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Stuart Kettlewell reacts to the 1-1 draw with St Johnstone.

• Accountability taken for the goal
• Digging in once again
• Have to find the right balance

Motherwell rescued a point with yet another goal in additional time as Bevis Mugabi’s own goal almost presented St Johnstone with all three points.

Despite repeatedly lamenting the loss of goals to set pieces, a cross into the box led to Bevis Mugabi deflecting the ball into his own net to give Saints the lead at the start of the second half.

However, in the first minute of added on time Mika Biereth leapt to head home his sixth goal of the season and grab the home side a point when his team seemed destined to finish empty handed.

Stuart Kettlewell, in an attempt to rediscover their winning form, was hindered in his selection by injury and suspension, particularly in front of Liam Kelly.

That forced a back three of Stephen O’Donnell, Bevis Mugabi and Shane Blaney, faced with the task of shoring up a defence which has conceded the most goals in the cinch Premiership. In front of them, Davor Zdravkovski and Georgie Gent were given their first starts of the season.

Craig Levein set up Saints with two up front clearly intent on testing the new look ‘Well defence from the start.

In a scrappy opening 20 minutes it reflected on two teams at the wrong end of the league table as both sets of players were guilty of misplaced passes and petty fouls.

Not for the last time, referee Euan Anderson ignored a challenge on Brodie Spencer at the edge of the box which ultimately allowed Graham Carey to test Kelly from 20 yards.

Almost immediately, Gent, revelling in a natural left wing role, earned ‘Well’s first corner as he powered towards the Saints’ byeline.

In the 27th minute the on-loan Blackburn defender latched on to a cross from Spencer and Gent’s powerful left foot volley took a deflection off James Brown before forcing Mitov to save low in front of his right post.

A couple of minutes later Jon Obika broke through the middle but with Biereth in support he elected to shoot from 18 yards, his weak effort posing no problems for the ‘keeper.

As the game continued to flow towards the Saints goal, Mirov got down to block Blair Spittal’s low drive after Callum Slattery had set him up at the edge of the box.

Although little had been seen of Biereth, his powerful run towards the six-yard box forced a last gasp tackle from Ryan McGowan as ‘Well ended the first half in control and only lacking a goal their first half performance possibly deserved.

Motherwell restarted on the front foot and after five minutes fine build up on the right ended with Mitov firmly holding Slattery’s curling shot from 20 yards.

Two minutes later, though, the Steelmen once again shot themselves in the foot from a set piece.

The ‘Well defence looked organised as Matt Smith floated a free kick into a packed box. But as Kelly raced out beyond his six-yard box to claim the ball it sped past him rebounding of the helpless Mugabi and into his own net to concede a horrible opening goal.

That knocked the wind and any confidence out of the home side as they pushed towards Saints’ goal more in hope than anything else.

With 20 minutes remaining Oli Shaw replaced Obika as ‘Well desperately searched for an equaliser.

However, it was the Perth side who almost found the net again when Carey’s curling free kick skipped off the top of the cross bar with Kelly stretching to tip it over.

As the clock moved toward the last ten minutes Theo Bair and Conor Wilkinson were given the chance to salvage something from the game.

Bair made an immediate impact collecting the ball on the right and dragging it across the box before his drive forced Mitov to save low to his right.

The ‘Well sub produced a second save from the ‘keeper when Biereth’s lob into the box gave Bair a free header from eight yards but once again Mitov denied him with a comfortable save.

Then in added time Bair turned provider. From wide left he fired the ball across goal to find Biereth rising high to bullet a stunning header high into the corner for a last gasp equaliser.

Callum Slattery reiterated the apology to supporters for their result against Ross County. 

The midfielder tells us how the group is still together in the dressing room and that it is up to the players to get the club out of this run that it is in. Slattery says the team need to give the supporters to something to get behind for them to fully back the team.

Stuart Kettlewell reiterated how poor a performance Tuesday was against Ross County and that stark improvements are required. 

The Motherwell boss says he will take his side back to basic preparation in the quest of simplifying the matches. Kettlewell is aware of the pressure building on his and his team’s shoulders but insists that this is something they all can deal with as they are all together.

Stuart Kettlewell has provided a squad update following our match against Ross County.

The manager updates following Dan Casey and Calum Butcher coming off injured in the Highlands on Tuesday night.

“Dan had an X-Ray and it doesn’t look as severe as we first thought,” Stuart Kettlewell said.

“There is no fracture so now he will receive further scans to see if there is muscle or ligament damage. It’s not as bad as first feared which is a positive but he’s going to be out for a period of time.

“Calum Butcher came off because he felt his calf, which is another blow.

“Again, it’s a bit early to say. He needs a scan to define how bad the damage is. But, if Calum Butcher comes off it would suggest it’s going to be enough to keep him out for a few weeks anyway.

“Paul McGinn got sent for an update last week. It was initially said he would be 6-weeks post operation, whilst still wearing a mask. They didn’t feel he was in a position to play on Tuesday so he still sits on that timeline.”

Lennon Miller remains sidelined due to a broken patella suffered at the start of November while Pape Souare is also missing due to a serious ankle injury with associated fracture.

St Johnstone are the visitors to Fir Park on Saturday in the cinch Premiership. 

Kick off is 3pm.

How to follow the game

– Concessions Tickets would be ages 65 and over and FT Students with a valid matric card.
– Young Adults tickets would ages 12 to 17.
– Juveniles would be 11 and under

Supporters are able to buy tickets online here or visit the ticket office at Fir Park.

Ticket Office open from 9am – the ticket office is open until kick-off with no pay gate facility.

If you are outside the UK, you can watch the game via Motherwell TV.

Should you be in the UK, it will be live commentary only.

Kit Watch

We will be wearing our home kit for this match.

Injury Update

Pape Souare and Lennon Miller remain sidelined.

Dan Casey and Harry Paton are suspended for this match.

Paul McGinn won’t return in time from his broken cheekbone injury.

Calum Butcher came off against Ross County with a suspected calf injury and will miss this match.

Motherwell’s Fortunes

It was a trip to the highlands to forget for Motherwell on Tuesday night, as they were beaten comfortably 3-0 by Ross County.

The Steelmen have four draws and eight defeats in their last 12 as they go in search of their first win since September.

St Johnstone and Motherwell met in Craig Levein’s first match in charge in November. St Johnstone took a handsome 2-0 lead into the interval before Shane Blaney and Mika Biereth sparked a second half comeback to earn a point.

Opposition Report

Levein has two wins since he took the reigns in Perth and has amassed seven points out of a possible 18.

Currently (Wednesday), St Johnstone sit below Motherwell in the table, in 11th on 11 points.

Graham Carey has proven to be a pivotal player for Craig Levein since his arrival due to Carey’s precise and dangerous delivery into the box.

He got his first goal of the season against Ross County last month.

Stuart Kettlewell discusses the defeat to Ross County.

• Apology to supporters
• Miles off the standard
• Deserved to lose

Motherwell’s trip to the Highlands ended in defeat, with Ross County running out comfortable 3-0 winners.

First half goals from Simon Murray and Yan Dhanda, matched with a second half Ben Purrington finish rounding off a win for the home side.

Stuart Kettlewell made three changes from the side that drew with Dundee three days prior, with Conor Wilkinson, Theo Bair and Callum Slattery coming into the starting 11.

The home side got off to the perfect start when Murray headed home from a corner after just three minutes.

Despite the slow start, the Steelmen pressed for an equaliser with Stephen O’Donnell seeing his effort from inside the box saved by the feet of County keeper Ross Laidlaw, following a Slattery strike from the edge of the box.

County went in search of doubling their lead, and did just that on 18 minutes. Dhanda picked up the ball before drifting inside and firing into the far corner of the goal.

It was almost 3-0 before half time, when Simon Murray’s deflected effort came crashing off the post, with Kelly left stranded.

Stuart Kettlewell opted to make wholesale changes at the break, with the introduction of Davor Zradvkovski, Georgie Gent and Calum Butcher.

Despite the changes, the ball was in Liam Kelly’s net on 56 minutes when Purrington had the simplest of tasks to finish from the rebound of Jordan White’s header. Although initially flagged for offside, VAR overruled the on-field decision and it was game over for Motherwell.

Mika Biereth was unfortunate not to find himself on the scoresheet. The Dane seen his flicked effort from Gent’s cross go agonisingly wide of the post before his strike was somehow cleared off the line by Jack Baldwin.

Gent also went close with a header at the back post, but Laidlaw denied.

Will Nightingale seen red in stoppage time, who received two quickfire yellow cards. Dan Casey looked to have picked up a bad leg injury with almost the last kick of the game following a collision in the corner, with Butcher also coming off with a suspected calf injury.

From Stateside to Strathclyde, Scottish forward Morgan Cross returned to Scottish football this summer following a five-year stint at the University of South Alabama, where she netted 23-times in 89 appearances under a full scholarship at the Jaguars.

The 22-year-old, who has received international recognition for the Scottish national team at U15, U16 & U17 age categories, impressed scouts on a summer youth tournament in the states and secured the next step in her career as a result.

“Playing across in the US had a huge impact on me as a player,” Cross said.

“My first introduction to women’s football was playing for Central Girls. We played in a summer tournament in Florida and that’s where I was seen by my University coach.

“From there he reached out about the opportunity to play Division 1 football and it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.

“One memory that particularly stands out is our 2020 Sunbelt tournament final. We were one-nil down with five-minutes to go and I scored twice to win our second tournament in a row. I’ve never felt an adrenaline rush like it, and I still look back on the game as one of the best I’ve ever played in.

“Playing alongside girls from almost every continent that also dreamed of going professional in the future really helped drive our standards and keep our program successful during my time there.”

A spell at English second-division side, Coventry United followed, but recurring injuries curtailed the 22-year-olds progress in the West Midlands, with Cross unable to find consistency in the English Championship.

“After graduating, I had ambitions to keep playing at a high level and had the opportunity to join Coventry United in the English Championship,” Cross explained.

“I failed to get a consistent run of games due to injuries and receiving a concussion 40-minutes into my first game was definitely not what I envisioned. However, I still really enjoyed my time there and would love to play in England again.

Looking to re-establish a consistent run at senior football, Cross returned to Scotland after five years, with Head Coach Paul Brownlie seeking to enhance his forward line at K-Park.

The Dunfermline-born striker signed on the dotted line, as the women of steel’s 12th acquisition of the summer transfer window, with Cross making her debut in a 3-1 victory over Montrose.

“After a period of five-years being away from home and coming off my first hamstring injury, I felt it was a good time to come back home and be closer to family,” Cross outlined.

“I was attracted to Motherwell because of Paul. We’d previously worked together at Scotland U15s and almost at the National Performance Centre, so I was delighted with the opportunity to play under him again.”

However, historic hamstring injuries resurfaced, leaving the forward out of matchday contention and forced to recover from the sidelines, as the women of steel faced a turbulent run of form.

“The game against Montrose, when I got re-injured and the process since then has been one of the most frustrating and difficult challenges of my career,” Cross noted.

“It’s the longest I’ve been out through injury and not being able to help contribute to the team especially through the current spell has been difficult.

“The recovery process has been slow, but I’m starting to get back out on the pitch, so hopefully I can be back playing very soon.

Defensive indecision and attacking complacency have continued to undermine the early signs of optimism for the women of steel, with the squad picking up one win from five, in a six-nil thriller over Dundee United.

With an international break and a two-week hiatus on the horizon, Paul Brownlie’s side will look to regroup and respond ahead of a crucial tie with Rangers next month.

“I think this season we haven’t always got what we deserved out of certain games,” said Cross.
“I’m certain the team has enough quality to keep creating chances and hopefully we can be more ruthless in-front of goal going forward.

“I would love to contribute however I can to the team, whether that be goals, assists or just working hard for the players around me. My targets for the rest of the season are to get back playing consistently and remain injury free.”

Jon Obika is chuffed to be back playing once again after his long injury lay off. 

The striker got his first start against Dundee at the weekend and although on a personal level their was positives, he says the team are really striving for that victory against Ross County on Tuesday night.