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Jens Berthel Askou gives his views on 10-man Motherwell’s defeat to Celtic in Glasgow.

Tawanda Maswanhise will head off to represent Zimbabwe later this month. 

The Motherwell forward has been on fire for the Steelmen, scoring 21 goals in all competitions so far this season.

The Warriors embark for a Four Nations Tournament in Botswana. The tournament takes place between the 23rd and 31st of March at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown. The tournament format will consist of two semi-finals with the two winners meeting in a final. There will also be a match to determine the third-place team.

Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia will fight it out to come away as the winner. A draw will determine all fixtures and dates.

Motherwell suffered back-to-back defeats for just the second time in the Premiership this season, as Champions Celtic ran out 3-1 winners after the Steelmen were reduced to ten men.

Elijah Just opened the scoring at Parkhead to give the visitors the lead just after the half-hour mark. However, the lead would only last six minutes, with Yang Hyun-jun equalising following a mix-up in the Motherwell defence.

The game was hanging in the balance until the 71st minute when Emmanuel Longelo was shown a red card for following Daizen Maeda in the box from a corner, with Tomas Cvancara converting from the subsequent spot kick. With the man advantage, Yang scored his second with ten minutes of regulation time to seal the win for Martin O’Neill’s side.

Motherwell made one change to the side that suffered defeat against Dundee last weekend. Stephen Welsh wasn’t able to play against his parent club, so he dropped out of the squad and was replaced by Tom Sparrow, with Stephen O’Donnell shifting to centre-back.

Aston Oxborough replaced Matty Connelly on the bench, with Connelly missing out due to a training ground injury. Andy Halliday and Zander McAllister also came onto the bench in place of Regan Charles-Cook, who missed out through injury.

John Beaton signalled for the game to get underway with a sold-out away end in full voice backing the Steelmen, and the early optimism was apparent. Just four minutes in, Motherwell settled into their rhythm, and Ibrahim Said found space on the right to send a ball across the face of goal. Longelo was at the back post, and the full-back attempted to tee up Tawanda Maswanhise, but the effort was blocked by Benjamin Arthur.

The first big moment of the match came after seven minutes when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stretched for the ball and caught Just high on the leg. Beaton was quick to produce the red card, but the former Liverpool and Arsenal man would count himself lucky not to see a VAR intervention. Just went down twice following the challenge, as the forward powered through the pain to continue the match despite a nasty gash on his shin.

Celtic were presented with a big opportunity to break the deadlock in the 9th minute. Reo Hatate sent a ball into the box which Longelo covered, but he accidentally fed the ball to Benjamin Nygren, but the Motherwell defender produced a swift recovery to clear the danger.

Longelo would be involved just a minute later when Motherwell came close to scoring. Longelo’s charging overlap up the left caused Celtic problems, with Longelo getting into the final third. He attempted a cross, but the ball deflected off Colby Donovan, and the Celtic keeper, Viljami Sinisalo, would have to be quick to react to stop the ball from going in at his near post.

The next big opening came in the 20th minute. Oxlade-Chamberlain sent a low effort towards the goal, which saw Calum Ward produce a stunning save to prevent the ball from going in the net. The ball was sent onto the inside of the post by Ward before trickling along the goal line but not crossing it. With the Celtic fans up celebrating, thinking the ball went in, Jens Berthel Askou encouraged his player to relax and take the sting out of the game.

Arthur would send his header from a corner over the bar four minutes later, but the opening goal came at the other end after 32 minutes.

Callum Slattery closed Sinisalo’s passing options, with the Celtic keeper opting to play Hatate the ball with the Japanese midfielder on the edge of his own box and facing his own goal. Elliot Watt nailed his press and robbed Hatate of the ball. With Watt on the floor, he was able to flick the ball to Slattery, who laid it over to Just, who fired low and hard into the bottom corner to open the scoring.

The lead didn’t last long and Celtic levelled shortly after with Motherwell causing their own problems. Tom Sparrow’s intended pass to Stephen O’Donnell was intercepted by Nygren, who nipped in and tried to square the ball across goal. Ward was able to get down and push the ball away, but it fell to Yang in the middle of the box, who made no mistake with the finish.

Motherwell quickly settled back down and kept hold of possession and when Said burst past the already booked Oxlade-Chamberlain on the edge of the box, Beaton blew for a foul on the edge of the area but didn’t see the challenge worthy of a second yellow.

Slattery sent the free-kick over the bar, and the midfielder came close to converting following a wonderful team move before the break. Patient play was almost rewarded, with Said cutting inside from the right and the Nigerian setting the ball to Slattery, who moved into the box, shifting the ball past Liam Scales, but he couldn’t find the bottom corner with the effort.

Celtic made a half-time substitute, but it was Motherwell who almost scored early in the second half. Just broke forward with the ball on the left, slid the pass to Said, who tried to curl it into the bottom right corner, but the keeper was a match to the effort and pushed the ball away. In a frantic start to the second period, Celtic drove forward, and the ball was worked to Nygren on the edge of the box, and his deflected effort came within the width of the post of finding the corner.

The game eventually settled down, and Maswanhise had the next chance after 65 minutes. Slattery’s long ball wide to the forward saw him in a 1v1 situation against Arthur. He cut inside onto his right foot and went searching for the bottom corner, but the ball went past the post.

With the match truly hanging in the balance, and both sides feeling they could take the three points, a decisive moment arrived on 71 minutes. Celtic’s corner was sent to the back-post area, and a tussle between Maeda and Longelo saw the Celtic man fall to the ground. Beaton halted play and was sent to the VAR monitor. Upon his return to the field, he pointed to the spot and showed a red card.

Cvancara made no mistake from the spot, sending the ball down the middle to put his side in front for the first time in the match. With the task seemingly looking difficult for Motherwell, the ten men fought tooth and nail to stay in the game. Ward came out of his net to close the angle for Maeda before O’Donnell found himself with space on the edge of the area but sent his strike over the bar.

Yang made sure of the points with ten to play. A long ball from a goal kick wasn’t dealt with by the Motherwell defence, and Yang found himself in behind and through on goal before knocking the ball over Ward to seal the win.

A 3-1 win for Celtic, probably not a true reflection of proceedings, closed the gap to Hearts at the top for O’Neill’s side, with Motherwell remaining fourth in the table going into their match against Hibernian next weekend.

Motherwell Team: Ward, Sparrow, O’Donnell, McGinn, Longelo, Watt, Fadinger, Slattery, Said, Just, Maswanhise. 

Motherwell Subs: Oxborough, Gordon, McGhee, McAllister, Priestman, Halliday, Ross, Nicholson, Bjørgolfsson.

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former Motherwell FC player Billy Campbell.

Billy joined the club in 1968, arriving from Dundee. The winger went on to make 110 appearances for the Steelmen in his six-year stay at Fir Park.

Scoring 13 times, the Northern Irish internationalist returned to Motherwell later, where he was assistant manager to Willie McLean. He also featured for Hamilton Accies, Sunderland and Linfield.

Billy has passed away aged 81, and the thoughts of everyone at Motherwell Football Club are firmly with his family and friends at this sad time.

RIP, Billy.

The women of steel’s recent winless run came to a dramatic conclusion in the Granite City, as Motherwell fought off a late Aberdeen resurgence to seal a narrow 3-4 victory at Balmoral Stadium.

Recent addition, Keri Halliday netted the breakthrough on her Motherwell debut, with Dons skipper, Hannah Stewart finding the equaliser on the hour mark. Striker Carla Boyce restored the visitors advantage shortly before the half-time break – leaving Motherwell with a narrow advantage at the break.

The hosts levelled the scoreline for the second time shortly after, with Bridget Galloway finding the net from distance. Boyce converted her second from the penalty spot on the hour mark after being fouled in the Aberdeen box. Boyce completed her hat-trick in the latter stages of the game, escaping her marker before dispatching her strike into the bottom-right corner. Aberdeen scored a late consolation, but the women of steel held out to secure their first victory of Iain Robinson’s tenure.

Head Coach, Iain Robinson started the women of steel’s two new arrivals from the outset, with Hearts loanee, Keri Halliday and Australian youth international, Milly Boughton both named in the starting XI.

After intense pressure on the Aberdeen goal, Motherwell finally found the breakthrough. Halliday burst through on the left-flank before driving at pace towards the Dons penalty area. The youngster cut the ball onto her right-foot before dispatching a magnificent long-range strike over the head of Katie Cox.

Aberdeen skipper, Hannah Stewart made it level shortly after, with a composed finish beyond Emma Thomson.

Boyce soon restored Motherwell’s advantage moments later, with a defensive mix-up allowing Boyce to capitalise with a low strike into the bottom-right corner.

The Dons equaliser came suddenly against the run of play, with Galloway clipping an audacious delivery over the head of Emma Thomson, with the ball nestling comfortably into the top-right corner.

Boyce restored Motherwell’s advantage for a third time from the penalty spot, with the striker completing her hat-trick a moment later.

Abi Tobin narrowed the deficit in the latter stages of the contest, but Iain Robinson’s side held out for the first three-points of the split.

Matchday 19 of the 2025/26 SWPL campaign, and the first of the post-split campaign awaits the women of steel this weekend, as they travel North to face Aberdeen at Balmoral Stadium.

Iain Robinson’s side will face a daunting fight to preserve their top-flight status, with the women of steel ahead of Aberdeen in the relegation playoff position on goal difference.

Motherwell will seek to right the wrongs from their previous meeting with the Dons, with the hosts striking in the latter stages to complete a narrow 2-1 victory. Midfielder, Lucy Ronald discussed the women of steel’s preparations ahead of their visit to the Granite City.

“Preparations have been really good heading into this weekend,” Ronald said.

“We are excited to get back onto the pitch, and push for a positive end to our season.

“We understand that every game is going to be so important in the split, so we aren’t taking our preparations lightly. We recognise the importance of starting in a positive manner, and we have to take belief into the game this weekend.

“Balmoral can be an incredibly difficult place to go, our last visit to Aberdeen showed that. We knew our performance wasn’t good enough or at the standards we’d expect from ourselves, and that’s something we’ve discussed internally as a squad, and is a result we want to put right this weekend.”

The women of steel will have two fresh additions in their matchday squad, with midfielder Milly Boughton and Striker Keri Halliday both available to make their Motherwell debuts this weekend. Ronald noted that their additions has brought some additional positivity to the squad.

“It has been great to get them both in training, and settled into the squad,” Ronald added.

“They have both fitted in with the group really well, and will play a massive part in our push to preserve our status in the top-flight.

Stephen O’Donnell says it hurt last Saturday to suffer defeat against Dundee, and believes it’s about a positive reaction which has started this week in training. 

The defender breaks down his season as a whole, speaking about his development and approach to the new style.

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou says the remaining nine games will be filled with challenges and it’s very unlikely any top-six side will be unbeaten, and has laid down the challenge to his team to go and catch any of the sides above them in the table. 

Askou is looking forward to going up against Martin O’Neill, but respect aside, the Dane has full belief that if his side perform to their top level, they will win the match.

The team news is in for our trip to Parkhead on Saturday. 

Motherwell face Celtic and with Lukas Fadinger being a first-half substitute, and Aston Oxborough recalled from his loan spell at Dunfermline to cover Matty Connelly’s absence following a training ground injury, Jens Berthel Askou brought everyone up to speed this afternoon.

“Regan Charles-Cook suffered a small injury during the game last weekend,” the manager said.

“He will be out for a few weeks. Lukas [Fadinger] bumped his nose into an opponent in the game and had to come off but he’s fine and trained today. Eythor [Bjørgolfsson] had a knock in a session but was tested today and he’s good to go.

“Matty [Connelly] also had a knock and it’s very unlikely he’ll play at the weekend. That’s why we had to bring Aston back but if everything goes to plan, he can go back to Dunfermline.”

Wishing both Matty and Regan a speedy recovery.

Motherwell defied a late Aberdeen comeback in emphatic style, netting a decisive goal with the final kick of the game to continue their nine game unbeaten run whilst surpassing the Dons in the SWPL league table.

Motherwell comfortably cruised to a two-goal advantage in the first-half, with Kayla Jardine’s whipped delivery diverted goal-bound by the foot of an Aberdeen defender before striker Laura berry continued her remarkable goalscoring form with an exceptional solo-run and finish shortly before half-time.

The hosts were soon reduced to 10-players moments later leaving the women of steel firmly in the ascendency heading into the second-half. Despite controlling the first-half, the visitors lost their momentum, with Aberdeen responding with two quick-fire goals against the run of play.

As both sides looked certain to share a closely-fought point, defender Chelsie Watson powered home a header with the last kick of the game to secure the three points and ninth unbeaten game.

Head coach Paul Brownlie made two changes from the side that drew with Montrose at K-Park last weekend, with Bailley Collins and Rebecca Cameron settling for a place on the bench whilst Murron Cunningham and Emily Mutch both returning to the starting XI.

Knowing a victory would propel the women of steel to the top of the split, Motherwell started firmly on the front foot and soon netted the opener within the first two-minutes. Kayla Jardine’s whipped delivery from the left flank coasted across the face of goal and a mistimed Aberdeen interception forced the ball into their own net.

Murron Cunningham was next to test the Aberdeen goal, latching onto Amy Anderson’s precise through ball that sliced through the Aberdeen backline, but the experienced defender lost her footing on the artificial turf, reducing the momentum in her strike.

Morgan Cross carved the next opportunity, racing through a series of Aberdeen jerseys before curling a hopeful right-footed effort from the edge of the penalty area, but the strikers attempt was equally matched by an exceptional reaction save.

Motherwell continued to threaten the Aberdeen half, with the second following shortly before the half-time break. Striker Laura Berry regained possession with a clever interception on the halfway line before running directly through the centre of the Aberdeen half. The youngster skilfully switched the ball onto her left-foot before dispatching a calm and composed finish into the bottom-right corner.

Motherwell looked firm favourites to coast to their seventh victory throughout their impeccable unbeaten run when Aberdeen were reduced to 10-players following a verbal discussion with the match officials.

However, the women of steel suddenly lost their rhythm and momentum in the game, with Aberdeen netting twice in a prolific spell.

However, the women of steel’s never say die attitude prevailed. In the final minute of the game, Katie Rice’s whipped corner kick sailed invitingly to defender Chelsie Watson, who steadied herself before guiding a precise headed effort into the top-left corner to seal a dramatic victory on the road in the Granite City.