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It may have been a cold, rainy Wednesday night trip to Aberdeen on Valentines Day, but the supporters who made the long journey were certainly rewarded with a crazy game of football. 

Motherwell got off to the perfect start when Georgie Gent was fouled in the box within the first five minutes and Theo Bair lashed into the roof of the net to give his side an early lead.

That dominance continued when after Jack Vale’s effort from the six-yard box was somehow kept out, Bair helped himself to another from Gent’s cross.

Adam Devine piled on the misery for Neil Warnock’s side when he scored minutes later to make it 3-0 after a quarter of an hour.

However, a change of shape and personnel swung the game back in Aberdeen’s favour as they pulled two goals back before the break. They continued their ascendency in the game after the interval and made it count when Duk got his brace shortly after half time.

At the point, the game was in the balance. Bojan Miovski had the ball in the back of the net for the hosts but was in an offside position before Harry Paton knocked home with ten minutes to go, seemingly securing three points in the process. A VAR intervention later seen the goal ruled out for a supposed foul by Calum Butcher.

VAR was highly influential in the match however after six goals and plenty controversy, the points were shared to extend Motherwell’s unbeaten run to six games as they will feel aggrieved to have gave up a three goal advantage.

Doug Inglis and grandson Josh Bell were invited to the boardroom at Fir Park ahead of the recent Ross County match. Board member Maureen Downie praised Doug’s contribution to Society and handed over some gifts from colleagues.

Doug then watched as his predicted 5-0 win came to pass, the Steelmen putting the visitors to the sword. The icing on the cake for Doug was a visit from Player of the Match Blair Spittal, his favourite player.

“Meeting Blair on the night he scored two goals, had one assist (arguably two!) and was man of the match can’t be topped,” said Doug.

Stuart Kettlewell gives his thoughts after his side came away from Pittodrie with a point despite taking an early three goal lead.

• Fast start
• Team got spooked
• Thank you to the travelling fans

Motherwell came away from Pittodrie with a point despite being three goals ahead after half an hour.

A Theo Bair brace and Adam Devine’s first goal has the Steelmen firmly in the driving seat but the home side rallied and completed a comeback with goals from Duk and Gartemann.

‘Well got off to a great start when Georgie Gent won a penalty after just two minutes. The full-back burst forward and went down under a foul from Shayden Morris.

Referee Kevin Clancy pointed to the spot and Theo Bair confidently dispatched from twelve yards.

Motherwell continued their impressive start, with Jack Vale’s volley being parried onto the post but they didn’t have to wait much longer for a second. Georgie Gent was again involved as he got in down the left and whipped in a perfect cross for Theo Bair to tap in his tenth goal of the seaason.

Adam Devine the put the away fans into dreamland, adding a third just minutes later.

A great team move set up Blair Spittal who initially saw his shot deflected but it landed at the feet of the on-loan Rangers youngster and he dispatched past Roos for his first professional goal.

Neil Warnock sensed something wasn’t working and instantly made two changes, bringing on Duk and MacDonald in place of Morris and Polvara.

He saw an immediate response from his replacements as Duk pulled a goal back a minute later.

Bojan Miovski stole the ball down the right and slid in his strike partner who prodded it past Kelly.

With that goal, the mood in the stadium had changed and six minutes later the Dons had a second.

Connor Barron whipped in a cross that was flicked on at the front post.  Liam Kelly made a save, but it came straight to Gartenmann, who tucked home at the back post.

The home side completed their comeback just five minutes into the second half when Shinnie’s deep cross was headed in off the post by Duk.

That disappointment was then almost further compounded as Miovski found the net but fortunately the linesman’s flag went up and VAR agreed it was offside, albeit tight.

The ship was steadied slightly as Stuart Kettlewell introduced Stephen O’Donnell and Sam Nicholson. There was some really nice football being played but no cutting edge.

However, the Steelmen almost too all three points as Harry Paton fired home after a stramash in the box but VAR ruled there was a push by Butcher on McGrath and both teams had to settle for a point.

A disappointing and frustrating defeat to local rivals Hamilton in the second Lanarkshire derby of the 2023/24 SWPL campaign left the women of steel dejected after a confidence-boosting performance over title-chasers Celtic earlier in the week.

Paul Brownlie’s side will face a swift return to action, with an opportunity for redemption over defending champions Glasgow City, who left K-Park with all three points in the previous home meeting, after a decisive 97^th-minute Jenna Clark winner.

As the final pre-split fixture in East Kilbride awaits the women of steel, the squad will be prepared to conclude the regular campaign on a high, ahead of a highly-anticipated encounter with Spartans in the capital next month.

The Tale of the Tape

Motherwell

The women of steel’s goalscoring woes persisted in ML3, as a commanding performance over local rivals Hamilton, which had Motherwell testing the Accies goal on 23-occasions – 19 more than the hosts, was ultimately left unrewarded. Hamilton struck twice against the run of play to secure victory on a disappointing and frustrating derby day in Lanarkshire.

Hamilton forward Josephine Giard and teammate Chloe Muir both added their name to the scoresheet across both halves to give the hosts a comfortable advantage, with debutant Laura Berry netting a late consolation for her first goal in claret and amber.

The 90-minutes at New Douglas Park perfectly encapsulated the frustrations of the women of steel this season, as positive performances and impressive displays have not been accurately reflected in the SWPL league table.

Glasgow City

The defending champions remain firmly in the chase to defend their SWPL crown, with the Springburn side six-points adrift of league leaders Rangers, maintaining an impressive eight-game winning run in the league.

Talisman Lauren Davidson will be a formidable opponent for the Motherwell backline, with the experienced striker netting 10-times across the season.

Ticket information

Cash & card payments are also available for this fixture.

• Adult – £8
• Concession – £5
• Under 16s – Free to enter.

How to follow the action

Supporters can follow Sunday’s encounter on Twitter @motherwellwomen, with a full report of the action available post-match.

Midfielder Tara McGonigle has joined Gartcairn on loan until the end of the season.

The summer acquisition traded Lanarkshire rivals Hamilton for ML1 ahead of the 2023/24 SWPL campaign, but the 23-year-old has since been unable to find regular first-team minutes at K-Park.

McGonigle featured on 14-occasions across her time in claret and amber, but the regular place in the starting XI has yet to materialise.

The youngster heads out on loan to the SWPL2 side in search of consistent first-team minutes, linking-up with fellow Motherwell loanees Kaela McDonald-Nguah and Morgan Hay. Gartcairn sit precariously at the foot of the SWPL2 league table, three points from safety.

Good luck, Tara.

We have a number of players who are currently out on loan. Here is an update on how they have been getting on. 

Matty Connelly

Connelly and East Kilbride have been in good form in recent weeks.

Since the last update, Connelly has four starts in four games, of which his team won three times and drew once.

He has registered one clean sheet in that time but those strong results have put Kilby firmly in the driving seat to win the Lowland League. They are ten points clear over second place, with a game in hand.

Ricki Lamie

Ricki Lamie picked up an injury that seen him miss seven games over December and January.

The centre-back made his comeback when he was a late substitute for the Dee’s 2-1 win against St Johnstone at the weekend.

Lamie now has 12 appearances as Dundee hunt down a top-six spot in the cinch Premiership.

Ewan Wilson

Ewan Wilson was an unused substitute in Stirling Albion’s most recent match against Alloa Athletic.

He has been on the bench in the three games prior to that, coming on as a substitute in each of those matches, assisting one goal in the process.

Wilson now has 13 appearances in all competitions for Stirling, with them sitting seven points off the playoffs.

Arran Bone

Arran Bone joined Gala Fairydean last month and has started the last three matches.

Playing the full 90 minutes in his three appearances thus far, Bone’s side had two defeats and won their most recent match agains East Stirling.

They’re currently sitting in 15th place in the table however in a tightly congested table, they are only 10 points off Stirling University who are 7th.

Ross Tierney

Ross Tierney has made his comeback from injury at the start of February. He was a second-half substitute in Walsall’s last two matches against Gillingham and Newport County.

That appearance against Newport last weekend means he has now featured on 20 occasions for The Saddlers.

Walsall are 16th in the league table but have a substantial gap to the relegation places and will have one eye on a late promotion push, with them only nine points off of Harrogate Town in the playoffs.

Adam MacDonald

Adam MacDonald added two more appearances to his name for Cowdenbeath since our last update.

The young midfielder started against Bo’ness United and Civil Service Strollers in January.

Cowdenbeath are 13th in the table as they look to close the gap to playoff spots.

Calum Butcher was left disappointed at the performance levels shown on Friday night. 

He says the dressing room was down after the game but they have now reset and shifted the focus towards Wednesday’s match against Aberdeen.

We are delighted to announce a partnership with Off The Pitch as the club’s Official Football Finance Data Partner.

This strategic collaboration will empower us with cutting-edge analytics tools and invaluable financial insights, propelling the club into a new era of data-driven decision-making.

“As we strive to keep pushing the club to new heights, we need access to the best data available,” head of recruitment operations Nick Daws said.

“Off The Pitch has a unique approach and can help us in several aspects of our development – including player trading, finance negotiations, and benchmarking, to name a few.

“Off The Pitch understands the business side of football and has provided us with an intuitive and easily implemented solution.”

Blue Triangle, a social care organisation and national charity, will auction two signed Motherwell FC shirts on Wednesday 14 February.

The shirts, signed by the first team and Women’s team, were kindly donated by the club. Blue Triangle is the current front of shirt sponsor of the Motherwell Women’s team. The auction will be held online, run by Great Western Auctions.

The organisation run two services in North Lanarkshire. The Viewpark supported accommodation in Uddingston, which supports up to 12 people aged 16-35, and Breakthrough, an Intense Peer Recovery Support outreach.

“We are excited to run our first charity auction, and our thanks to Motherwell FC for their kind donation of signed shirts, and to Great Western Auctions for facilitating,” CEO of Blue Triangle Gary Meek said.

“All funds raised will go towards running our essential services in North Lanarkshire – helping to provide even greater support for some of the most vulnerable in the community.”

The aim of Blue Triangle’s work is to prepare supported people to move onto their own home. Over half of those entering Blue Triangle services move on to their own tenancy, helping to break the homelessness cycle.

Staff facilitate this by working one to work with the young people, identify support needs, such as mental health, addiction or further education.

Blue Triangle’s Viewpark service scored highly in their latest Care Inspectorate report, awarded 5’s in all areas.

One young person stated that Blue Triangle staff “really care, listen, and follow through on the things they say they will help with.”

Another said, “All staff are lovely and really caring, more so than anywhere else I have stayed.” At Blue Triangle, we pride ourselves in living our values – being kind, passionate and creative, every day.

The link for the men’s first-team shirt can be found here.

The link for the women’s shirt can be found here.