| 2 | Celtic | 34 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 26 | 70 |
| 3 | Rangers | 34 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 34 | 69 |
| 4 | Motherwell | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 24 | 57 |
| 5 | Hibernian | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 51 |
| 6 | Falkirk | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | -5 | 46 |
Jens Berthel Askou says both teams will have learned things about themselves after the first match between Motherwell and Aberdeen on Sunday, but believes the task of Motherwell winning this time round will be harder due to the home crowd Aberdeen advantage will have for this cup tie.
Askou wants his players to embrace the pressure and expectation on their shoulders, as his side look to secure a spot in the quarter-final.
The third addition of the summer transfer window, defender Tegan Browning has since cemented her place as a consistent presence in the heart of the Motherwell backline.
Despite her youthful age, the highly-rated young Scottish centre-back arrived in ML1 with a strong pedigree after receiving a wealth of professional experience in her short footballing career.
The 22-year-old spent a season stateside, crossing the pond to San Antonio, Texas where she received a scholarship to play college football before returning to the Scottish capital, spending two-seasons with Edinburgh-side Spartans.
Browning’s ambitions of restoring Motherwell’s top-six status would unfortunately be extinguished last weekend, after the women of steel were narrowly defeated two-nil by defending champions Hibernian.
“We are gutted to be missing out on the top-six,” Browning said.
“It was a frustrating game as I think throughout large spells, we defended resolutely and created chances, but the finer details at both ends of the pitch ultimately cost us. Full credit where its due to Hibs, who showed that as current SWPL champions, they capitalised when it mattered, and that was the difference.
“We have a very strong team and whilst we are disappointed to be in the bottom-half of the split, our focus has to quickly shift onto confirming that 7th-placed spot.”
The challenges won’t come any easier for the women of steel, who must face league leaders Glasgow City in the final pre-split fixture before several crucial encounters to confirm their Scottish Power Women’s Premier League status next season. Despite the pressurised environment awaiting the women of steel, Browning insisted the togetherness of the group will be vital in the split.
“We have a real togetherness as a group,” Browning added.
“Togetherness is key to our success. We’ve had a tough run and whilst it’s been hard, throughout we have supported each other, which will only make us stronger and as a group; hungrier for the results we feel we deserve.
“Despite the loss [to Hibernian], we have to take what positives we can from the performance. The coaches message to the players after the game was about instilling the belief that they have in us as a group, and recognising the talent in the dressing room.
“[Glasgow City] are undoubtedly the toughest of tasks, as they are still unbeaten domestically this season, so it’ll be a tough game, especially with them strengthening further in the January window.
“However, we have a belief in the squad that we can take points in these games by being defensively solid and clinical at the top end of the pitch, so I’m looking forward to making K-Park a tough place for them to come.
The women of steel sit eighth in the SPWPL table, ahead of Aberdeen in the relegation playoff spot on goal-difference. Motherwell will face Hamilton, Aberdeen, and either Partick Thistle or Montrose both home and away, with every point potentially making the difference between retaining their top-flight status.
“The league has been more competitive than ever,” Browning explained.
“With three teams being relegated last year, and the league changing from having twelve teams to ten, it has made every game and point so influential.
“We have had some great performances this season, but one too many times we’ve been punished by a last-minute winner or equaliser. At times, when we have been dominating matches we haven’t managed to put the game to bed.
“We’ve discussed this as a squad, and that is definitely a key aspect which we are working hard to change. We have a very talented squad, and I’m sure this will shine through during the split.
After exiting both the Sky Sports League Cup, and Scottish Cup this season to both Hibernian and Glasgow City respectively, Motherwell will have a fortnight break from competitive action, with the additional time on the training pitch ahead of their final pre-split fixture in East Kilbride.
“Having a fortnight to prepare is definitely beneficial,” Browning noted.
“When you face the full-time sides, who have more time to rest and recover, and have that additional time on the training pitch, it can be difficult at times to prepare.
“Having that additional time on the training pitch to fully understand our roles will be key to success and the fortnight allows us plenty of time to prepare.
“I’m really looking forward to the game, and we will give it everything to achieve a monumental result.”
Matchday 18 of the 2025/26 SWPL campaign awaits the women of steel this weekend, as they contest their final pre-split fixture against league leaders Glasgow City at The Ross Commercial Finance Stadium at K-Park.
Refreshed and rejuvenated following a fortnight-long hiatus from competitive action, Motherwell will be motivated to separate themselves from the relegation-playoff position below after last weekend’s narrow defeat to defending champions Hibernian mathematically denied the women of steel their second consecutive top-six finish.
Head Coach, Iain Robinson will have his sights set on earning his first point since taking charge in ML1, but the challenges won’t come any easier with the visit of the league leaders.
The Tale of the Tape
Motherwell
Head Coach Iain Robinson will be keen to break their recent winless run, with Motherwell without victory in their last six competitive encounters.
The women of steel remain eighth in the Scottish Power Women’s Premier League table, level on points with the Dons, who occupy the relegation playoff position below.
Victory could be a vital result for the women of steel, who seek to close the narrow four-point deficit to Montrose ahead.
Glasgow City
The visitors have remained unbeaten in a remarkable invincible campaign thus far, with City securing 13-victories in their 17 competitive fixtures this season. The Glasgow-side have scored 45-goals across the campaign, whilst conceding only six.
Their last victory came against Partick Thistle, with Leanne Ross’ side defeating the Jags by three-goals to nil.
Ticket Information
Tickets can be purchased through the matchday turnstiles at K-Park. Both cash and card payments are accepted.
Additional Information – no pets allowed within K-Park.
Matchday Travel
Follow our live matchday coverage on the Motherwell Women X (formerly Twitter) account.
Academy graduate Matty Connelly has extended his contract until the end of the 2026/27 season, with the club holding the option of a further year.
“This is a great feeling,” Matty Connelly said.
“This season I feel like I’ve done well when given my opportunity and to make my first appearance for this club will remain with me forever.
“I’ve always tried to work hard behind the scenes and improve my game. Between the loan moves and training here, I feel as though my development has been positive this season. I’ll keep my head down and continue to put in the work.”
Having made the journey through the youth levels within the MFC Academy, the young shot-stopper made the step up from our youth academy in 2019 and remained patient.
Loan spells at Falkirk, Gretna, Stranraer, East Kilbride and, most recently, Airdrie had him well prepared for the first-team. Connelly made his debut for Motherwell in the group-stage of the Premier Sports Cup, playing against Peterhead and then Stenhousemuir.
He then played his third match for the club in the 1-0 win over Ross County in the Scottish Cup in January and now extends his stay at the club until next summer.
“Matty’s development has been very impressive this season, where he has taken some big steps through his loan spell with Airdrie as well as with us,” Jens Berthel Askou stated.
“He has had his first team debut and has shown several times now that he is more than capable of stepping in and keeping the level we need at the back.
“His distribution is at a very high level, and his skills as a shotstopper and leader are growing week by week. I’m positive that Matty has a very bright future ahead of him as a very modern goalkeeper with a broad skillset.
“We’re extremely happy to extend his time and continue his development here with us and look forward to him pushing the competition in the goalkeeper group to the next level.”
This would be the first match between Motherwell and Aberdeen in the space of four days. With the first fixture taking place at Fir Park in the William Hill Premiership, the Steelmen were looking to stretch their unbeaten run to 11 games on home turf.
A refreshed Aberdeen lineup took to the field, which consisted of four players making their debuts, and both sides would have chances. Ibrahim Said, Elijah Just and Tawanda Maswanhise went close, but when Just eventually made the breakthrough midway through the first-half, many would have thought it would become a comfortable afternoon.
But Aberdeen continued to fight and would count themselves unlucky not to have drawn level in the second period. But when Tom McIntyre got the final touch on the ball before it nestled in the Aberdeen net, the points were sealed for Jens Berthel Askou’s side, which made it one defeat in 17 matches, thus moving onto 47 points.
Motherwell lock horns with the Dons for the fifth time this season, this time travelling to Pittodrie on Wednesday 18 February in the Scottish Cup fifth round.
Kick off is 7:45pm.
You can buy your match tickets by clicking here.
| Away Stand | |
| Adults | £23 |
| Concession (Over 65/Under 21) | £18 |
| Under 18 | £16 |
| Under 12 | £13 |
Disabled: Age appropriate rate & free PA.
This match will be physical tickets only. The match will be shown live on Premier Sports.
Uncollected tickets and reprints will go to the Away Ticketing Pod prior to kick-off, this will be manned by Aberdeen security.
The Club is running Supporters Buses to this match. The buses will be leaving the Cooper Bar at 3pm.
You can secure your seat on the bus for £25 by clicking here.
Motherwell made it seven games unbeaten with Sunday’s win over Aberdeen. That 2-0 victory was the Steelmen’s 19th clean sheet of the season.
Elijah Just netted his fifth goal of the season in the first-half, before a Tom McIntyre own goal made sure of the points.
It may have been a 2-0 defeat at Fir Park last time out, but Aberdeen will take positives from their display in North Lanarkshire.
There were debuts for January signings Dennis Geiger, Tom McIntyre, Per Kristian Bratveit and Afeez Aremu. Toyosi Olusanya was also handed his first start in a refreshed Aberdeen lineup.
It’s looking likely that Peter Leven will continue in the dugout in interim charge until the end of the season. Leven strengthened his staff with the addition of Tony Docherty as assistant manager last week.
Jens Berthel Askou gives his thoughts on the 2-0 win over Aberdeen at Fir Park.
Motherwell ground out a 2-0 win over Aberdeen on Sunday afternoon at Fir Park to make it 11 games unbeaten on home turf.
Elijah Just broke the deadlock in the first-half, but it would take until stoppage-time in the second-half before Motherwell made sure of the points when Tom McIntyre was the unfortunate Aberdeen defender as the ball hit off him before nestling in his own net.
There were two changes to the Motherwell side that drew with Rangers midweek. Tom Sparrow replaced Stephen O’Donnell in the starting 11. Lukas Fadinger served the first of his two-match suspension in the Premiership following his red card and was replaced by Oscar Priestman.
The Steelmen faced off against an Aberdeen side who hadn’t played a competitive match in 15 days due to three games being postponed consecutively and, as a result, were looking to catch the Dons cold early on.
In the fourth meeting between these sides already this season, Jens Berthel Askou’s men started brightly and controlled possession from the early stages as they looked to stamp their authority on the match.
A miserable afternoon and sodden pitch could have hindered Motherwell’s free-flowing football. However, the Steelmen were immediately into their stride, threatening the Dons three times in the opening minutes.
Emmanuel Longelo’s run and cutback found Priestman 15 yards from goal, and his thumping drive was repelled by Per Kristian Bratveit. The Dons goalkeeper was then relieved when Tawanda Maswanhise’s drive across goal was diverted behind as Just waited. Callum Slattery’s low-angled drive gave the ‘keeper a comfortable save before the visitors found their feet and provided some threat towards the Motherwell goal.
In the 17th minute it took a crucial touch from Calum Ward at full stretch to touch Kevin Nisbet’s 30-yard drive onto the outside of his left-hand post.
After that, though, the bulk of the action was around the Dons’ penalty area. Longelo had another low drive held by Kristian Bratveit before the keeper was beaten in the 28th minute.
Aberdeen failed to clear their lines from a packed box, and when the ball fell for Welsh, he superbly picked out Just who had time to turn and flash his left shot across the keeper and into the far corner of the goal.
It was almost two for Just minutes later when his touch from Longelo’s cross into the six-yard box brought a great reflex from the ‘keeper.
It really should have been two nil ten minutes from half time when a swift break presented Ibrahim Said with the easiest of chances. Maswanhise’s clever through ball sent Just racing towards the visitor’s box. But rather than having a pop at goal, he unselfishly rolled the ball across the six-yard box to the Nigerian, who only needed to tap the ball into an unguarded goal but instead scooped his effort wide.
The immediate thought was that Motherwell might regret letting Aberdeen off the hook. And the pattern of Motherwell passing up chances to kill the game continued in the second half.
However, it was Aberdeen who passed up the best after 50 minutes when Kyle Cameron’s free kick found the unmarked Liam Morrison, who could only guide his diving header wide of the helpless Ward.
Maswanhise, working tirelessly to keep the Dons’ defence busy, had a couple of attempts at Kristian Bratveit.
Motherwell’s failure to extend their lead gave Aberdeen encouragement, and suddenly it was Ward’s goal which was under threat.
And a rare fumble from the keeper gave Toyosi Olusanya a great chance from 10 yards, but he smashed his shot off the post much to Ward’s relief.
With 65 minutes played, Regan Charles-Cook and Eythor Bjorgolfsson replaced Just and Watt. And the subs almost combined immediately when Charles-Cook fired the ball across the goal face, with the Norwegian striker just unable to get a touch.
As Motherwell made further substitutions, it failed to alter the balance of the game as play became a bit frenetic.
With five minutes of additional time announced, the game was still in the balance, with both sides eager to grab the next goal.
Two minutes later, Motherwell finally got their second with a little help from the Dons and the Motherwell subs. Clever work on the right touchline by Charles-Cook let Sam Nicholson work his way along the byline. His ball to the near post was stabbed off by Tom McIntyre facing his own goal, and as the ball rebounded into the Aberdeen net.
Motherwell Team: Ward, Sparrow, McGinn, Welsh, Longelo, Watt, Priestman, Slattery, Maswanhise, Said, Just.
Motherwell Subs: Connelly, O’Donnell, McGhee, Gordon, McAllister, McColm, Bjørgolfsson, Nicholson, Charles-Cook.
Elliot Watt was delighted to get back to the action on Wednesday night following his short spell on the sidelines and is now looking for a strong finish to the season.
The Motherwell midfielder is also questioned on his Scotland ambitions.
Jens Berthel Askou says although the progress has been exciting, he doesn’t want it to stop and expects his side to continue pushing in a forward direction.
The Motherwell boss was delighted to welcome Elliot Watt back on Wednesday night, and Askou also explains the impact the supporters are having on his side.
