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Graham Alexander hails the character of his side as Motherwell put on a performance to beat Kilmarnock 2-0.

A fine, controlled team performance saw on-form Motherwell record their third consecutive win since the league split.

Goals from Devante Cole and Stephen O’Donnell at the beginning and end of the second half earned the Steelmen a fully deserved three points, which elevated them to seventh place in the league and enhance their claim to be top of the bottom six.

Kilmarnock created a couple of chances after falling behind but otherwise the Ayrshire men were largely second best as their relegation worries deepened.

Both clubs entered this game having to pick themselves off the canvas after the trauma of crashing out of the Scottish Cup on penalties last weekend.

In Kilmarnock’s case they also needed an immediate response to keep their escape from relegation on track.

Conversely, Graham Alexander’s men, now safe from relegation, were motivated by avenging the heavy defeat inflicted on them at Rugby Park five weeks ago.

The ‘Well boss made three changes from the side which lost the penalty shootout at Easter Road last Saturday. Jake Hastie, Steven Lawless and Sam Foley, for his first start, came into a revamped midfield.

The Steelmen were aiming to make it five league wins from their last six games, an impressive record that earned Alexander the league’s Manager of the Month award for April.

Motherwell looked determined to continue that winning run pressing the Rugby Park men deep into their own half from the start.

Within three minutes Christopher Long tried his luck with a powerful drive from wide on the left but Danny Rogers was untroubled as the ball raced into his goal’s side netting.

The next move was better constructed and deserved a goal. After a swift five-man move which started with Stephen O’Donnell on the right, his opposite number Nathan McGinley whipped in a cross which Haste nodded over the bar from around six yards.

Another fine passing move followed only for Long to be adjudged offside as he was about to pull the trigger from 10 yards.

Hastie, working hard on the right flank, earned a corner which was only cleared as far as Foley but from 25 yards he sliced his shot wide of goal.

As the torrential downpour watered the manicured pitch and made the cries of players and coaches inaudible, Killie finally made their presence felt around Liam Kelly’s goal.

After 35 minutes Ricki Lamie conceded a free-kick to the right of the penalty area and the ‘Well ‘keeper made the first save of the game, comfortably holding Alan Power’s rather tame effort on goal.

As half-time approached ‘Well regained the majority of possession but despite carefully working the ball towards the visitor’s box the final pass lacked conviction and the precision

Although the rain had stopped at the interval the pitch was left greasy.

Within two minutes ‘Well were equally slick as they opened the scoring.

Foley fed a low pass to Cole who slipped the ball in front of Long at the edge of the area. And although he slipped as he dragged the ball into the box, Cole latched onto the loose ball and curl in beyond Rogers to bag his 11th goal of the season.

Long, lying deeper was involved in the next couple of moves setting O’Donnell down the right before taking a pass from Cole and setting up Hastie at the corner of the box.

As Killie pressed forward in pursuit of an equaliser it almost came in the 56th minute.

It would have been a fluke, though, when Lafferty’s harmless drive from 20 yards clipped Gallagher to send the ball spinning within a metre of Kelly’s left-hand post.

With relegation results elsewhere going against his men, Tommy Wright made a triple substitution on the hour mark.

And almost immediately they carved out an opening. Declan Gallagher could only nod Chris Burke’s cross towards Lafferty and his thumping volley from 12 yards forced Kelly into a fine acrobatic save diving to his right to punch the ball away.

With Motherwell hoping to catch the committed Killie on the break, Burke came close to grabbing the equaliser when from 25 yards his measured shot clipped the top of Kelly’s crossbar.

As the crosses into the box mounted, Bevis Mugabi and Barry Maguire came on to bolster the home defence.

However, with five minutes remaining, ‘Well’s defence turned into attack as the Fir Park doubled their advantage.

Cole did well to wriggle away from a couple of defenders at the corner of the box. When he toe-poked the ball across the visitor’s penalty area it found O’Donnell racing in to drive the ball low and hard beyond the exposed ‘keeper and wrap up another three points.

Motherwell: Kelly, O’Donnell, Gallagher, Lamie, McGinley, Campbell, Foley, Lawless, Hastie, Cole, Long.

Subs: Chapman, Dunne, Mugabi, Magloire, Carroll, Crawford, Maguire, Cornelius, Watt.

We’re switching off our social media feeds over the weekend.

For too long, social media platforms have failed to do enough to stop online abuse.

We have seen our players suffer racist abuse, vile personal attacks and other victimisation on these platforms. Often, these remarks come from anonymous accounts which are untraceable. And even when we report the issue using the tools available, little is done.

We want greater regulation by social media platforms to put a stop to it once and for all.

Simply, enough is enough. By going silent, we are sending that message loud and clear. Football is united against discrimination and online abuse.

Our accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter will fall silent at 1500 BST on Friday 30 April until 2359 on Monday 3 May.

To follow our match with Kilmarnock, you can watch live for free if you are a season ticket holder by visiting live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

A pay-per-view option is also available for £12 at ppv.motherwellfc.co.uk.

Our SWPL1 match with Rangers on Sunday is available to watch live on the BBC Scotland website.

“We need to show that we need the points just as much as Kilmarnock.”

Graham Alexander has been named as the Scottish Premiership Glen’s Manager of the Month for April.

The Motherwell boss has been recognised for guiding his team to back-to-back league victories in the month.

Consecutive 1-0 wins over St Mirren and Hamilton Academical secured the club’s Premiership status, and provided the platform to push on for seventh spot in the remaining fixtures.

“I’m delighted to receive this award on behalf of all the staff and players at Motherwell Football Club,” said the Motherwell boss.

“Their combined efforts have seen us win big games to secure our Premiership status.

“I’m proud of the commitment and togetherness everyone has shown over the last few months.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to those results and this award.”

Colin Matthews, CEO of Glen’s owner the Loch Lomond Group, added: “It’s great to see Motherwell finishing the season on a high with Graham Alexander picking up his first Glen’s Manager of the Month award after his side picked up maximum points in April.

“Congratulations to him and his team and good luck to them for the remaining games.”

They say a year is a long time in football. So how long does that make 595 days?

During that period between August 2019 and April 2021, Brexit finally happened. A Star Wars series started in 1977 ended. A new US president was elected. And there’s also been a global pandemic added in for good measure.

That’s not even beginning to list off the dramatic storylines carried within Scottish football during that time. But through all the change, hardship and turbulence, there was one constant in the sometimes lonely and often cold South Stand gym at Fir Park.

Charles Dunne could not have envisaged a billboard smash and groin injury suffered in a derby match against Hamilton Academical would rule him out of almost two season’s worth of senior squads. He had a long-term injury at Oldham Athletic prior to arriving at Motherwell in 2017 but it was nothing like this.

“It’s been a while since I’ve did an interview, I’ve been injured for decades,” Dunne said as he began to speak publicly about his injury for the first time. “I’ve been injured for so long but it doesn’t feel that long. I see people saying on Twitter saying it’s 595 days but to me it doesn’t feel like it.

“Maybe it’s just how I am. There’s maybe been frustrating bits here and there with the way the injury was.

“I have been ok mentally. Initially I did my groin at Hamilton but I also crashed into the billboard that match which people might not remember. I started to feel pain in my knee.

“I had done my groin so that was focused on. I had the operation, did the rehab. I was coming back from that injury but I always had that pain in my knee. We didn’t know what it was – maybe a tendon – but we got a scan and they said it was a bruised bone.

“I went to see a specialist who said it would be fine in six to eight weeks. I was able to continue training but I was in pain. I went back, the specialist said there was nothing there and it was taking longer than expected. I then couldn’t train as it was too sore so I went back to him a third time.

“He went into my knee this time and there was something wrong with my cartilage, little things. He then drilled the bruised bone as it aids healing and since then I’ve been doing that. People might think I had knee reconstruction or something like that but it was just a bruised bone. Like one on your body, but on the bone.”

It’s been a long, long road. Even the simple things at one stage were difficult for Dunne, who moved to find new tasks. Given the length of time he had out with injury, the dreaded post-football thoughts entered the mind.

Such is his character though, Dunne was not prepared to make this a hard luck story. Instead he worked behind the scenes, joining former manager Stephen Robinson for a peek on the other side of his career last year.

“Every single day I was in pain, walking up the stairs, even when I was in bed fixing the covers,” Dunne candidly said.

“It was crazy. I began to think ‘when am I going to get better?’ I knew I’d recover. I wish we had diagnosed it straight away.

“I went to watch Hibs to keep myself busy. When you are injured in that gym all day it’s a lonely place. It’s no joke up there. Your mindset has to be different. So I did some scouting for that game, it was quite fun to be fair. I thought I was Pep Guardiola(!).

“I don’t think about what comes after too much. It’s too hard – but I should do. I like coaching with kids and speaking to people about mindset. I think I would be quite good at that when I’m finished.”

Dunne’s been through hell and back but now he is ready to put the Guardiola handbook to one side and make his presence known on the park.

It’s not going to be a quick process back to 90 minutes of action but the defender knows the end of the painful road is near.

“It’s been really nice to be back involved in matchday squads and stuff,” he said. “I am still hungry for more. I want to play, I really want to play. I have to build up of course. I’ve just been focusing on getting fit. I am looking forward, always.

“It is what it is, the longest and most frustrating injury I have ever had. It’s all part of the journey and this will make me stronger.

“I am just happy to be back training with the boys, I am like a big kid again. We just need to try and finish the season on a high and try and stay positive. There’s nothing else we can do. I need to try and impress the manager.

“I have been out for a while but I feel just how I used to feel. It will take a while for me to get back to match fitness but there’s nothing I can do about that.

“People who know me, they know my energy, I bring positive vibes. Ultimately, I want to show myself on the pitch.”

Motherwell host Kilmarnock on Saturday in the penultimate home fixture of the 2020/21 Scottish Premiership season.

Here are the key topics going into the match.

Battle at the bottom

The two clubs have contrasting objectives going into Saturday’s fixture.

Motherwell secured safety with victory at Hamilton last midweek, and now have their sights on finishing at the highest-placed team in the bottom half of the post-split groups.

Kilmarnock, meanwhile, are in a fight to maintain their Premiership status.

Of the three clubs in relegation trouble, Tommy Wright’s men are in the strongest position with three games to go.

Killie sit two points above play-off placed Ross County, and five ahead of Hamilton at the bottom.

Defeat to avenge

Motherwell have two reasons to seek revenge on Saturday.

Kilmarnock won the last fixture between the two sides 4-1 in the middle of March and, although ‘Well won at Rugby Park two games ago, Saturday’s visitors were also victorious on their last trip to Fir Park.

Battle of the form teams

Although both sides went out of the Scottish Cup quarter-finals in their last outing, the two teams had been in strong form before.

In the five games prior to defeat at Hibernian, Motherwell had won four and lost one.

Kilmarnock meanwhile won four and drew one of their previous five matches.

Motherwell face Rangers in SWPL1 on Sunday.

Kick off at The Penny Cars Stadium is at 2pm.

The game is closed to supporters but is available to watch live on the BBC Scotland website.

Highlights of the match will also be broadcast live on BBC Scotland at 8.30pm on Sunday.

Tale of the tape

Rangers have won four and drawn one of their five meetings with the women of steel.

The last encounter came at the Rangers Training Centre in December, with the hosts winning 9-0.

Form guide

A 3-1 loss at Spartans last weekend marked ‘Well’s fourth defeat in five games since returning from the enforced break.

Successive 3-2 losses to Forfar Farmington and Hibernian were followed by defeat at Glasgow City, and then a 2-1 home win over Hearts to lift the team off the bottom of the table.

Rangers are in a battle with Glasgow City and Celtic at the top of the SWPL1 table.

Since the return, the Light Blues racked up four wins – scoring 23 goals without reply – but also crucially lost 1-0 in the derby with Celtic to damage their title hopes.

Programme

You can watch a live stream of Motherwell v Kilmarnock wherever you are on Saturday.

If you’re in the UK or Republic of Ireland, a live stream of the game is available to buy on a pay-per-view basis for £12.

Season ticket holders can watch the game for free, as usual, at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

International-based supporters can watch via their usual subscription at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

Kick-off is at 3pm.

Kilmarnock come calling to Fir Park on Saturday in the Scottish Premiership.

Kick-off is at 3pm.

Watch live

If you’re in the UK or Republic of Ireland, a live stream of the game is available to buy on a pay-per-view basis for £12.

Season ticket holders can watch the game for free, as usual, at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

International-based supporters can watch via their usual subscription at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

Tale of the tape

The bragging rights in this fixture never hold for long.

The last four games have seen two victories apiece for both sides, with Kilmarnock winning the most recent outing at Rugby Park.

At Fir Park, Killie won the most recent encounter in December 2020. Prior to that, goals from Liam Donnelly and Devante Cole sealed a 2-1 win in October 2019.

Form guide

Defeat on penalties to Hibernian at the weekend was only Motherwell’s second loss in nine fixtures.

Before then, six wins and a draw had been recorded, with Graham Alexander’s men hitting form as the season rolls to a close.

Kilmarnock are unbeaten in their last five matches prior to their Scottish Cup match with St Mirren on Monday night, winning four and drawing one.