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    Robertson in charge vs Celtic

  • Archive

    ‘Well stars attend half term camps

  • Archive

    TV: Highlights from Pittodrie

  • Archive

    Aberdeen loss in pictures

  • Archive

    McGhee: Bad start led to heavy loss

  • Archive

    Aberdeen 7 – 2 Motherwell

  • Archive

    Aberdeen: A closer look

  • Archive

    Update: Replacement Dons tickets

  • Archive

    TV: Highlights from Excelsior Stadium

  • Archive

    Gordon: Happy with performance

  • Archive

    Robertson in charge vs Celtic

    Referee for Saturday’s Ladbrokes Premiership match against Celtic at Parkhead is Don Robertson.

    It will be Don’s third ‘Well appointment of the 2016/17 season and his seventh Motherwell fixture during his six seasons as a senior official.

    His first appointment this season was the Steelmen’s 3-0 victory over Stranraer in the Betfred League Cup back in July.

    Goals from Chris Cadden, Scott McDonald and Marvin Johnson secured the three points in the group stage.

    But the officials most recent ‘Well match was against Inverness CT back in October, when the Steelmen slumped to a 3-0 home loss.

    Before this season, most of Don’s Motherwell appointments came last season – the first being a 1-1 draw with Ross County at Fir Park back in early September when a last-minute Louis Moult leveler earned the Steelmen a point.

    Then, just three weeks late, he was the man in the middle for the 2-1 defeat at Dens Park when Stephen Pearson’s goal was not enough to earn his side anything during Stephen Craigan’s temporary tenure.

    The most recent was the memorable 2-1 win over Aberdeen at Fir Park last March when a Scott McDonald header and an opportunistic Moult goal gave Mark McGhee’s side all three points.

    The only game other came in February of the 2014/15 season when Dundee were again the opponents, and they won 0-1 in North Lanarkshire courtesy of a Paul McGinn goal after twelve minutes.

    Don will be ably assisted by Alan Mulvanny and Ivan Stankovic, with Grant Irvine on fourth official duties.

  • Archive

    ‘Well stars attend half term camps

    Over 150 local children took part in the Motherwell FC Community Trust’s half term camps this week.

    And first team stars Chris Cadden, Craig Clay and David Ferguson stopped by on Tuesday afternoon to visit the excited youngsters.

    In what was a jam packed three days, children from the ages of 5-12 were entertained with skill sessions and mini games whilst being educated in the importance of keeping fit and healthy.

    Their experience was topped off by the visit of the ‘Well stars, who took part in a Q and A session on Tuesday, which delighted not only the children, but the Community Trust General Manager Dawn Middleton too, who admitted the presence of the players brought something “unique” to the kids experiences.

    [pullquote]It was the first time we had run a camp on an in-service day and it proved to be a massive success. Every child that came to us over the three days will be invited with their families to the Dundee game so we look forward to seeing them again soon.[/pullquote]

    Dawn said: “To have the players here was brilliant and it means that we can offer something totally unique to those children and families that engage with us.

    “I would like to thank the players for coming along and for spending some invaluable time with the children where they posed for pictures, signed autographs and answered some fantastic questions from the children.”

    She added: “It was the first time we had run a camp on an in-service day and it proved to be a massive success. Every child that came to us over the three days will be invited with their families to the Dundee game so we look forward to seeing them again soon.”

    The Community Trust have more camps coming up, with the next one as near as April. To get involved and for more up to date news straight from the Trust, follow the team on Twitter and Facebook. You can also get in touch on 01698 239 926 or email community@motherwellfc.co.uk

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  • Archive

    TV: Highlights from Pittodrie

    All the goals from tonight’s defeat to Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

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    Aberdeen loss in pictures

    Images from today’s 7-2 loss to Aberdeen in the Ladbrokes Premiership at Pittodrie.

    Snaps courtesy of SNSPix

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  • Archive

    McGhee: Bad start led to heavy loss

    ‘Well boss Mark McGhee admitted that a poor start to the match led to tonight’s heavy defeat against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

    Speaking to MFC TV at full time, the manager reflected upon a difficult 90 minutes.

    He said: “It was a bad start losing a goal in the first minute like that with people switching off at the back.

    [pullquote]It was a bad start losing a goal in the first minute like that with people switching off at the back.[/pullquote]

    “It was everything that we’d talked about that didn’t need to happen.”

    He added: “We wanted to keep it simple, we wanted to get in behind them and play our longer game, but they did it better than us.”

    You can watch the manager’s full post match interview exclusively at <a href=”http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialMotherwellFC”>MFC TV’s YouTube channel</a>.

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    Aberdeen 7 – 2 Motherwell

    [tab:Match report]

    Motherwell slumped to a heavy 7-2 defeat away to Aberdeen in the Ladbrokes Premiership tonight. 

    An extremely poor first half left the Steelmen with a four goal deficit to overcome, with Ryan Bowman’s header and Stephen Pearson’s volley in the second half acting as mere consolations on a terrible night up north.

    Mark McGhee named three changes to the side that lost to Hearts at Fir Park, bringing in Stephen Pearson and Lee Lucas, as well as handing a full debut to January signing Elliott Frear – with Zak Jules and Lionel Ainsworth dropped to the bench and Carl McHugh missing through suspension.

    But it was a disastrous start for the Steelmen, who found themselves one down inside two minutes.

    Jonny Hayes, fresh off the back of penning a contract extension, was afforded far too much time as the ball broke to him in the box, and the Dons number eleven laced a powerful low shot through a crowded six yard box and past Craig Samson.

    Motherwell did settle for the ten minutes that followed, but failed to create much going forward and were limited to a handful of corners.

    Elliott Frear swung some good balls in to the area, but Aberdeen stood strong to clear any potential danger.

    The deficit remained at just one until the 31st minute, and the fifteen minutes which followed left McGhee’s side with virtually no hope of taking away much from the game.

    Andrew Considine finished off a fine corner for the home side from an in swinging delivery to double the home side’s advantage, before a calamitous bit of defending lead to a tap in for Adam Rooney.

    Ryan Christie capped a strong first half for the Reds with a stabbed finish from outside the box in to the far top corner and Alan Muir’s half time whistle was simply relief for Motherwell.

    In truth, the glaring difference had been the pressure applied by Aberdeen all over the park. Lasley, Lucas and Pearson were afforded no time on the ball and McGhee’s men couldn’t settle in to the match .

    The second half was slightly improved from a Motherwell perspective but Aberdeen still managed to add more goals.

    An Adam Rooney penalty was followed by a header from the striker to put the hosts 6-0 up and secure his hattrick.

    Mark McGhee was sent to the stands after an exchange with fourth official John McKendrick, but not before his half time change had made an impact on the game.

    Ryan Bowman, introduced to the action in place of Lee Lucas, grabbed a consolation when he headed home from a freekick, before Stephen Pearson made it 6-2 with a volley following a flick on from a corner.

    Peter Pawlett made it seven to wrap up the three points and condemn the Steelmen to a terrible defeat, who face Celtic next on Saturday.

     

    [tab:As it happened]

     Alastair Reilly at Pittodrie

     

     

    FT: Aberdeen 7 – 2 Motherwell #AFCvMFC

    83′ | 7-2
    Goal – Aberdeen break straight away and Pawlett finishes past Samson.

    81′ | 6-2
    Bowman does well down the left and forces a corner….Goal! Pearson knock home at the backpost.

    79′ | 6-1
    Aberdeen sub, Storey on for Christie

    76′ | 6-1
    Samson with a superb save to deny McLean from close range

    75′ | 6-1
    Good effort from Bowman, coming in off the right and seeing his shot fly inches over the bar.

    74′ | 6-1
    Goal – Bowman heads in from a free-kick. 6-1.

    72′ | 6-0
    And another sub, McGinn off for Pawlett.

    71′ | 6-0
    Aberdeen sub, Rooney off for Stockley

    69′ | 6-0
    Goal- It’s 6. Rooney heads home from a corner.

    66′ | 5-0
    Motherwell sub, Clay on for Frear

    64′ | 5-0
    Goal – Rooney sends Samson the wrong way.

    63′ | 4-0
    Penalty to Aberdeen…

    58′ | 4-0
    Taylor booked for a trip on Bowman as he broke clear.

    50′ | 4-0
    Considine booked for handball wide on the ‘Well right. Free-kick hooked in but easily gathered by Lewis.

    Lasley gets the second 45 underway.

    Half time sub for ‘Well, Lucas off for Bowman.

    HT: Aberdeen 4 – 0 Motherwell #AFCvMFC

    40′ | 4-0
    Goal – Aberdeen work a short corner which finds Christie and he finds the top corner with the outside of his boot.

    34′ | 3-0
    Goal – It’s three nil. ‘Well defence fail to clear and that leaves Rooney with plenty of space 6 yards out to score.

    32′ | 2-0
    Goal – Corner is whipped into the back post where Considine has plenty of space to nod home.

    30′ | 1-0
    Lucas booked for hauling down Jack inside the Motherwell half.

    25′ | 1-0
    Ambitious chip from Moult about 25 yards out doesn’t come off, sailing well over the bar.

    21′ | 1-0
    McManus does well to dispossess Hayes but it falls kindly to Christie whose first time shot curls over the bar.

    19′ | 1-0
    Dons get the break of the ball which sets Hayes free down the right but thankfully his cross slices wide of the post.

    13′ | 1-0
    Chance for Rooney as he goes for the spectacular overhead-kick 10 yards out but gets it all wrong and it’s wide of the post.

    7′ | 1-0
    Cadden gets down the right and clips in a ball which just misses Frear at the back post.

    5′ | 1-0
    ‘Well have a free-kick wide on the right which Lucas whips in but its headed clear for a corner.

    2′ | 1-0
    Goal – Aberdeen open the scoring straight away. Ball breaks the way of Hayes inside the box and he fires it past Samson.

    Aberdeen get the action underway. COYW!!!

    Out come both teams, full red for Aberdeeen, full white for the Steelmen. #AFCvMFC

    [tab:Reaction]

    Motherwell manager Mark McGhee:

     

    Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes:

     

    [tab:Man-of-the-match]

    [poll id=”310″]

  • Archive

    Aberdeen: A closer look

    Motherwell travel north to face Aberdeen in the Ladbrokes Premiership tonight.

    And the midweek clash, rearranged after December’s fixture was abandoned due to floodlight failure, is an important one for both sides.

    The Fir Parkers could move in to the top six with anything other than a loss, while the Dons could strengthen their bid for second place with a positive result tomorrow.

    Derek McInnes’ men sit level on points with the Rangers and, amid constant links with the vacant managers position at Rangers, ‘Well boss Mark McGhee believes the Reds gaffer has done a fantastic job.

    Speaking to the press this morning, McGhee said: “As someone who’s been at Aberdeen and knows how difficult it is to manage, I think he’s done a brilliant job.

    “I see Tommy Wright has been linked with the job too and I would love to see one of these guys get the opportunity.”

    Focussing on the positives of a weekend off as his side prepare for tomorrow night, the manager also said: “We’ve had a couple of reserve games, we’ve got another one tonight and Jacob Blyth will get another bit of that – he had his first game back.”

    He added: “It’s also allowed Hammy and Taity to recover a bit because if they had of played on Saturday they wouldn’t have been fit for tomorrow. Pearo’s had a good week too, he got a game with the under 20s.”

    The ‘Well boss admitted that he was disappointed not to have a game, but was in a positive frame of mind.

    [pullquote]I felt that even after the Hearts game we were in a good frame of mind so I would’ve liked another game on Saturday but it wasn’t to be – so we will accentuate all the positives because we’ve got something out of the short break.[/pullquote]

    He said: “With these sort of things you always accentuate the positives. I felt that even after the Hearts game we were in a good frame of mind so I would’ve liked another game on Saturday but it wasn’t to be – so we will accentuate all the positives because we’ve got something out of the short break.

    “We’re learning that this season is going to be punctuated by these breaks so we just have to make the best of it.”

    With the split approaching, McGhee revealed he plans to approach the remainder of the season one game at a time.

    He said: “I think we can start to build now. We’ve got enough games left now to focus on to get ourselves in to the top six.

    “If we don’t get beat tomorrow night we’ll go in to the top six, so we’ll just approach it incrementally.”

     

    Midfielder Lee Lucas hopes to bring something different to the team every time he steps on the pitch. 

    Ahead of the Steelmen’s clash with Aberdeen and after a recent break through suspension, Lucas is fired up for tomorrow night’s league fixture and hopes to rediscover his match sharpness.

    Speaking to the press this morning, the Welshman said: “The past few months have been good, I worked my way in to the team in the few games before Christmas but then had that two match suspension after the Hamilton game so that was a bit frustrating.”

    He added: “That meant that I missed the two Rangers games which was unfortunate and with the winter break in between all of that it felt even longer.

    [pullquote]When I play, that’s just what I hope to do – add something different and that’s what the manager has brought me in for.[/pullquote]

    “Now I’m just trying to get back playing and get that match sharpness back. We’ve got a competitive squad now and we’ve got strength throughout– everyone wants to play.”

    ‘Well boss Mark McGhee described Lee Lucas as “the best footballer” among his midfield options.

     

    And when asked about those comments, the 24-year-old admitted that his tyle of play is something he has developed from a young age.

    He said: “It’s always nice to hear that and that’s just the way I’ve been brought up from my time at Swansea – that’s just what I know.

    “When I play, that’s just what I hope to do – add something different and that’s what the manager has brought me in for.”

    He added: “Whenever I get the chance that’s what I hope to do and help the team.”

     

    Aberdeen head in to tonight’s match in fine form, having won five of their last six league games – losing once to runaway leaders Celtic.

    The Dons will be without suspended left-back Graeme Shinnie for Wednesday’s Premiership meeting while defender Mark Reynolds and forward Niall McGinn are nursing knocks as the Dons seek to go three points clear of third-placed Rangers.

    Tonight’s opponents form is even more impressive given the fact that they have only conceded once in their last six matches, in their loss to Celtic. In the other five wins, they have kept clean sheets.

    The most recent was in the Scottish Cup on Saturday, when a deflected Shay Logan effort was enough to see Aberdeen progress to the quarter-finals.

    The clubs season so far is yet another impressive one for manager Derek McInnes, who is being heavily linked with the Rangers job for good reason.

    ‘Well boss Mark McGhee agrees, and admitted that McInnes deserves credit for the job he has done at Aberdeen.

    McGhee said: “As someone who has managed Aberdeen I know just how difficult a club it is to manage; I think he’s done a brilliant job.”

    The Reds have a good record against Motherwell in recent seasons, winning six of the last eight head-to-heads.

    However, both teams have scored in the last six Scottish Premiership meetings between these two sides.

    There is likely to e goals tonight, and in Niall McGinn, Aberdeen possess one of the most in-form attackers in the league.

    The Dons star has been directly involved in five of Aberdeen’s last six league goals, scoring twice and providing three assists.

    Ahead of the game tonight, Derek McInnes spoke to the press.

    He said: “We’re keen to keep the run going. It’s seven wins out of the last eight games. The 1-0 defeat at Celtic apart, it’s been very strong result-wise.

    “I still want us to have more, still want us to find even better performances, but if the results keep coming the way they’ve been coming, I’ll be delighted.”

    He added: “We won a game down at Motherwell not so long ago. Just because we’re in good form doesn’t give us any guarantees. It’ll be a tough game.

    “Mark’s a shrewd manager, he knows exactly how to get results for his club and we’re going to have to overcome that.

    “The challenge is there clearly to try and go three points clear. It’s important we try and take opportunities when they come along and tomorrow’s an opportunity.”

  • Archive

    Update: Replacement Dons tickets

    Motherwell supporters who made the trip to Pittodrie in December are reminded to take their tickets to the game tonight where they will be issued with a free of charge replacement.

    ‘Well fans must hand their ticket over at the turnstile to collect the replacement as well as an additional ticket which will ensure complimentary travel to the next match with Aberdeen in March.

    Further transport details will be announced nearer the fixture on March 11 and all supporters are reminded to make sure they keep hold of their tickets.

    Please note, this does not apply to any complimentary tickets.

    The club would like to thank Aberdeen for their help with this matter and would like to wish you all a safe journey to and from the game.

  • Archive

    TV: Highlights from Excelsior Stadium

    Extended highlights from Excelsior Stadium as the under 20s defeat St Johnstone 3-1 with goals from Blyth, Turnbull and Gordon.

  • Archive

    Gordon: Happy with performance

    Shea Gordon scored his first goal in a Motherwell jersey after completing his January loan switch.

    And after the under 20s won 3-1 against St Johnstone, the youngster caught up with MFC TV.

    He said: “I thought it was really good but it was a tough test too. In the first half I feel we did really well and although they had their spells – I think we deserved it in the end.”

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