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Mark O’Brien will take eighteen months of frustration out on the SPFL as he aims to rebuild his career at Fir Park.

The 21-year old Irishman, known to his teammates as ‘OB’, has been incredibly unlucky with injuries at his parent club Derby County.

After becoming a first-team regular with The English Championship side on two separate occasions, the youngster saw his season cut short through knee injuries.

Now back fit, the Republic of Ireland U21 cap is just desperate to get back playing and hopes to be in contention for Saturday’s big match against St Johnstone at Fir Park.

[pullquote]Now I am free from injury, I want to try and really progress. I hope this loan will help me learn, build and get new experiences and also help Motherwell along the way.[/pullquote]

“My aim is to try and resurrect my career, which has almost plateaued in recent years through injuries,” he told MFC TV.

“Now I am free from them, I want to try and really progress. I hope this loan will help me learn, build and get new experiences and also help Motherwell along the way.

“The manager showed a lot of interest in me, both at the tail end of last season and again during the close season and that gave me the confidence to make the move.

“I’ll guarantee 100% commitment both in training and games and I really can’t wait to get started. Training has gone well this week so if I am selected tomorrow, I am absolutely ready to play.”

Stuart McCall insists hard work and desire is the key to getting Motherwell off their poor run of recent form.

The Steelmen have lost three in the bounce in the league – the last time they did so was back in September/October 2012, when a similar run of defeats to Celtic, Hearts and Hibs eventually came to an end with a 3-1 win over the Perth Saints.

There is no doubt McCall would take a repeat tomorrow against what is a very tough opponent in St Johnstone, bossed by the shrewd Tommy Wright.

Speaking directly to MFC TV via the Official You Tube channel, the Motherwell manager admitted: “There’s no magic formula; I’ve already told the lads it is a case of us digging deep and battling away.

[pullquote]There’s no magic formula; I’ve already told the lads it is a case of us digging deep and battling away.[/pullquote]

“People will talk about tactics and formations, and from my point of view, picking the right side, but when we got out there and that whistle goes, we’ve got to try and ensure things go our way.

“There are never any guarantees around results or even good performances, but what you should always be able to say is that you’ve won your personal battles, even if you’ve not played well.

“We will need to be more ‘up at at ‘em’ against St Johnstone if we want to create more chances and score more goals.

“That won’t be easy given they are a determined, dogged, well-organised side who are flush with good professionals and come into the match off the back of an excellent win against Aberdeen.

“But as I’ve said, there’s no magic formula. You go out and work your hardest, get that little bit of luck you need and hopefully the confidence and the quality will come through.”

Ticket prices for the forthcoming League Cup tie against Hamilton Accies at New Douglas Park can now be confirmed.

The match will go ahead on Wednesday 24th September (7.45pm kick-off) and tickets are available on the gate priced at:

• Concessions are applicable to Under 18s and Over 65s.
• Fans who require wheelchair access should contact Sharon or John McCaskie on 07745494631 / 07711 992161 or email disabledfans@motherwellfc.co.uk

The third domestic Steelmen Matchday Magazine of 2014/15 is on sale when St Johnstone visit Fir Park on Saturday.

But what is inside the 68-page issue?

‘Well boss Stuart McCall and Captain Keith Lasley both return with the regular columns. McCall chats about what is required from the squad to halt Motherwell’s poor run of results and Lasley speaks about the feelings from the dressing room.

The feature interview is with young striker Lee Erwin. The 20-year old talks about making up for lost time, recovering from two serious injuries to finally make his breakthrough into the first-team squad.

Lee also features as the next in the centre-page souvenir poster collection.

But that’s not where the features stop!

There is an in-depth section dedicated to our visitors, St Johnstone

As ever, Ray Morrison introduces the Perthshire side and Andy Paterson talks through four vital characters in the Saints side likely to cause issues.

The big features keep coming…

Graeme McGarry catches up with former midfielder Simo Valakari who is carving out quite a reputation for himself as a manager in his native Finland.

Valakari, who left Motherwell back in 2000 after four great years at Fir Park, led Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho to promotion in his first season and, now in the Veikkausliiga, is challenging for a European spot.

He talks about his time at Fir Park, his admiration for the club and his desire to one-day return.

‘From the Press Box’ returns with regular host, the Herald’s Scott Mullen and ‘Voices from the East Stand’ blogger Eddie McGuigan once again gives a fans viewpoint on recent happenings.

We also have a full report from Milk Cup as the Under 16s lift the trophy and Eddie Ferguson’s new feature looking at every Motherwell manager in history continues and focuses on the legendary Bobby Ancell.

Our match reports section takes a look back at the 2-0 defeat at Rugby Park. There’s also an in-depth report from the Under 20s 1-3 reverse in the SPFL Development League and the ‘Getting to know you’ focuses on defender David Ferguson.

We have the latest from The Ticket Office, Commercial and Community Departments, and update from the Well Society as well as the latest stats, facts and figures from the 2014/2015 campaign.

We also take a statistical look at the match official and the new GIRFEC sponsored ‘Junior Steel’ kids page returns and is sure to test the youngster’s quiz minds with puzzles and ‘Did you know’ facts and a new Man of the Match feature sponsored by Match Attax.

The programme is available for £3 and is will be on sale from the Club Shop as well as the usual sellers located in and around the ground pre-match.

You can also order back editions or take a season-long subscription to the magazine by visiting the website of our publishers – Curtis-Sports – CLICK HERE.

Motherwell have been drawn to face Hamilton Accies in the Third Round of the Scottish League Cup.

The match will take place on either Tuesday 23rd or Wednesday 24th September 2014.

Confirmed details around the match, including ticket information, will be published shortly.

FULL DRAW:

• Dundee Utd v Dundee
• Falkirk v Rangers/Inverness CT
• Ross County v Hibernian
• Kilmarnock v St Johnstone
• Aberdeen v Livingston
• Partick Thistle v St Mirren
• Celtic v Hearts
• Hamilton Accies v Motherwell

Referee for this Saturday’s SPFL Premiership clash with St Johnstone at Fir Park is Alan Muir.

It will be Muir’s first Motherwell game of the campaign, and indeed, only his second in charge of the Steelmen in over nineteen months.

That match was a 2-0 win against Inverness last March, Lionel Ainsworth and John Sutton getting the goals that fired the Fir Parkers into second.

Despite this, the 38-year old will be a familiar face to Fir Park fans after taking charge of two matches the previous season season.

The first was the league opener at Ross County as the Steelmen played out an uneventful 0-0 draw with the league’s new boys.

His other was a 1-0 home defeat by Dundee United in November 2012, a late Johnny Russell header giving Peter Houston’s side all three points.

He also handled five matches the previous season too (2011/12). It started with Celtic’s 4-0 win in early September 2011, then a 1-0 win over Aberdeen, Bob McHugh scoring the winning goal some fourteen days later.

The third was a resounding 3-0 victory of St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park before Dunfermline were swept aside 3-1 at Fir Park in a re-arranged game from Boxing Day. The last that season was when Motherwell memorably beat Hearts 3-0 on their way to securing third in the SPL.

His overall record in charge of Motherwell is fairly decent. The Steelmen have won eight, draw four and lost six from eighteen games. ‘Well have netted 23 times whilst conceding 26.

In all those games he has produced 53 yellow cards, 26 of which were shown to a player in claret and amber, and four red cards. (Paul Quinn, Michael Higdon, Stephen Craigan and Keith Lasley)

Alan will be ably assisted on the day by Stuart Stevenson and Stuart MacMillan with Gavin Duncan on fourth official duties. Referee Observer is Brian Cassidy and the SPFL Delegate is Terry Christie.

Motherwell Football Club Community Trust is proposing to invest £1.9 million in a new community facility for Muirhouse.

To make this project the best it can be we need the ideas and opinions of local people living in the Muirhouse area.

We particularly welcome your thoughts on the sort of activities and services we could provide through the proposed facility – so please take a moment to complete our feedback questionnaire and give us your ideas by  clicking here

‘Well boss Stuart McCall has called for his side to dig themselves out of their current run of bad form.

The Steelmen were defeated 2-0 at Rugby Park this afternoon, the third consecutive defeat in the SPFL Premiership.

You have to go back to September 2012 for a similar run of league defeats when ‘Well lost to Celtic, Hearts and Hibs.

That run came to an end with a win over St Johnstone and McCall is hoping history will repeat itself in seven days time.

[pullquote]There’s no good us moping about feeling sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to stick together, be stronger and look towards next Saturday with the aim of creating chances and scoring goals.[/pullquote]

Speaking to MFC TV on Motherwell’s Official You Tube channel, the Fir Park gaffer said: “Things won’t just turn for us because it has happened before, we’ve got to knuckle down and change it ourselves.

“We can take heart from the fact that we’ve got good character and good professionals in the dressing room.

“We’ve got players to come back that will make us stronger and players to get fitter, that make us stronger. In the meantime, we just need to fight, scratch and do everything we can to get a result.

“There’s no good us moping about feeling sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to stick together, be stronger and look towards next Saturday with the aim of creating chances and scoring goals.”

Action pictures from this afternoon’s 2-0 by Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in the SPFL Premiership.

Snaps courtesy of SNSPix.

[svgallery name=”kilmarnock230814″]

[tab:Match report]

 Phil McGhee at Rugby Park

A goal in each half gave Kilmarnock all three points against a ten-man Motherwell.

Muirhead opened the scoring after nine minutes with a thundering long-range effort from distance.

It stayed that way until the 78th minute when Fraser Kerr was ordered off for a high challenge on Jamie Hammil and to add insult to injury, Sammy Clingan curled home the resulting free-kick.

The reverse at Rugby Park was Motherwell’s third league defeat in a row – the first time the Steelmen have lost three on the bounce in the top league for almost two years.

Motherwell handed Henrik Ojamaa his first start since his return to the club. The Estonian forward came off the bench for the second half of last week’s defeat to Inverness and was added to the team for the visit to Rugby Park.

McCall also drafted in Iain Vigurs and Jack Leitch who replaced the injured David Ferguson and Lee Erwin.

Killie were missing both Michael Ngoo and Craig Slater from the matchday squad.

Motherwell looked good on the ball in the opening exchanged but it was the hosts who created and scored. Muirhead had passed up a glorious chance in the first few minutes, but, with just nine minutes on the clock, he made amends by grabbing the opener.

He collected the ball from Chris Chantler before letting fly with an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area that had Dan Twardzik well beaten.

However, the Motherwell goalkeeper came to the rescue when he found himself one on one with Josh Magennis and raced off his line to block.

The Northern Irishman was thwarted again seconds later when his shot from distance was smothered by Twardzik as the home side heaped on the pressure.

Magennis then attempted to turn provider, nodding into the path of Muirhead 18 yards out, but his volley dipped just over the crossbar and he was denied his second goal of the day.

‘Well had to weather a storm. They were good on the ball but were getting cut open far too easy. Rory McKenzie had a go with a 25-yard drive that a full-stretch Twardzik just managed to turn past a post.

The Fir Parkers got through most of what Killie were throwing and as the half wore on, were edging their way back into things. Ojamaa saw an angled drive clawed away by Craig Samson, with Craig Reid unable to get a clean shot from the rebound.

Motherwell stepped up attempts at a fight back after the break, but a curling free-kick from the fit-again Iain Vigurs did little to trouble Sampson in the Killie goal.

McManus headed over a Vigurs corner and Ojamaa looked to be in on goal following some confusion in the home defence but Hamill got back to cover. Vigurs also had an effort sail high over the bar after a nice bit of skill in the build up.

However, there appeared to be no way back for ‘Well when they found themselves down to ten men. Fraser Kerr was shown a straight red card for a high tackle on Jamie Hamill on the edge of the area.

From the resulting free-kick, Northern Irishman Sammy Clingan stepped up to smash home and seal the points.

[tab:As it happened]

Ally Reilly at Rugby Park

FT: Kilmarnock 2 – 0 Motherwell #KFCvMFC

94mins: Another fine save from Twardzik to deny Magennis

93mins: Leitch booked for clipping McKenzie’s ankles.

5 minutes added on

86mins: Kilmarnock sub: Cairney on for Obadeyi

83mins: McKenzie should have made it 3 but again Twardzik does well to block at his feet.

And a ‘Well sub, Ainsworth on for Ojamaa

80mins: Kilmarnock subs, Eremenko and O’Hara on for Hamill and Muirhead

77mins: GOAL! From the free-kick, Clingan fired it low past Twardzik. 2-0

76mins: RED CARD: Kerr sent off for what looked like a high foot going into the challenge.

71mins: Nice bit of skill from Vigurs some 25 yards out but with Law as an option out wide, he opts to shoot but it it well wide.

67mins: Decent chance for Ojamaa who dispossesed Barbour and darted into the box. Hamill did enough to cover and make the saving tackle

65mins: Vigurs outmuscles Pascali and wins a corner. Vigurs delivers to the front post to McManus but he can only flick a header well wide.

61mins: Free-kick in a decent area about 30 yards out on the left but Vigurs’ ball in eludes everyone.

57mins: Corner to Killie after Twardzik takes no chances and punches it behind. Pascali heads harmlessly wide.

4,146 here at Rugby Park #KFCvMFC

50mins: Stoppage in play as we await a substitute corner flag. Reid snapped the last one trying to chase down a through ball.

49mins: Great effort from Vigurs from the free-kick. Samson got across his line well and managed to gather it to safety.

48mins: Hamill booked for a foul on on Sutton. Didn’t look worthy of a yellow to be honest.

Second half underway!

A frustrating first half for ‘Well as yet again they go behind to a great strike. Playing some good football, just lacking the final ball.

HT: Kilmarnock 1 – 0 Motherwell #KFCvMFC

40mins: Drama as Sutton races through 1v1. Looked to have been clipped by Pascali but ref says no! Interesting to see that back.

38mins: Killie counter and on the edge of the box, Barbour spins McManus and gets a shot away. Straight into the hands of Twardzik, though.

36mins: Great passing play from ‘Well but Connolly is there to intercept Reid’s cross.

Great delivery from Lasley has Samson backtracking and having to punch it clear.

33mins: Corner to ‘Well, swung in by Leitch and headed clear by Magennis. Another corner to ‘Well…

31mins: McKenzie tries his luck from range and does enough to test Twardzik who has to dive to his right and tip it wide.

27mins: Leitch swings a deep ball towards the back post which Kerr and Sutton both rise for. Kerr wins the header but it’s well past.

26mins: Magennis heads it into the path of Muirhead again who catches it almost too cleanly on the volley and it’s just over.

25mins: Killie still 1 up. ‘Well are playing some not bad stuff and getting a lot of the ball. Just no end product as yet.

18mins: Magennis meets a cross from the right with a well-timed header. Thankfully it is dealt with by Twardzik.

13mins: And another great save from Twardzik! This time he is called into action to deny Magennis from the edge of the box!

11mins: Great stop from Twardzik to deny Magennis! He should have scored 1v1 but Dan spread himself well to make the save.

10mins: Leitch is slid in out wide by Vigurs but his drilled cross is plucked out the air by Samson.

8mins: GOAL! – Muirhead smashes one in from distance! 1-0 to Killie

3mins: Great effort from Ojamaa, on the right edge of the box. Unlucky to see his volley flash just wide!

Game is underway. COYW!!!!

[tab:Reaction]

Motherwell manager Stuart McCall:

“The second goal just summed things up for us. The second goal, with 10 men, just killed it off.

“Stephen McManus collapsed in a heap, the ball bounced around and Fraser Kerr made a challenge and they scored from the free-kick.

“Fraser Kerr doesn’t have a malicious bone in his body but it was a late challenge. It looked bad, it looked like a red card.”

Kilmarnock manager Allan Johnston:

“You look at Motherwell’s squad and it’s more or less the same as last year and they brought in Ojamaa, who’s a top player.

“But I thought we created a lot of chances and defended well. It was good to get a clean sheet as well.

“There were times we passed the ball well and we had to defend well too but I don’t think we looked like we were going to lose goals.”

[tab:Man-of-the-match]

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