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Jake Girdwood-Reich is our fourth summer signing. 

The centre-back joins the club from MLS side St Louis City for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal, subject to international clearance.

“Jake has a perfect blend of experience and young, raw talent,” Alfred Johansson stated.

“At 22, he is young, enthusiastic and energetic. With lots of development still possible, he has enough experience to slot in comfortably in this environment. Defensively, he is a strong and intelligent player whose traits match our style.

“With four summer signings already in the door, our squad is coming along nicely ahead of a hectic start to the competitive season. We’re working hard behind the scenes here, on the pitch and off it.”

Born in Australia, Girdwood-Reich played junior football in Sydney but also had a short stint with St Johnstone in his early years. He signed with Sydney FC at the age of 12.

Coming through the system with Sydney, Girdwood-Reich reached the Sydney FC II side in 2020, where his development continued for two years before officially being moved up to their first-team. He made his debut in 2022 in the Australian Cup before making his A-League debut a couple of months later. He played 19 games that season for the first-team, including every minute of their Australian Cup campaign, which concluded with Sydney and Girdwood-Reich lifting the trophy.

He picked up the Sydney FC Rising Star Award at the 2022 Sky Blue Awards night for his promising start in a Sydney FC jersey. By the start of the 2023 season in Australia, Girdwood-Reich was a starter for Sydney and started 23 matches, scoring his first goal for the club in February.

His performances earned him not only a spot in the PFA Players’ A-League Team of the Season but also a move to MLS side St Louis City in the summer of 2024, moving for an undisclosed fee, with reports suggesting the move broke the transfer record for Sydney FC.

With St Louis already midway through their MLS campaign when Girdwood-Reich arrived in July, he featured ten times in MLS in 2024, earning his first start against Los Angeles FC in October.

With the MLS campaign kicking off in early 2025, Girdwood-Reich’s appearance count for St Louis rose to 23 before he joined Auckland FC on loan in September 2025. The A-League season kicked off the following month, with the defender featuring in all but one match for his side. Girdwood-Reich caught the headlines in a 5-0 win when his strike from over 80 yards out against Wellington Phoenix found the back of the net.

Auckland went on to win the A-League Men’s Championship with a 1-0 win over his former side, Sydney FC. Fresh off the back of a successful season in the A-League, the 22-year-old joins the club ahead of our Conference League match against Havnar Bóltfelag.

“It feels so good to be here,” Jake Girdwood-Reich added.

“Talks have been ongoing, and I’ve been keen to get things finalised so I could get to work. The manager was impressive in the way he explained how he wanted the team to play, and that is something that is important to me. I know what he expects from me, and I know what I can expect from him.

“I’ve met the players, and everyone has been welcoming and open to me coming in, so that’s another part that has been easy. I know a couple of the boys and have played against a few too, so settling in won’t be an issue. It’s an exciting few weeks, and I’m glad I can be a part of the journey here at Motherwell.”

It’s time for Motherwell supporters to come back home for the first time this season when the Steelmen face off against K.R.C Genk in a friendly match on Friday 17 July. 

Kick off is 7pm.

How to Follow the Game

Season ticket holders have until Wednesday 15^th July 5pm to buy their ticket at the discounted price.

For this game, all tickets will be Ticketfast (digital) or collection at the Ticket Office only. The game will not be downloaded onto your season card.

Ticket Prices:

You can buy your tickets online now by CLICKING HERE.

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

The match will be shown live via our pay-per-view streaming service.

The price is advertised at €8. This works out at £6.90 currently, using the exchange rate our streaming provider has.

You are able to watch the match online.

Food & Drink

Mrs Baillie’s Fanzone is open for the first time this season. Home and away fans can attend from 5pm.

The Cooper Bar will be open from 5pm for home and away fans. It will also be open for one hour post-match for those looking to avoid the traffic. Food and drink will be available.

Another option is the Centenary Suite, which will be open from 5pm and will operate as a bar. You can also access the Suite for one hour post-match.

All kiosks will be open in the home stands. Card and cash are accepted.

Weather Forecast

It will be a warm evening in ML1, with temperatures expected to be above 20 degrees by kick off. There will be a gentle breeze with minimal cloud coverage.

Motherwell’s Fortunes

Alfred Johansson’s side have been working hard during pre-season and most recently faced off against Carlisle United in a behind-closed-doors friendly match. Ewan Wilson and Ibrahim Said both got on the scoresheet as the visitors won 3-2 at Fir Park.

This fixture will mark the next step up in preparations ahead of the UEFA Conference League match against Havnar Bóltfelag next week. New signings Willy Vogt and Martin Moorman will be looking to get minutes under their belt ahead of their first season in Scotland, with Alex Paulsen also available between the sticks.

Despite experiencing his first match at Fir Park last weekend behind closed doors, this game marks Johansson’s first opportunity to meet the home crowd.

Opposition Report

Belgian Pro-League side Genk arrive in Scotland to continue their pre-season schedule with matches against Motherwell and Falkirk. Genk are currently searching for their next permanent manager, with Nicky Hayen moving to the English Championship with Burnley.

Genk have produced some world-class superstars in recent years, including the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Divock Origi, Thibaut Courtois, Yannick Carrasco and Leandro Trossard, but in the present day, the likes of Konstantinos Karetsas, Matte Smets and Noah Adedeji-Sternberg are amongst the next future stars the Belgian side have within their ranks.

With some of the biggest clubs in the world tracking a number of Genk’s players, the club will be looking to qualify for European competition this season, having missed out last year. The Belgians faced off against Rangers in the Europa League last September at Ibrox, with former Celtic striker Oh scoring the only goal of the match. Genk’s European journey saw them reach the knockouts of the Europa League, where they defeated Dinamo Zagreb before eventual finalists Freiburg knocked the Belgians out.

Their league campaign ended with a penalty shootout defeat against Gent in the European playoff final, which saw them miss out on Conference League football.

Goalkeeper Alex Paulsen has joined the club on a season-long loan deal from Premier League side Bournemouth.

The 24-year-old New Zealand international is Alfred Johansson’s third summer signing.

“Alex has already shown domestically and internationally that he is an impressive goalkeeper with an exciting career ahead of him,” Alfred Johansson said.

“He had a hugely successful spell in Australia and New Zealand, where he received a number of personal accolades, but he was also a part of teams that liked to play a certain style of football, and they achieved their targets.

“His last two loan moves have been successful for him personally, and we see this as the next step for his development. He is highly thought of by his country. He has just arrived back from being in the New Zealand World Cup squad, so he is ready to hit the ground running.

“With Calum [Ward] moving on, it was obvious that we needed to recruit in this position. We see Alex as a very similar type of goalkeeper in terms of his strengths. Matty [Connelly] did very well in our friendly match in Denmark and against Carlisle, and bringing Alex in will increase competition in this area.”

Paulsen, who was an outfielder in his early years, came through the systems at Eastern Suburbs AFC and Onehunga Sports before moving to Wellington Phoneix in 2018. Here, he began to work through the age groups towards first-team football. In 2021, he made his A-League debut for Phoenix against Sydney FC. As he remained the second-choice keeper, his big chance would come in the 2023/24 season.

He grabbed his chance with both hands and went on to play 29 times for Phoenix, playing every minute of the season as his side finished second in the league. His performances have seen him pick up a number of accolades, including Wellington Phoenix Members’ Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year, Under-23 Player of the Year and A-League Men Goalkeeper of the Year, and he shared the Young Footballer of the Year award with Nestory Irankunda.

That breakout season caught the eye of Premier League side Bournemouth, who brought the shot-stopper to England for a seven-figure fee in the summer of 2024. Although he received his first international call-up for New Zealand back in 2022, that summer would be a special one as Paulsen also earned his first cap for his country against Solomon Islands.

A loan spell with Auckland FC came next to ensure development and playing minutes increased, and there, Paulsen enjoyed more success. He helped set a new Australian football record by going 532 minutes before conceding his first goal. That success continued with Auckland winning the A-League Premiership in their debut season and Paulsen not missing a single minute of action as he was named the A-League Goalkeeper of the Year once again.

Bournemouth looked to allow Paulsen’s development to continue with a loan move to Polish Ekstraklasa side Lechia Gdańsk, where, once again, Paulsen was the first-choice keeper. He played all but four matches in the 25/26 season for Gdańsk.

Paulsen’s international journey has been on an upward trajectory also. Having represented his country at the Olympics in 2024, he is now on eight caps for his country, five of which have come since last October. He was named in the 2026 World Cup squad.

“I’ve got a great feeling coming in here,” Alex Paulsen stated.

“Obviously, I’ve been able to speak to Elijah [Just] about the club, and everything he has said has got me excited about what’s to come. I know coming here that I’ll need to work hard to get into this team. There is a strong goalkeeping contingent already in the building, so the work starts now for me.

“I’ve had a wonderful summer with my country at the World Cup and feel fresh coming into this season. We have some huge matches just around the corner, and we all need to be ready for the competitive action. I’ve spoken to the manager and have been so impressed with the way he has spoken to me. There is a clear vision, and I hope I can help the team achieve that.”

You can watch Motherwell v K.R.C Genk live via live via our pay-per-view streaming service.

The price is advertised at €8. This works out at £6.90 currently, using the exchange rate our streaming provider has.

You are able to watch the match online.

The women of steel continued to ramp up their preparations ahead of the forthcoming domestic campaign, as they narrowly succumbed to hosts Livingston under the West Lothian sunshine at Almondvale on Sunday.

The hosts cruised to a two-goal advantage, before Mason Clark narrowed the deficit in the latter stages of the game. Motherwell pressurised the Livingston goal, but despite hitting the bar on numerous occasions, Motherwell couldn’t find the eventual equaliser.

The opener came after a quarter of an hour, with a floated corner kick sailing across the six-yard-box, and despite ricocheting through a number of jerseys, the final touch re-directed into the bottom-right corner.

Motherwell sought to respond, and almost found the leveller on the half-hour mark. Kodie Hay’s whipped delivery from the right-flank fell into the path of Jenna Penman in the box, but the defenders headed effort fell wide of the target.

Hay continued to threaten, with the forward’s chipped through ball finding Mason Clark, who adjusted her position before teeing up Lucy Ronald at the edge of the box, but the midfielders low strike failed to trouble the goalkeeper.

The hosts had the ball in the back of the net for a second time moments before the break. A quick counter-attack left the visitors scrambling to regain their shape. A perfectly-weighted through ball across the face of goal penetrated the Motherwell backline, before being coolly dispatched beyond Rebecca Cameron.

The celebrations were quickly brought to a conclusion, as the referee adjudicated the striker to have strayed offside.

Motherwell again came agonisingly close to restoring the scoreline shortly before the half-time break, with Hannah Cairns striking the crossbar from the edge of the box.

Closing out the first-half with a one-goal deficit, Motherwell had the first opportunity of the second-half. Mason Clark swiftly worked her way to the edge of the Livingston penalty area before dragging her shot wide of the near post.

One of the women of steel’s several matchday trialists came close to the equaliser minutes later. Using her pace to smartly escape the second to last defender, she soon found herself bearing down on goal, but the final recovering defender reacted promptly to make a smart interception.

Despite Motherwell’s countless opportunities in the final third, the hosts soon doubled their advantage. An exceptional strike from 30-yards out curled beyond the reach of Cameron before bursting the top-right corner of the Motherwell net.

Frustrated, Motherwell almost immediately responded. Shannon Leishman’s mis-hit delivery from the right by-line looped aggressively over the head of the Livingston goalkeeper before hitting the bar, and then the left post.

Substitute, Carla Boyce almost accepted a gift presented by the Lions defence in her first moment of the game. The home shot-stoppers mis-placed pass was promptly intercepted by Boyce on the six-yard line, but the goalkeeper reacted sharply to close down the angle and deny the experienced forward.

The chances on-goal continued to evade the women of steel, with Trialists free-kick from the edge of the box falling kindly to Boyce a few yards out, but the striker couldn’t generate any power on the snapshot, allowing the goalkeeper to easily gather.

Motherwell soon received a late consolation, with Mason Clark adding her name to the scoresheet. Clark’s solo driving run from the right-flank led the midfielder to the edge of the box, and Clark composed herself before drilling a left-footed strike into the bottom-right corner.

In the final minute of the game, Boyce almost earned the visitors a draw, with a whipped corner-kick sailing invitingly into the strikers path, but the forward could only strike the bar with her unorthodox standing overhead kick.

Alfred Johansson reacts to pre-season test with Carlisle United.

Goalkeeper Calum Ward has joined QPR on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee. 

The 25-year-old joined the club in January 2025 and, having not played any minutes, was thrust into the number one spot last summer.

From there, Ward thrived and went on to break the club’s decade-long record for number of clean sheets by a Motherwell goalkeeper in a single season, won the golden glove in the Scottish Premiership as he kept 17 in the league season and was part of the side that set a new club record for number of consecutive home clean sheets.

Playing 42 games in total for the club, Ward missed just one William Hill Premiership match last season in the side that finished fourth and secured European football for the Steelmen for the first time in four years.

“My time at the club has been some journey,” Calum Ward said.

“Coming in when I did, game time was limited, but last season I was given an opportunity to show what I could do. As a club, we achieved so much, and I’m so pleased to be a part of it. I’ll remember my time at the club so fondly. I want to thank all the coaches and players for everything.

“My particular thanks go to Neil Alexander for his advice and coaching during my time. I wish the boys nothing but the best and hope everyone enjoys the European tour.

“Finally, my thanks go to the fans. Arriving at the club, seeing the number of supporters was incredible. The numbers at home and the road have been special. You all deserve more success on the pitch. Thanks for sticking by us during the tougher moments.

“A special club that I’ll always be a supporter of.”

Now moving on to pastures new, the club would like to place on record its sincere thanks to Calum for his hard work and effort in a Motherwell shirt and wish him the very best for his future career.

Eight Motherwell FC Academy players have signed their first professional contracts with the club. 

Goalkeeper

• Lewis McGahey

Defenders

• Samuel Ngandu
• Matthew Pettigrew
• Scott MacCrimmon
• Kai McFarlane

Forwards

• Joshua Clarkson
• Leo Lee
• Jude Henderson

“This is always a proud moment for the young players,” David Clarkson said.

“We’re proud of our academy setup here at Motherwell, and we’re always striving to develop our young players at the club. It’s always great to see our players penning their first professional deals, and they should be proud of their achievements so far.

“But the work doesn’t stop here, and if anything, this will be the hardest part of their journey. All eight are aware of what it’ll take to keep progressing, and being in a full-time environment requires dedication and application. We will support the players in any way we can, and our coaching staff are looking forward to working with them on a daily basis.”

The Steelmen rounded off their week-long training camp in Denmark with a friendly match against Danish champions AGF Aarhus. 

The Danes came away with a 4-0 victory. Alfred Johansson named a strong starting 11 for the match but used his bench in the second-half to ensure all players got minutes in the legs.

It didn’t take long for the hosts to show their quality. After three minutes, Mikael Anderson finished past Matty Connelly following a quick counter-attack.

Kristian Arnstad then blazed over four minutes later, before Matty Connelly was forced into a good save to deny Magnus Knudsen from the edge of the box on the volley.

The chances kept coming for Aarhus. At 16 minutes, Anderson came close to a second when Jordan McGhee’s headed clearance fell to him, but he couldn’t direct the shot on target.

Motherwell’s first chance came just after the 20-minute mark. Some good work up the right-hand side led to Tom Sparrow delivering a high cross into the penalty area. McGhee leapt highest, but the defender’s header went wide.

Frederik Emmery continued to look like the biggest threat on the Aarhus side, and he came close to scoring midway through the half but couldn’t beat the post.

Mads Hedenstad, the Aarhus goalkeeper, made his first save just before the interval. Sparrow laid the ball off to Elliot Watt, who curled a strike towards goal, but the keeper managed to get a fingertip onto the ball to take it over the bar.

Half time allowed Johansson to make changes. Mikey Booth came on midway through the first half due to Apostolos Stamatelopoulos coming off. Olly Whyte came on during the break for Lukas Fadinger.

Aarhus continued to press high up the pitch, forcing the Motherwell defenders into mistakes. O’Donnell was tackled on 54 minutes, but the Aarhus forward couldn’t find the bottom corner, having driven through on goal.

Two minutes later, however, it was two. Watt’s pass was intercepted by Jacob Anderson, who flew past McGhee before finishing into the net.

As we hit the hour mark, there were a raft of Motherwell subs, which left just Oscar Priestman as the only non-Motherwell FC Academy player on the pitch. Now with a young side on the pitch, Aarhus controlled the ball for large spells.

Sebastian Jørgensen was denied by Connelly, who remained busy between the sticks for the rest of the game. But five minutes later, Connelly couldn’t prevent Jørgensen from getting on the scoresheet. Connelly’s pass out was pressed by Aarhus; Jørgensen had time to pick his spot and make it 3-0.

The young Steelmen continued to fight and work despite the scoreline. Preventing Aarhus from any further chances, they did concede right before full time when Jørgensen’s left-footed free kick found its way past Connelly to round off the action.

Motherwell Team: Connelly, Sparrow, O’Donnell, McGhee, Koutroumbis, Fadinger, Watt, Priestman, Ross, Charles-Cook, Stamatelopoulos.

Watch Alfred Johansson’s interview post AGF Aarhus.