Motherwell ended an almost five-year wait for a win at Rugby Park on Saturday afternoon, defeating Kilmarnock 3-1 in Ayrshire.
Motherwell took the lead after 16 minutes after Emmanuel Longelo found space down the left and curled in a ball to the back post which evaded former Well man Dom Thompson and landed at the feet of Tawanda Maswanhise, who blasted in his tenth goal of the campaign.
The visitors’ lead was doubled on the 26th minute, and it was the Zimbabwean on the scoresheet again before the half was out. Kilmarnock got off to the perfect start in the second period, with Scott Tiffoney slotting past Calum Ward to halve the deficit early on in the second-half.
But any chance of a comeback was diminished when substitute Apostolos Stamatelopoulos dispatched a penalty to make sure of the points.
Following the final international break of 2025, Jens Berthel Askou made two changes to his starting 11 from two weeks ago. In came Callum Hendry and Ibrahim Said, with Stamatelopoulos and Just dropping to the bench.
The match had little openings in the early stages, with Motherwell settling down quicker than the hosts as they racked up early possession. The first real chance of the afternoon fell to Greg Kiltie, whose shot was saved by Ward and subsequently by Stephen Welsh.
As the rain began to pour, Kilmarnock fans’ frustration grew as Motherwell contained the hosts to their penalty area. And with the pressure mounting, Motherwell made the most of it on the 16th-minute mark. Longelo beat his man before floating a perfect cross to the back area, just evading the Kilmarnock defence; Maswanhise controlled and slotted home to open the scoring.
Motherwell continued to probe for the next ten minutes, popping the ball around the edge of the Killie box. A scuffed clearance earned Motherwell a corner, and they took full advantage. With quick corner routines seemingly now a Motherwell speciality, Longelo passed the corner cutely to Callum Slattery; he teed up Maswanhise for a strike, and with the Zimbabwean’s first effort blocked, he made sure of the follow-up and blasted home to double his side’s advantage.
The visitors were in full control of proceedings, with Kilmarnock’s David Watson having a half-chance when he took a strike from 25 yards which was comfortably taken in by Ward.
Motherwell almost made it three before the half was out. Longelo was again involved; he slid across towards Callum Hendry, who heard the shout from his teammate behind him to leave, so he let the ball go through his legs so Slattery could have a go, but his strike was well saved by Tobi Oluwayemi.
Watson again had a go from a distance in the first-half, but his strike sailed over the bar without troubling Ward in the Motherwell net.
Kilmarnock needed a strong start to the second-half to ease the tensions, and that’s exactly what they did. With a Motherwell attack breaking down, the ball was worked to Bruce Anderson, who slipped in his striking partner Tiffoney, who did well to stay onside; he raced through on goal and dispatched it past the keeper. 49 minutes, 1-2.
The momentum has swung in the opposite direction, and the hosts now had their tails up. Former Motherwell man Thompson sent a driving effort on target, but Motherwell captain Paul McGinn was on hand to block and clear shortly after Kilmarnock’s goal.
Just after the hour mark, Askou opted to use his bench, bringing on Just, Stamatelopoulos and Liam Gordon, and the Aussie striker had an immediate impact. McGinn curled a searching pass into the channel which Stamatelopoulos latched onto; he got in ahead of Brad Lyons, who bundled the striker down inside the penalty. To everyone’s surprise, the referee allowed play to continue, but VAR ordered him over to the monitor shortly after.
A quick look ensured the right decision was eventually reached and a penalty was awarded. Stamatelopoulos stepped up and dispatched into the bottom right corner, sending the keeper the wrong way and restoring the two-goal advantage.
Lewis Mayo came closest for Killie following the penalty, with the defender rattling an effort off the bar, but it would be the only major chance in the closing stages, as Motherwell controlled to the finish to remain in the top-six.
Motherwell Team: Ward, Koutroumbis, McGinn, Welsh, Longelo, Fadinger, Watt, Slattery, Maswanhise, Said, Hendry.
Motherwell Subs: Connelly, Gordon, Balmer, Sparrow, Stamatelopoulos, Just, Ross, Priestman, Charles-Cook.
