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    Midfielder Turnbull extends contract

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    Two fixtures switched

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    St Johnstone: A closer look

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    Collum to officiate Saints clash

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    Players visit Wishaw General

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    Moult: Focussed on Saints clash

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    McGhee: We must be better

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    TV: Highlights from Excelsior Stadium

  • Archive

    Craigan: Glad with win

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    Motherwell U20s 2 – 1 Rangers U20s

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    Midfielder Turnbull extends contract

    ‘Well starlet David Turnbull has committed his future to the club by penning a two-and-a-half year contract extension.

    The 17-year-old Academy product has been in sparkling form recently and is enjoying his second professional season in Claret and Amber.

    Operating in his preferred advanced role or as a deeper lying playmaker, Turnbull admitted he was “delighted” to secure his future with the club until summer 2019.

    He said: “I’m absolutely delighted to sign the new deal, it’s been going on a while now and I hope I can go on to really progress as a player over the next few years.”

    The youngster follows in the footsteps of youngsters Ross MacLea, Jack McMillan, Chris Cadden and Allan Campbell in extending his stay with the Steelmen, and Turnbull admits he thinks the future is bright for not only himself, but for the club too.

    [pullquote]I’m absolutely delighted to sign the new deal, it’s been going on a while now and I hope I can go on to really progress as a player over the next few years.[/pullquote]

    He said: “It’s great seeing the lads get a chance in the first team and as a player it shows you that you’ll get your chance here.

    “I think that attention to the youth team is something that makes Motherwell the club it is today.”

    Under Stephen Craigan, the young player admitted that he has learnt a lot and is happy with the way he is playing at the moment.

    He said: “I’ve learnt a lot from Crags, he gives us a lot of advice and is always looking to build on your strengths and teach you how to get rid of your weaknesses.

    “It took me a little while to get off the mark in terms of goals, but now that I have they’ve kept coming and I’ve been delighted with the way I’m playing at the moment.”

    [pullquote]It took me a little while to get off the mark in terms of goals, but now that I have they’ve kept coming and I’ve been delighted with the way I’m playing at the moment.[/pullquote]

    He added: “Looking forward, I just hope that I can continue to play well for the 20s and take my opportunity to break in to the first team when I’m given the chance.”

    ‘Well boss Mark McGhee said: “It’s been a productive few weeks for us in terms of securing some of our brightest prospects to new deals.

    “I’m delighted to see that David has extended his stay with us because I have high hopes for him and I know Stephen Craigan does too.”

    “At just 17 years of age, he has all the attributes needed for a player in his position – a fantastic touch, great vision and an eye for goal too. He still has things he needs to work on, and he knows that, but you he’s still so very young and we are very confident it won’t be long before he, like the others, is chapping on the door.”

  • Archive

    Two fixtures switched

    Two of Motherwell’s games at the start of the new year will be covered live by both Sky Sports and BT Sport.

    The match against Rangers, scheduled for Saturday 28th January at Fir Park, will go ahead on the same day, but will kick-off at 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports.

    The home match against Hearts, scheduled for the Saturday 4th February, will also remain on the same day but will have an earlier kick-off time of 12:15pm, live on BT Sport.

  • Archive

    St Johnstone: A closer look

    Motherwell travel to face St Johnstone in the Ladbrokes Premiership tomorrow afternoon, with both sides looking to follow up on goalless draws last weekend.

    Mark McGhee’s men will be keen to get back to action after Tuesday night’s match against Aberdeen was abandoned due to floodlight failure.

    Prior to that, the Steelmen drew 0-0 with Kilmarnock at Fir Park in a match which ‘Well boss McGhee hopes will be the start of an unbeaten run.

    He said: “I think that we could’ve won it in both halves so I’m disappointed not to have won.

    “It wasn’t a fantastic game, it wasn’t a fantastic performance but we had enough clear cut chances and if you take one of those chances it kind of changes the game, it settles you down, it puts them under a bit of pressure so things usually get better.”

    He added: “Not getting the goal can make you nervous that they’ll nick something even if it is against the run of play.

    “We kept on to it though – we brought on the two young lads, we still got at them, we got corners, we got set plays, we didn’t make enough of them and when we made the chances we weren’t able to take them.

    “The way I see it is staying undefeated against Kilmarnock could spark the start of a run –hopefully now we can go on and stay unbeaten.”

    [pullquote]The way I see it is staying undefeated against Kilmarnock could spark the start of a run –hopefully now we can go on and stay unbeaten.[/pullquote]

    St Johnstone, undefeated this month, will be keen to narrow the gap with Hearts and keep pace with the top four as they host the Fir Parkers tomorrow.

    Tommy Wright’s men secured three points in this reverse fixture back in August in Motherwell’s first home game of the season.

    Chris Cadden opened the scoring just after the break, but goals from Danny Swanson and Steven McLean brought the Perth side back from behind to grab all three points.

    Tomorrow’s meeting provides the Fir Parkers with the chance to move in to the top half of the table as the Premiership remains extremely tight.

    In terms of fitness, Motherwell stars Stevie Hammell, Carl McHugh, Joe Chalmers, Kieran Kennedy and Jacob Blyth will all be out.

     

    ‘Well striker Louis Moult insists preparation for tomorrow’s match won’t have been affected by the abandoned match on Tuesday night.

    The forward admitted it was frustrating making the trip to Aberdeen to see the game cut short and called off, but he has his attentions firmly on St Johnstone now.

    With his current goal-scoring form, the forward is an obvious one-to-watch this weekend.

    The 24-year-old said: “Obviously travelling all the way up there, sitting on the bus for three hours and then getting six minutes in to the game before it’s called off is frustrating but it’s just one of those things, we’ve got to get on with it now and look forward to Saturday’s game.

    “We’ve still got two days to prepare for Saturday so there’s not much difference I think we can work hard today and think a little bit more about preparing for the game tomorrow.”

    He added: “I know that a few of the lads were feeling the effects of two games in a week so I think a few of them were pleased the game was called off to be honest.”

    [pullquote]On a personal note I’m doing ok, I managed to get two goals against Celtic and it’s always nice to score goals but as a team we were disappointed in the manner of the way we lost.[/pullquote]

    When asked about his form so far this season, the Steelmen’s top scorer, and the third top scorer in the Premiership, would rather see his team pick up points.

    He said: “On a personal note I’m doing ok, I managed to get two goals against Celtic and it’s always nice to score goals but as a team we were disappointed in the manner of the way we lost.

    “Then we drew 0-0 at home against Kilmarnock and you always want to score goals at home. The positive is obviously that we kept a clean sheet but we had to put the chances away and we didn’t do that.”

    He added: “I’ve been pleased with my goals to game ratio so far this season because I think I have 10 goals in 12 games now so it’s not a bad ratio.

    “In terms of targets for this season though I just aim to score every time that I get the opportunity.”

    Moult’s stunning finish against Celtic has received a lot of attention and the forward himself admitted that his phone was “red hot” for up to two days after the match.

    On the goal itself though he said: “I think it was actually my first touch in the game and it’s gone in, it’s one of those things, and I was delighted with the two goals but on the whole I was disappointed with the result.”

     

    After a solid 2015/16 season, St Johnstone have enjoyed a similar campaign so far this term and will be full of confidence ahead of tomorrow’s clash.

    For manager Tommy Wright, it was going to be a busy summer to follow up on last season’s successes, but so far, as he looked to retain his stars and build on an already strong squad.

    With minimal departures from McDiarmid Park and the arrival of midfielder Paul Paton, the Saints kept the core of their squad in the summer transfer window.

    29-year-old Paul Paton has brought stability to the middle of the Saints midfield but it is likely he will miss the arrival of the Steelmen tomorrow.

    Away from the treatment table though, Paton has proven to be a valuable addition to the squad, making 16 appearances in all competitions this season.

    Another player who may miss the weekend’s fixture is top scorer Danny Swanson, who has 12 goals to his name in 20 appearances so far.

    With his injury in recent weeks, the Saints star faces a late fitness test and will be a significant boost for the home side if he manages to feature tomorrow afternoon.

    The blow came for St Johnstone just before the Aberdeen match as it emerged Swanson would miss out after picking up a hip injury just two days before.

    It was initially reported that the winger could be out for up to 10 days, however he may be fit for tomorrow.

    The Aberdeen match could have done with his personality and invention in the final third too, as Saints’ best chance in the first-half came when Steven MacLean’s cross was flicked on by Chris Kane to Davidson, who fired wide when he probably should have done better.

    After the break, MacLean tried his luck with a shot from 30-yards that Lewis tipped over the bar and Blair Alston almost nicked in on a poor Graeme Shinnie back-pass, but poked the ball wide as St Johnstone finished strongly.

    The best chance of the game came from Wotherspoon. His free-kick from 25 yards was curling viciously towards goal, but Lewis produced a great save.

    After the match, manager Tommy Wright said: “I thought over the piece we probably could have edged it, but we’re happy with a point.

    “We’re slightly disappointed it wasn’t all three points because in the first half we had the better chances, and in the second half we had the better chances too.”

    He added: “It was another good away performance though. We’ve been to Ibrox now and probably should have won, been to Hearts and should have won, and been up here and should have won.”

     

  • Archive

    Collum to officiate Saints clash

    Referee for Saturday’s league clash with St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park is the experienced Willie Collum.

    One of Europe’s most recognisable officials, Willie will be handling his second ‘Well fixture of the campaign, after taking charge of the Lanarkshire derby back in September.

    And it was a historic day too, as star forward Louis Moult bagged a phenomenal four goals as the Steelmen stormed to a 4-2 victory over local rivals Hamilton.

    Last season, Collum took charge on three occasions – all resulting in 2-1 defeats.

    The first was a defesat to eventual Champions Celtic, who clinched a 2-1 victory on a day when the Steelmen put in a sound display.

    The other two fixtures also ended in 1-2 home defeats. The first was at the hands of Aberdeen when Marvin Johnson’s early opener was cancelled out by Niall McGinn and Ash Taylor.

    The second, at the end of January, ended with Ross County taking the points when Stephen Pearson’s late goal wasn’t enough to earn the Fir Parkers anything after Jackson Irvine and Brian Graham had put the Staggies into a commanding lead.

    Those results are on the back of the six he took charge of in the 2014/15 campaign too.

    His overall record in charge of the Steelmen reads ten wins, eighteen defeats and seven draws from thirty-five matches (in all competitions).

    In those games, Motherwell have scored 50 and conceded 64.

    78 players have gone into the book, 36 wearing Claret and Amber, while six players have been dismissed – Ian Murray of Hibs at Easter Road seven years back, Jerard Aafjes at Falkirk seven seasons ago, Paul Dixon at the end of 2009/10, Henrik Ojamaa at the Caledonian Stadium and Fraser Kerr down at Rugby Park. Stephen McManus was shown a red card against Aberdeen but that was later rescinded after an appeal.

    Willie will be assisted by Gavin Harris and Paul O’Neill with David Lowe listed as fourth official.

  • Archive

    Players visit Wishaw General

    Stars from the first team squad visited the Children’s Ward at Wishaw General Hospital this afternoon.

    Captain Keith Lasley, Louis Moult, Lionel Ainsworth, Richard Tait, Steven Hammell and Chris Cadden visited Ward 20 and gave out Motherwell FC goody bags,  spreading some Christmas cheer to the young kids.

    Motherwell FC would like to thank the hospital’s staff, who do a wonderful job and are an inspiration to all.

     

     

  • Archive

    Moult: Focussed on Saints clash

    ‘Well striker Louis Moult insists preparation for Saturday’s match won’t have been affected by the abandoned match on Tuesday night.

    Speaking to the press this morning, the forward admitted it was frustrating making the trip to Aberdeen to see the game cut short and called off, but he has his attentions firmly on St Johnstone now.

    The 24-year-old said: “Obviously travelling all the way up there, sitting on the bus for three hours and then getting six minutes in to the game before it’s called off is frustrating but it’s just one of those things, we’ve got to get on with it now and look forward to Saturday’s game.

    “We’ve still got two days to prepare for Saturday so there’s not much difference I think we can work hard today and think a little bit more about preparing for the game tomorrow.”

    [pullquote]I know that a few of the lads were feeling the effects of two games in a week so I think a few of them were pleased the game was called off to be honest.[/pullquote]

    He added: “I know that a few of the lads were feeling the effects of two games in a week so I think a few of them were pleased the game was called off to be honest.”

    When asked about his form so far this season, the Steelmen’s top scorer, and the third top scorer in the Premiership, would rather see his team pick up points.

    He said: “On a personal note I’m doing ok, I managed to get two goals against Celtic and it’s always nice to score goals but as a team we were disappointed in the manner of the way we lost.

    “Then we drew 0-0 at home against Kilmarnock and you always want to score goals at home. The positive is obviously that we kept a clean sheet but we had to put the chances away and we didn’t do that.”

    [pullquote] On a personal note I’m doing ok, I managed to get two goals against Celtic and it’s always nice to score goals but as a team we were disappointed in the manner of the way we lost.[/pullquote]

    He added: “I’ve been pleased with my goals to game ratio so far this season because I think I have 10 goals in 12 games now so it’s not a bad ratio.

    “In terms of targets for this season though I just aim to score every time that I get the opportunity.”

    Moult’s stunning finish against Celtic has received a lot of attention and the forward himself admitted that his phone was “red hot” for up to two days after the match.

    On the goal itself though he said: “I think it was actually my first touch in the game and it’s gone in, it’s one of those things, and I was delighted with the two goals but on the whole I was disappointed with the result.”

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    McGhee: We must be better

    ‘Well boss Mark McGhee feels his side must be better this Saturday than in previous meetings with St Johnstone.

    The Saints come in to Saturday’s match on the back of a goalless draw with Aberdeen and occupy fifth spot in the table.

    The Fir Park boss, who will serve the final game of his ban after it was carried over from Tuesday, knows it will be a tough match for his side.

    Speaking to the press this morning, he said: “St Johnstone are consistent, they finished fourth last year and they are up there again so we know that they are tough opposition.

    “We’ve lost narrowly most times we’ve played them recently, but we’ve never really played well against them so clearly we’re going to have to play better than what we’ve played in the other games because they are the type of team that you do have to break down and you won’t just beat them by turning up.”

    After Tuesday nights abandoned match against Aberdeen, McGhee admitted that the inconvenience of the round trip wasn’t a major problem for him and his side.

    Speaking to the press this morning, the manager insisted unforeseen circumstances like floodlight failure can happen to any club.

    [pullquote]St Johnstone are consistent, they finished fourth last year and they are up there again so we know that they are tough opposition.[/pullquote]

    He said: “We got over the events midweek quickly, what can you do? I know that they had plans next week to completely renew the wiring so they just got caught out a bit and that can happen to anyone.

    “We have no problem with that, we’ll go back and play them whenever the game is rescheduled.”

    The match lasted a mere eight minutes before the decision was made to abandon play due to floodlight failures.

    And McGhee joked: “I thought we started well on Tuesday, but the surprise to me was that when we looked at the stats Aberdeen had 92% possession which was disappointing.”

    However, the unforeseen circumstances may act as a blessing in disguise for the Steelmen.

    McGhee said: “We actually went in to the game with Scott McDonald, Chris Cadden and Stephen McManus all struggling a bit. Cadden especially who we gave a fitness test before we left and he wanted to play and said that he felt alright but we were a bit nervous about it.

    “When we came back in to the dressing room Scotty said he was struggling so maybe that’s worked for us because maybe he would’ve struggled more late in the game or even before that.

    “We’ve got to accentuate the positives so hopefully they’ve got a couple of days now to recover in order to be fit for the St Johnstone game.”

    [pullquote] When I’m with Scotland I sit in the stand for the first half anyway and I report down to Gordon at half time or before if I need to, so I’m used to it and it’s not a big deal really.[/pullquote]

    On his ban, the manager said: “When I’m with Scotland I sit in the stand for the first half anyway and I report down to Gordon at half time or before if I need to, so I’m used to it and it’s not a big deal really.”

    With his absence in the dugout, assistant manager James McFadden has stepped up and McGhee believes he will have a future in the game as a manager one day.

    He joked: “Well we’ve had two games and he’s only had two nil-nil draws, I think that says it all, he has to do better.

    “But no Faddy’s young – there’s been a lot of talk about the lad at Hearts and I don’t think that you can be too young.

    “I started in management at 34 when I was at Reading and Faddy’s 33, but he’s loving it and that’s the important thing.”

    He added: “I think when he took the job he wasn’t sure exactly that it was what he wanted and I think in the short period he’s been in the position he’s certainly established that this is what he wants to do, so he’ll be a quick learner.

    “It wouldn’t surprise me if he became a manager one day, he’s a confident lad, quietly confident, he talks with authority, he has convictions and he’s not wishy-washy about his beliefs and how the game should be played so it’s important that he has those convictions and a direction.”

  • Archive

    TV: Highlights from Excelsior Stadium

    Extended highlights from Excelsior Stadium as goals from Jake Hastie and David Turnbull give ‘Well a 2-1 win over Rangers Under 20s.

  • Archive

    Craigan: Glad with win

    U20s manager Stephen Craigan admitted it was nice to see his side return to winning ways as they beat Rangers U20s 2-1 in the Development League tonight.

    While the manager prioritises performance levels first and foremost from his youngsters, he felt that the feeling of winning will do his team good.

    Speaking to MFC TV after the match, Craigan said: “We always talk about development and not necessarily winning football but it’s nice for the boys to learn how to win a game.

    “They’ve had a little sticky spell, we’ve got a few players missing who would normally play so credit to the young ones who have come in.

    [pullquote]We always talk about development and not necessarily winning football but it’s nice for the boys to learn how to win a game.[/pullquote]

    He added: “We haven’t had a lot of fit defenders so we had a bit of a makeshift back four with Tom Fry at right back alongside Barry Maguire and Jordan Armstrong, who hasn’t played too much and then Adam Livingstone at left back.”

    Craigan was complimentary of the young Rangers team too, who grew in to the match in the second half.

    He said: “Rangers had a young team too, maybe just slightly younger but they beat an experienced Dundee side 3-0 last week and they beat Hearts 5-2 in the youth cup.

    “So, irrespective of age they’re a good footballing side and they like to move the ball.”

    [pullquote]I think we scored goals at the right time, the game was kind of caught in between the two teams but then we got the goal and then the second on the stroke of half time, which kind of takes the sting out of Rangers[/pullquote]

    A goal from Jake Hastie and a neat finish from David Turnbull in the first half was enough to secure the win and despite Liam Burt’s strike to pull a goal back early in the second half, the Steelmen stayed strong.

    He said: “I think we scored goals at the right time, the game was kind of caught in between the two teams but then we got the goal and then the second on the stroke of half time, which kind of takes the sting out of Rangers and then gives us a bit more relaxation in the second half.”

    He added: “When it goes to 2-1 we’ve seen in before we can crumble but it’s a little test of character to see how you get on, so it was nice that we managed to wrestle the game back and I think in the end we probably just slightly edged the game to win it.”

     

  • Archive

    Motherwell U20s 2 – 1 Rangers U20s

    Motherwell U20s returned to Development League action tonight with a 2-1 win over Rangers.

    First half goals from Jake Hastie and David Turnbull secured the three points and despite a much better Rangers performance in the second half, the Steelmen held strong.

    Stephen Craigan named a young team to face equally young opposition, with Motherwell’s Dom Thomas and Rangers’ David Bates the only over age players on the park.

    The visitors set the pace from the first whistle, charging deep in to Motherwell territory and winning two free kicks in dangerous positions but the Steelmen survived both comfortably.

    However it was the ‘Well who had the best chance to take the lead after just four minutes of action – Dylan Falconer was released through on goal and in a one-on-one situation and got his shot away. Gers stopper Robby McCrorie got enough of a touch on it to take the pace off it and full-back Jordan Houston managed to get across and clear narrowly past his post.

    Rangers continued to threaten through set-pieces, with Jamie Barjonas curling a superb effort towards the top corner from 30-yards and forcing PJ Morrison to pull off an outstanding save to deny the midfielder.

    The young Steelmen did superb to hit Rangers on the break when a sloppy ball out from the back from Bates afforded Thomas the chance to drive at the defence. He played it wide to Mackin who cut it back for Hastie, but the midfielder’s powerful low effort was stopped by a strong hand from McCrorie.

    The youngster made amends for that though, opening the scoring after 23 minutes. Dylan Falconer struck towards goal when he was teed up inside the box by Mackin, unfortunately for young Falconer his shot looked to have been blocked, but the deflection fell kindly for Hastie inside the six-yard box and he was quickest to react and finish beyond McCrorie.

    That seemed to spark the Fir Parkers in to life and two minutes after taking the lead they nearly had a second. A well worked move resulted in Thomas freeing the advancing Tom Fry from right back, he broke into the box and drilled the ball across the box but the Gers stopper did well to fling himself towards it and clutch it out of the air.

    Hastie was involved again as Motherwell went inches away from a second goal. The midfielder got up highest to head towards goal from Thomas’ corner. McCrorie could only watch on as the ball flew past his far post leaving Hastie with his head in his hands.

    Rangers were forced in to making a change after 30 minutes when centre back Aidan Wilson left the field to be replaced by Kyle Bradley.

    In the 33rd minute, Thomas nearly scored a wonder goal, receiving the ball deep in midfield from Adam Livingstone’s throw-in and turning to beat three men before firing a speculative effort wildly over the bar from 25-yards.

    Two minutes later the midfielder went closer from the edge of the box, McCrorie getting the slightest of touches to tip his goal bound effort just over the crossbar.

    Barjonas was the first player to be cautioned despite a high number of fouls awarded by the referee, his lunging challenge resulted in his name going in to the book in the 38th minute.

    But he nearly responded to that by getting his name on the scoresheet if it wasn’t for a fantastic save by Morrison.

    A clever dummy afforded the midfielder to take a touch and strike at goal inside the box, but Morrison’s strong left hand pushed the effort from close range over the bar.

    The Steelmen doubled their lead on the stroke of half time when another slack ball out of defence fell straight to Falconer, who played it quickly to Thomas who’s shot was blocked only in to the path of David Turnbull who took one touch and fired it low past McCrorie.

    The second half got off to a bit of a slower start than the first, with neither goalkeeper called in to action until the 53rd minute.

    Ross Lyon picked the ball up on the left flank and curled in a pinpoint, deep curling cross on to the head of Zak Rudden, who headed straight at Morrison from ten yards.

    Three minutes later Liam Burt pulled one back for the visitors after some slack play at the back put Motherwell on the back foot. Burt picked up the ball and almost mirrored Turnbull’s finish by firing low past Morrison from the edge of the box.

    Falconer and Turnbull both found themselves in the book in the space of a few minutes, the former for a trip and the latter for blocking a free kick.

    That was followed by substitutions for both sides – the ‘Well replacing Falconer with Luke Watt as Craigan changed the shape of his side, and Rangers brought off 15-year-old Barry Gilmour for Serge Atakayi.

    The U20s boss made his third and final change in the 70th minute, replacing Mackin for young forward James Scott.

    Three minutes later, Thomas tried his luck from outside the box after some neat play on the left from Hastie, but Motherwell’s number seven couldn’t hit the target and it spun well over the bar.

    Gers defender Bates went close from a corner in the 77th minute, heading narrowly wide of the mark as the game approached its final ten minutes somewhat in the balance.

    The final stages of the game were largely played out in the middle of the park, with neither side creating too much in the way of chances.

    A corner in injury time was the final hurdle for the Steelmen to get over to secure the three points and Barry Maguire did well to head the danger clear.

    It was a tough second half at a cold Excelsior Stadium, but the youngsters held on for a well-deserved victory.