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Matchday 17 of the 2025/26 SWPL campaign awaits the women of steel this weekend, as they head to the Scottish capital to face defending champions Hibernian at Meadowbank.

Motherwell will have their sights set on redemption after an incredibly frustrating defeat to Aberdeen at Balmoral Stadium a fortnight ago. The Dons capitalised in the closing minutes of the game to deny Head Coach, Iain Robinson his first point since taking charge in ML1.

The women of steel will be determined to rectify their recent run of form, after suffering five successive defeats.

The Tale of the Tape 

Motherwell 

Head Coach Iain Robinson will be keen to break their recent winless run, whilst simultaneously earning Motherwell’s first victory over the hosts since an exceptional 2-3 victory at Meadowbank in 2022.

Rangers loanee Mia McArthur could make her first start in the Scottish Women’s Premier League after making her debut as a second-half substitute against Aberdeen.

Victory could be a vital result for the women of steel, who seek to close the narrow four-point deficit to Montrose, who occupy the final top-six place, with four sides keen to avoid being caught in a relegation dogfight.

Hibernian

The defending champions have endured a turbulent run of results following the departure of Head Coach Grant Scott to Celtic. A five-nil victory over Hamilton being the exception, ending a run of five straight league fixtures without a win. A Scottish Cup defeat to Celtic and a Sky Sports Cup defeat to Glasgow City have also heightened their demand for a response this weekend.

Ticket Information 

Tickets can be purchased through the matchday turnstiles at Meadowbank or through Hibernian’s ticketing platform HERE. Both cash and card payments are accepted.

• Adult – £8.
• Student – £5
• Concession (Over-65s and Under-18s) – £4.

Aaron Thomson has received a call-up to the Scotland Under 17 squad.

The young defender will be in the squad for friendly matches against Norway and Poland in Spain later this month.

• Scotland v Norway
• Wednesday 18 February
• 10am kick off (UK time)
• Pinatar Arena, Spain
  

• Scotland v Poland
• Saturday, 21 February
• 10am kick off (UK time)
• Pinatar Arena, Spain

Tom Sparrow was delighted to see Stephen Welsh return to the club on transfer deadline day, and is now excited for the remainder of the season.

The utility man believes the full squad will play a part in a crucial segment of the season.

Manager Jens Berthel Askou was pleased to see the loan deal for Stephen Welsh be finalised right before the deadline, and believes his return to the squad could play a big part in the final four months of the season. 

The Motherwell Boss reveals there was late interest in star man Tawanda Maswanhise, but the club stood firm to keep their forward and everyone can now focus on the remainder of the season.

Stephen Welsh has returned to Fir Park on loan for the remainder of the season from Celtic. 

The 26-year-old centre-back made his debut for the Steelmen in September and went on to make 17 appearances before being recalled in January.

“We welcome back Stephen with open arms, knowing that he has unfinished business to attend to here with us,” Jens Berthel Askou stated.

“The dialogue with Celtic has been good and transparent all the way through, and we are absolutely delighted that we found a solution that sends him back to Fir Park to continue his development with us.”

Rock solid at the heart of our defence, Welsh helped Motherwell keep seven clean sheets in eight games and played in the 1-1 draw at Easter Road before getting the call to return to Celtic.

Having gone back to his parent club, he featured against Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup and was a late substitute in Celtic’s win over Falkirk on Sunday.

But Welsh is now back in the claret and amber and will spend the rest of the season in ML1.

“It’s not been an ideal situation, but I’m so pleased there’s been a resolution,” Stephen Welsh said.

“I just want to play football, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time here for the first half of the season. The staff, the players and the fans are all so aligned, and as a player, it’s the perfect environment to play your football in.

“I’ll need to work to get myself back into the team now. The boys have done unbelievably well since I’ve been gone, which has been great. I’m buzzing to get back here, and I can’t wait to pick up where I left off.”

Facing off against a side that hadn’t picked up a win in 23 games was always going to pile the pressure on the Steelmen to pick up a result against Livingston, but manager Jens Berthel Askou wanted his side to go up a gear compared to their last visit to West Lothian. 

Calum Ward was called into action in the opening minutes to pull off a wonderful save to deny Livi an opener. From then on, however, Motherwell clicked into action, and amongst a barrage of chances, Tawanda Maswanhise was able to score a brace to put Motherwell firmly in the driving seat.

The second-half saw less action as the Steelmen controlled proceedings, ensuring their unbeaten run would continue in all competitions.

Motherwell kick off a busy February at Dens Park against Dundee on Wednesday 4 February. 

Kick off is 7:45pm.

How to follow the game

You can buy tickets online by clicking here.

Motherwell’s Fortunes

Motherwell cruised to a 2-0 win over Livingston last time out. It’s now two losses in their last 17 matches and the Steelmen have registered 18 clean sheets in all competitions this campaign.

Tawanda Maswanhise moved to the top of the goalscoring charts in the Scottish Premiership, with the Zimbabwean international scoring his 12th and 13th league goals this season in the win on Saturday.

Elijah Just’s assist moved him joint top of the assist table for the league too, with the forward on six for the league season.

Opposition Report

Dundee are ninth in the table following their 0-0 draw at St Mirren on Saturday. Stephen Pressley’s side have been in decent form, picking up four wins out of their last seven matches.

Defender Clark Robertson remains their top scorer on four goals this season. The Dark Blues have proved to be stiff competition for Jens Berthel Askou’s men this season. Although initially taking the lead at Dens in September, Dundee fought back in the second half to earn a point on home soil.

It took until the latter stages in the reverse fixture at Fir Park for Callum Slattery to find the breakthrough to earn a hard-fought 1-0 win.

Defender Orla Burn will return to the Scottish capital after being recalled by her parent club.

The Scotland youth international arrived in ML1 last summer, and became consistent first-team regular.

We thank Orla for her efforts at Motherwell and wish her all the best for the future.

Jens Berthel Askou gives his thoughts as a first half double from Tawanda Maswanhise was enough to earn the Steelmen all three points in Livingston.