Referee for Saturday’s SPFL Premiership clash with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park is Stephen Finnie.
It will be Stephen’s first ‘Well match of the 2013/14 campaign after officiating the Fir Parkers twice last term.
The first was, ironically enough, at Rugby Park as a Jamie Murphy double secured all three points in a 2-1 win.
The other was the rearranged match against Dundee United at Fir Park last February. Johnny Russell scored the game’s only goal in a 1-0 win for the Terrors.
Prior to that match at Rugby Park last season, Stephen had almost gone two years without a ‘Well fixture; you have to go all the way back to the Steelmen’s narrow defeat to Celtic in Glasgow the day before Stuart McCall took up the hot seat at the club in December 2010.
In the same season, he was also the man in the middle as ‘Well crashed 4-1 at Ibrox. Nick Blackman had actually put the Fir Parkers ahead but second half strikes from Steven Naismith, Steve Davies, Kenny Miller and Vladimir Weiss gave the home side a comfortable victory.
In actual fact, since taking matches in the top-flight of Scottish football, Stephen has only ever officiated seven Motherwell matches.
Other than those Old Firm defeats, there was a 3-1 home win over Hearts in March of 2010 (Goals from Mark Reynolds, John Sutton and Jim O’Brien), a 1-0 defeat at Tannadice in October 2007 (Darren Dods heading home the games’ only goal) and a 2-0 win over Dunfermline in March 2007 courtesy of a Scott McDonald brace.
In those seven matches, he has dished out 32 cautions, eight of which flashed at a player wearing Claret and Amber. Only one player has been sent for an early bath and that was Scott Brown for a second bookable offence in that match at Parkhead in 2010.
Stephen will be ably assisted on the day by Stephen Mitchell and Stuart Hodge with John McKendrick assigned as fourth official.
