Dean Shiels, David Templeton, Fraser Aird, Barry McKay and Steve Simonsen amongst their starting eleven.

    The hosts made the better start but took twelve minutes to register a shot on target, Aird curling a shot straight at Ross Stewart who gathered comfortably.

    Kyle McAusland followed that with a low poked effort after a marauding run into the area, but the outstretched foot of Stewart denied him.

    Motherwell weathered some of that early Rangers pressure and gradually worked their way into the match. Adam Cummins flashed a header narrowly wide of the post before Moore headed a Leitch cross over the bar.

    It was Rangers who were looking the more threatening though, particularly on the counter, and Stewart would again deny McAusland before watching an Aird shot fly high over the bar after industrious build-up play from Templeton.

    It would be Motherwell who would break the deadlock from the penalty spot after the referee ruled McAusland had handled Morgyn Neill’s header inside the area. Rangers complained but Moore kept his composure, tucking it coolly into the corner, sending Simonsen the wrong way.

    The lead would only last three minutes though as Rangers got themselves level. Templeton was sent tumbling twenty-five yards from goal. The same player dusted himself down to take the kick that took a wicked deflection off Fraser Kerr and spun cruelly into the net.

    Parity was restored almost as quickly. Rangers went to sleep at a free kick, allowing Moore to roll it to Dale Shirkie. The striker cut inside his marker before firing a stinging drive under Simonsen and into the net.

    ‘Well made a positive start to the second half and only a desperate block by Templeton on the line denied Moore after a tantalising Leitch corner.

    Shortly after, Cummins might have done better inside the box with a close-range header but it bounced wide.

    Moore was then first to a Cummins through ball and beat Simonsen from an acute angle but Luca Gasparotto was on the line to stop it going in.

    There was a shout for a penalty when Moore went tumbling inside the area but it wasn’t given. Leitch was first to react to the loose ball but his low shot was deflected wide of the post.

    The resulting corner found Kerr inside the area but Templeton hooked his header off the line – the third time Rangers had saved a certain goal in a fifteen-minute spell.

    Motherwell continued to attack and Cadden was next to have a go but Simonsen held his bouncing shot.

    Gordon Durie threw on a couple of substitutes and that freshness allowed Rangers to gain the upper hand.

    Telfer fired a low shot down Stewart’s throat and David Templeton fired three long-range efforts way over the bar. Full-back Sinnamon hit a sweet shot that Stewart dealt with again before a fantastic last-ditch Leitch header off his own line saved the three points.

    The win should give the young Steelmen side confidence when they return to Fir Park to face Aberdeen next midweek.

    Motherwell: Stewart, Kerr, Ferguson, Cummins, Neill, Leitch, McCafferty, Shirkie (Anderson – 87mins), Moore, Thomas (Higgins – 83mins), Cadden

    Subs Not Used: Currie, Hall, McCall, Mackin

  • Archive

    September’s Goal of the Month

    Every month this season, Motherwell fans have the chance to vote on our club’s best goal.

    The Steelmen have netted eight times during September but we’ve narrowed it down to five goals and you can vote by watching the clip above then selecting your favourite goal.

    In amongst them have been some classics that will be no doubt be involved in the league’s best goal of the season.

    The winner will be selected when the poll closes on Friday night at 10pm.

    [poll id=”161″]

  • Archive

    September’s Player of the Month

    Every month this season, Cash Converters will be giving you the opportunity to present your Motherwell Player of the Month with his trophy.

    All you need to do is vote for the ‘Well player you think has been the stand-out performer for September and you could be chosen at random to congratulate our star man in person.

    To cast your vote, simply visit our Cash Converters SPL Facebook page by CLICKING HERE.

    The Cash Converters Football Facebook page will also give you the opportunity to enter the draw to take part in the next Convert for Cash, and the chance to win a whole host of other prizes.

    Competition closes at 5pm on Thursday 3rd October 2013.

    MONTHLY WINNERS:

    August 2013: Lee Hollis

    Cash Converters

  • Archive

    TV: Highlights from Fir Park

    Highlights from Fir Park as a Bob McHugh goal and a John Sutton double gives Motherwell a 3-1 win over Ross County.

    MFC TV

  • Archive

    Ross County win in pictures

    Pictures from the 3-1 win over Ross County in the SPFL Premiership at Fir Park.

    Snaps courtesy of SNSPix and Craig Foy Photography.

    [svgallery name=”rosscounty280913″]

  • Archive

    TV: McCall pleased with comeback

    ‘Well boss Stuart McCall praised his side after they came back from behind to beat Ross County 3-1.

    The Steelmen enjoyed most of the ball in the first half but went behind when Melvin de Leeuw’s deflected effort squirmed into the net on the half hour mark.

    But McCall’s half-time talk worked a treat as the hosts came out swinging in the second period.

    John Sutton’s header made it 1-1 before doubling his tally ten minutes later to give ‘Well the lead.

    [pullquote]Despite being behind at the break, I seen enough to suggest we would get chances and that proved to be the case in the second half.[/pullquote]

    Bob McHugh secured the win with a lovely header and McCall praised his players for the way they reacted to their first-half setback.

    “It obviously wasn’t in the script to go a goal behind but to be fair to Ross County; they came and put two right up top,” he told MFC TV after the match.

    “They don’t often do that to be fair so that made their intentions clear from the start but I always felt that would leave us a little more room to play and it proved to be the case.

    “First half, although we were behind, we had the majority of the ball and had two or three wee half chances. Despite being behind at the break, I seen enough to suggest we would get chances and that proved to be the case in the second half.”

    -WATCH HIS INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVELY ON MFC TV

    MFC TV

  • Archive

    Motherwell 3 – 1 Ross County

    [tab:Match report]

    Phil McGhee at Fir Park

    Motherwell recovered from going a goal down in the first half to beat Ross County 3-1 at Fir Park this afternoon.

    And in the closing stages ‘Well might have added a few more goals as they turned in possibly their best home performance of the season.

    Despite some good individual performances from the changed team in the League Cup win at Livingston, James McFadden was the only change from the side which started at Tannadice last week, with ex-County man Iain Vigurs on the bench having just got through a fitness test before the match.

    Having rested the main strike force, John Sutton and Henri Anier, in mid-week it was obvious they would get chances against a County side boasting the worst defensive record in the league.

    And within 90 seconds, Anier might have added to his account when Sutton set him up but from a tight angle but the Estonian’s drive was parried by ex ‘Well keeper Mark Brown.

    Although play was very open, there were no real chances at either end until the 25th minute when McFadden sent Francis-Angol to the goal line and his cut back found Sutton who fired in a low shot which Brown blocked with his right foot.

    However, It was County who made the breakthrough four minutes later. And although Melvin de Leeuw’s shot from the edge of the box might have been on target ,the ball took a wicked deflection off Stephen McManus to send it spinning across the helpless Lee Hollis and in off the ‘keeper’s left hand post.

    ‘Well immediately went in search of an equaliser and McFadden hit the wall with a free-kick before Hutchinson swept wide after getting on the end of the resulting corner.

    County’s attacking formation provided them with a couple of chances but Lee Hollis was alert to save from Richard Brittain and a brilliant block to deny Stuart Kettlewell from close range.

    When ‘Well equalised after 54 minutes, though, there was only to be one winner. And that was demonstrated by John Sutton’s determination to score the equaliser.

    His free kick from 20-yards was brilliantly palmed round the post by Brown. But the ‘Well striker was not to be denied and when Lionel Ainsworth whipped in the corner, Sutton powered his header towards the top corner, despite Brown’s best efforts to keep the ball out.

    Motherwell were going through the gears and Sutton sent Ainsworth racing down the right. His curling cross in front of Anier was met with a diving header which sent the ball about a foot away from giving the home side the lead.

    The pressure steadily mounted on the visitors goal and after 67 minutes the Fir Parkers took the lead. Anier sent Sutton bursting through the middle and he held off Grant Munro before blasting an unstoppable shot high past Brown.

    Ainsworth then had an angled shot parried by Brown but the third goal was only delayed until the 77th minute. Simon Ramsden’s long cross found the unmarked McHugh who calmly steered his header into the top corner.

    It was all Motherwell after that and Sutton came close to grabbing his hat-trick with a header from a Stevie Hammell’s cross which flashed narrowly past the post.

    Motherwell’s form and confidence is high for the trip to Celtic Park next week.

    [tab:As it happened]

     Alastair Reilly at Fir Park

    FT: Motherwell 3 – 1 Ross County

    90mins: 3 minutes added on

    85mins: Sutton running riot. Another header just wide from Vigurs’ free-kick from wide on the left.

    84mins: Inches wide from Vigurs! His shot took a touch off Boyd though and it’s a corner.

    81mins: Sutton goes close again with another header! Hammell with the ball in from the left, Sutty heads just wide.

    77mins: Ramsden with the ball in and McHugh flew through the air to head past Brown. 3-1!

    77mins: GOAALLLL!! McHugh!

    76mins: Ross County sub , Glen on for Ross

    76mins: Motherwell sub: Vigurs on for Francis-Angol

    75mins: Good play from Francis-Angol to get to the wing and cut it back for McHugh. He tries to hit it on the spin but scoops it over.

    69mins: Ainsworth strides forward and after creating space for a shot, stings the palms of Brown with a powerful effort

    68mins: Motherwell sub, Anier off for McHugh

    67mins: Sutton makes it 2-1 with a fantastic finish 1 on 1 with Brown from Anier’s great through ball!

    67mins: GOOOOAAAAALLLL

    63mins: Another fine save from Hollis to deny Brittain from close range.

    61mins: Ross County sub, de Leeuw off for Sproule

    59mins: Anier almost gives ‘Well the lead with a diving header from Ainsworth’s cross! Great effort

    58mins: Fantastic save from Hollis after Brittain’s long range shot takes a deflection and almost sneaks in.

    55mins: Ainsworth wins ‘Well a corner….,….McManus heads just over!

    53mins: Sutton equalises with a thumping header from the resulting corner. 1-1!

    53mins: GOAALLL!!!

    52mins: Another FK 25 yards out….Brown tips Sutton’s effort just past!

    51mins: Free-kick 30 yards out for Motherwell….Lasley drills it into the wall.

    50mins: De Leeuw goes close with a volley from Brittain’s cross. Was an awkward angle and didn’t get the power required to test Hollis

    46mins: Second half underway

    HT: Motherwell sub: McFadden off for Ainsworth.

    HT: Motherwell back out. Come on!

    HT: Motherwell 0 – 1 Ross County

    45mins: 2 minutes added on

    43mins: Glorious chance for County to double their lead just before half time. Brittain scoops it well over the bar from the edge of the box

    37mins: And from the corner, Hutchinson’s shot at the front post drifts just past!

    37mins: Free-kick about 25 yards out. Good position……McFadden’s shot is headed out for a corner.

    35mins: Ross County sub: McLean makes way for Munro.

    33mins: Decent chance there for ‘Well as Sutton flicks on McFadden’s free-kick from wide on the right. Straight at Brown.

    30mins: GOAL! County open the scoring. De Leeuw with the goal which was deflected past Hollis

    25mins: Sutton denied the opener by Mark Browns foot! Was a good stop to deny him from 10 yards. Anier curls the rebound just wide.

    20mins: Ambitious stuff from Hutchinson as he storms forward and tries a shot from 35 yards.High and wide.

    15mins: Bit of trickery from Francis-Angol freed him up to get a cross in from the left. Unfortunately no-one was there to take advantage

    9mins: Good spell of attacking pressure there from County! Carey with 2 good crosses in from the left with no takers

    5mins: Carey gets a bit of time 30 yards out and opts to shoot. Well over the bar.

    1min: Anier brings out a good stop from Brown! From the resulting corner Hutchinson heads just over.

    1min: De Leeuw and Brittain kick us off #COYW

    [tab:Reaction]

    Motherwell manager Stuart McCall:

    “It obviously wasn’t in the script to go a goal behind but to be fair to Ross County; they came and put two right up top.

    “They don’t often do that to be fair so that made their intentions clear from the start but I always felt that would leave us a little more room to play and it proved to be the case.

    “First half, although we were behind, we had the majority of the ball and had two or three wee half chances. Despite being behind at the break, I seen enough to suggest we would get chances and that proved to be the case in the second half.”

    Ross County manager Derek Adams:

    “I thought we played very well in the game as a whole.

    “The first half we created openings and didn’t really look under any threat. I know Brown made a really good save but Richard Brittain had a great chance to make it 2-0 just before half-time.

    “The second half we didn’t deal well with the cross ball into the box. From that point of view, disappointing, but overall it was a good performance from us.”

    [tab:Man-of-the-match]

    [poll id=”160″]

  • Archive

    Ross County Magazine Preview

    The fourth domestic Steelmen Matchday Magazine of 2013/14 is on sale when Ross County visit on Saturday.

    But what is inside the 68-page issue?

    ‘Well boss Stuart McCall and Captain Keith Lasley both return with their regular columns.

    Stuart talks about continuing our recent run of form and the difficulty posed by Derek Adams’ side.

    The skipper chats about having competition for places in a competitive ‘Well squad.

    The feature interview is with Stephen McManus. The Scotland defender speaks highly of his new club and how much he is enjoying life back in his native Lanarkshire.

    ‘Mick’ also features as the third of a souvenir poster collection in the centre pages and, for the first time this season, gives us his top five songs – all of which will be played over the PA before the match tomorrow.

    But that’s not where the features stop!

    There is a 12-page section dedicated to our visitors, Ross County.

    Ray Morrison introduces the Victoria Park side and there is a player-by-player breakdown of who is likely to line up for the Dingwall side.

    We continue our opposition manager section by speaking directly to Staggies boss Derek Adams. The former Steelmen midfielder chats candidly about catching up and facing some former teammates.

    We also take a detailed look back at Ross County’s last match against Hearts in the Highlands

    Graeme McGarry’s ‘Us and Them’ section also makes a return and features former ‘Well and County midfielder Marc Fitzpatrick. The Queen of the South player talks about some of his former teammates who ply their trade for both teams.

    The big features keep coming…

    Press & Media Manager Alan Burrows returns in ‘The Last Word’ and the next round of new quiz, MFC Eggheads, pits two Scotland Internationals against each other – James McFadden and Stephen McManus.

    But wait, there’s more!

    Our match reports section takes a look back at the win over St Mirren in Paisley and the 2-2 draw with Dundee Utd at Tannadice.

    There’s also an in-depth report from the Under 20s most recent match against East Fife in the SFA Youth Cup.

    We have the latest from The Ticket Office, Commercial and Community Departments, and update from the Well Society as well as the latest stats, facts and figures from the 2013/2014 campaign.

    We also take a statistical look at the match official, detail the SPFL’s support for a new road safety message and there’s details on September’s Player of the Month in the Latest News section.

    Another new feature is the ‘Junior Steel’ kids page that will test the youngster’s quiz minds with puzzles and ‘Did you know’ facts.

    The programme is available for £3 and is will be on sale from the Club Shop as well as the usual sellers located in and around the ground pre-match.

    You can also order back editions or take a season-long subscription to the magazine by visiting the website of our publishers – Curtis-Sports –

  • Archive

    TV: McCall aims for home comforts

    ‘Well boss Stuart McCall is hoping for more home success after back-to-back wins in recent weeks.

    The Steelmen will be aiming for their third consecutive home victory after disposing of both Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock in recent weeks.

    Incredibly, it wasn’t until Boxing Day last year that McCall’s men recorded their third win, beating Aberdeen 4-1.

    Three points against Ross County tomorrow would match that, three months ahead of schedule, and the Fir Park boss is conscious of having to perform in front of the home crowd.

    [pullquote]We have had some better results this season and, whilst we haven’t been fantastic in those matches, we played well in patches and merited each of our wins.[/pullquote]

    Speaking to MFC TV, he said “It’s fairly obvious to say you want to win games but that’s particularly true when you are playing in front of your own fans.

    “We started off pretty poorly at Fir Park last season, it was actually the 3-2 win over Ross County in December that eventually got us going.

    “We have had some better results this season and, whilst we haven’t been fantastic in those matches, we played well in patches and merited each of our wins.

    “We just need to have that killer instinct when we are creating chances.

    “Obviously, Ross County will be tough; there is a bit of added spice with a number of former players lining up in both sides, but our main focus is trying to win the match and continue or recent run of form.”

    -WATCH HIS INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVELY ON MFC TV

    MFC TV

  • Archive

    Madden’s in charge this Saturday

    Referee for this Saturday’s SPFL Premiership clash with Ross County at Fir Park is the highly-rated Bobby Madden.

    The match will be Bobby’s second in charge of the Steelmen this campaign. The first was the SPFL opener against Hibs at Easter Road, Henri Anier coming off the bench to net the winner.

    That was only his fifth ever Motherwell match. His first was back in January of the 2011/12 season as the ‘Well slipped to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Inverness; Grégory Tadé grabbing the game’s only goal.

    His second was the thrilling 5-1 win over St Johnstone as Motherwell reaffirmed their grip on third spot in the SPL. Goals that day from Higdon, Law, Murphy and an Ojamaa double all but ended Saints’ hopes of nicking the best of the rest gong last season.

    Last season he also handled two matches. The first was an entertaining 3-3 draw with Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

    Motherwell had raced into a 3-1 lead courtesy of goals from Higdon, Hutchinson and Law but a late Aberdeen fightback handed Craig Brown’s men a draw.

    His second, two months later, was a fine 2-1 win at Tannadice. Michael Higdon opened the scoring before Chris Humphrey rocketed in a second goal of the season contender. Jon Daly pulled one back with his customary goal but it wasn’t enough as Motherwell held on for the three points.

    The 34-year old has been fourth official on a number of occasions, including Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup last season and the Semi Final with St Johnstone at Hampden.

    The whistler has busy already this campaign, with domestic duties topped up with games in the Europa League with Esbjerg fB vs AS Saint-Étienne.
    In addition, he handled two UEFA Champions League qualifiers: CS Fola Esch vs GNK Dinamo Zagreb and Austria Vienna vs FH Hafnarfjördur.

    His most recent SPFL appointment was last weekend when Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock shared a 1-1 draw at Firhill. He was also the man in the middle for Morton’s shock 1-0 win over Celtic in the League Cup on Tuesday night.

    Bobby will be ably assisted by Alasdair Ross and Stuart Stevenson with Euan Norris on fourth official duties.