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Jens Berthel Askou reacts to Dundee defeat.

Another month, another five games. February was jam-packed as the Steelmen continued to catch the headlines. 

Action against Rangers, Aberdeen, St Mirren and Dundee United resulted in another successful month. But the mindset doesn’t change, and as Tawanda Maswanhise and Elliot Watt say, we’ll let everyone else do the talking off the pitch.

We will remain focused and ignore the noise.

Emmanuel Longelo and his Motherwell teammates are delighted to be receiving praise from external outlets, but insists the work must continue until the end of the season so they can finish the job. 

The defender believes the full team must receive credit for what they have achieved to this point.

International Round-up

Motherwell had three first-team players representing their respective countries over the March international break.

The Scottish youth-international trio of Sophie Townsley, Mia McArthur and Jenna Penman all featured for Scotland at their respective age categories. Here’s how they got on.

Sophie Townsley

A consistent presence in a Scotland jersey, forward Sophie Townsley retained her place in Head Coach, Gary Doctor’s 20-player squad, who travelled South of the Belgian capital, Brussels – facing the Red Devils in a double-header of friendlies in Tubize.

Both matches served as preparation for the National team’s forthcoming second round of UEFA European Qualifiers.

Townsley unfortunately faced a minor injury setback during the opening training session, and despite being named amongst the substitutes for both matchday’s, the forward did not receive any minutes, with Scotland held to a draw in matchday one, before defeating Belgium in matchday two.

Mia McArthur

Midfielder Mia McArthur joined fellow Rangers loanee, and international teammate Sophie Townsley on the plane to the Belgian capital, with McArthur named in the Scottish midfield for the opening matchday. Scotland were held to a 1-1 stalemate, with Hearts’ Jess Husband converting the equaliser, with a precise free-kick.

McArthur also featured in the second meeting between the sides, returning to the pitch as a second-half substitute, with Scotland defeating the hosts 2-1. Former Motherwell striker, Laura Berry, and Liverpool’s Neve McDonald both found the target.

Jenna Penman

A late call-up for the Scotland under-23 squad, defender Jenna Penman travelled to the North of Scotland amongst Michael McArdle’s 18-strong squad to face the Netherlands at the Sarens PSG stadium in Inverness.

Penman was named amongst the substitutes, with the 22-year-old replacing Partick Thistle’s, Addie Handley in the latter stages of the game.

Jens Berthel Askou says his Motherwell side are feeling the connection with supporters, and that away performances this season so far have warranted a bigger return of points. 

The Motherwell manager discusses the positive impact of securing top-six will have on the club, and how it helps for future planning.

Motherwell have a number of players out on loan at present. Let’s see how they have been getting on. 

Aston Oxborough

Goalkeeper Aston Oxborough joined Dunfermline on loan until the end of the season at the end of February, and having signed in the morning, he made his debut later that night against Partick Thistle.

Starting in the 2-2 draw, it looks as though Neil Lennon will be trusting Oxborough as his number one for the time being. He earned his first clean sheet in his second appearance in the 2-0 win over Queen’s Park. That positive start continued midweek, when Oxborough kept back-to-back clean sheets with a 3-0 win over Ross County.

In a congested Championship table, they sit fourth in the table in the last playoff position.

Just ten points separate Ross County in tenth from Dunfermline in fourth.

• Appearances: 3
• Clean Sheets: 2

Jack McConnell

Jack McConnell is yet to make his debut for Cowdenbeath after joining the Lowland League side in January.

• Appearances: 0

Scott Williamson

Scott Williamson has experienced more game time than his teammate McConnell at Cowdenbeath.

He is on 17 appearances for the season having been an unused substitute in two of Cowdenbeath’s last three matches since our last report. He came on for the final 20 minutes last weekend in a 2-1 defeat to Linlithgow Rose.

• Appearances: 17
• Assist: 2

Kofi Balmer

Kofi Balmer has made a flying start to life at Bristol Rovers. He made his first start against Salford and hasn’t missed a minute of the action since.

Playing the full 90 minutes in the last nine outings, Balmer also scored his first Rovers goal against Walsall in stunning fashion, before scoring another wonder goal against Grimsby last week.

Rovers have picked up three wins in their last six matches, moving six points clear of the bottom. Just six points separate the bottom five sides, and Balmer and his Rovers teammates will be looking to move away from the danger zone in the coming weeks.

• Appearances: 11
• Goals: 2
• Clean Sheets: 2

Jay Gillies

Jay Gillies has featured twice since joining Cumbernauld Colts on loan. The defender started his first match against Celtic B, before coming off the bench for the final 12 minutes in a 4-0 win over Albion Rovers.

Colts are eighth in the table having played 26 games. With a number of rearranged fixtures still to be played, they could still catch a number of teams above them.

• Appearances: 2

Ewan Wilson

Ewan Wilson is up to 18 appearances for the season at Raith Rovers. Starting in the 2-1 defeat to Ayr United and the 0-0 draw with Morton, Wilson was an unused substitute for Rovers as they secured a spot in the KDM Evolution Cup final following a penalty shootout win against Airdrie.

Dougie Imrie’s side will now put focus back onto the Championship campaign as they look to try and push themselves into the top four.

• Appearances: 18
• Assists: 1

Campbell Forrest

Campbell Forrest has made three appearances for Hamilton since joining on loan.

Forrest made his debut as a second-half substitute against Kelty Hearts before earning his first start against East Fife, where he assisted the only goal of the match in Accies’ 1-0 win. He started in Hamilton’s match against Montrose, playing the first half, before being an unused substitute in their last outing against Stenhousemuir.

Accies are battling to remain in League One after points deductions this season. They have won 12 games overall so far but are on 21 points and occupy the relegation playoff spot currently.

• Appearances: 4
• Assists: 1

Olly Whyte

Olly Whyte has played six times since our last report for Stenhousemuir.

All six of those appearances were starts, with the midfielder playing every minute. Three consecutive draws in the league, scoring one goal against Inverness CT and one against Cove Rangers, Whyte also played the full 120 minutes in the narrow defeat to Premiership side Falkirk in the Scottish Cup.

He made it back-to-back goals for Stenhousemuir, scoring the winner against Stenhousemuir in a 1-0 win at Broadwood. That win extended their unbeaten run to nine games in League One.

Whyte also picked up the vote from Stenhousemuir supporters for his displays in January, winning the player of the month award at the club.

• Appearances: 35
• Goals: 8
• Assists: 1 

Dylan Wells

Dylan Wells hasn’t featured for Stirling Albion since our last report.

• Appearances: 1

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos returned home to Australia to play the rest of the season with A-League side Sydney FC.

He played the final 30 minutes in the match against Adelaide United before starting the next three matches against Auckland, Brisbane Roar and Wellington.

Sydney have won two, drawn one and lost one in Stamatelopoulos’ four matches.

• Appearances: 4

Nathan Lawson

Nathan Lawson has now played 17 games this season for Cowdenbeath.

He came on for the last 15 minutes against Gala Fairydean Rovers two weeks ago, before he was an unused substitute in Cowdenbeath’s match against Tranent. He played the final 6 minutes in Cowdenbeath’s last match against Linlithgow Rose.

• Appearances: 17
• Goals: 2
• Assists: 2

Midfielder Amy Bulloch will join Scottish Power Women’s Premier League 2 side, Kilmarnock on-loan for the remainder of the season.

 Bulloch, who joined the women of steel in the summer under Paul Brownlie, will depart the club in search of regular first-team minutes.

All the best in Ayrshire, Amy.

It’s time to vote for your G4 Claims player of the month for February. 

Stephen Welsh, Tawanda Maswanhise, Ibrahim Said and Elijah Just are all up for nomination.

To vote, head over to the Motherwell Facebook page.

Games in September

• Motherwell 1-1 Rangers
• Motherwell 2-0 Aberdeen
• Aberdeen 2-0 Motherwell
• St Mirren 0-5 Motherwell
• Motherwell 2-0 Dundee United

Many have given Motherwell praise for the brave style of play and stunning execution this season. Sitting on 50 points in February, having just thumped St Mirren 5-0 in Paisley, the mood has never been higher amongst the Motherwell supporters. But one of the concerns that many had portrayed this season was the options in the centre-forward department. 

Going into the January window, Jens Berthel Askou stated that there would be minimal transfer movement in terms of incomings. Esapa Osong and Eseosa Sule both returned to their parent clubs, with Apostolos Stamatelopoulos heading back to Australia on loan.

With Tawanda Maswanhise firing on all cylinders this season, one area the recruitment team looked to strengthen was in the centre-forward position. And that was when we were introduced to Eythor Bjørgolfsson. Tall, strong and with a goalscoring pedigree, the Norwegian forward was the only January signing for the Steelmen and has loved his time in the claret and amber so far. And having provided two assists already, his acrobatic goal on Saturday night against St Mirren got him off the mark, which was an early target of his.

“It was a huge relief,” Bjørgolfsson said.

“Being a striker, it’s your main job to score goals, and when you join a new team, you just want to get started as soon as possible and get on the scoresheet. It feels good, and I can relax my shoulders now and play more freely. You want to score in your debut game and then every game after that. I wasn’t frustrated, but you can feel it. I had chances, and you think about what you could’ve done differently to find the back of the net, but at the same time, I knew I was providing for my teammates too.

“My time here has been amazing so far. I signed here, having not played since the beginning of November, and I feel like I got into the groove pretty quickly. The results since I’ve been here have been really good, taking out the strange Aberdeen game in the Cup. My teammates have welcomed me, training is full of quality, and I just see opportunity here.”

His wonderful volley against St Mirren may have shocked a few people. A six-foot-three striker flying through the air to convert may look unconventional, but the Norwegian was more than prepared for the opportunity.

Bjørgolfsson caught the eye of the photographers and teammates during his first training session. The forward continued to practice his acrobatic finishing abilities during the session, and clearly, the practice paid off.

“I fancy a bicycle kick and side volley,” Bjørgolfsson laughed.

“I like to work on them during practice, and when you’re a bigger guy like me, if you can add that flexibility for finishing into your game, it gives you more not just for yourself to score goals but for your teammates. It shows they can trust you by putting the ball into the box, even if it’s maybe not the perfect ball.

“Since I came here, I’ve been showing in training that it’s something I can do. But I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember, really. I want to score those beautiful goals and practice those difficult shots in difficult situations.”

25-year-old Bjørgolfsson came through at his boyhood club Ullensaker/Kisa IL in Norway, and that was where it all began for him. But his journey would take him to Belgium, the United States, Norway again, Sweden and now Scotland.

And it didn’t take him long in his life before he moved away from his homeland.

“I spent my early years with Ullensaker/Kisa IL, and then I moved to Belgium aged 13,” Bjørgolfsson explained.

“I played for a club in Belgium for the three years I was there. My mum works in the Norwegian Health Ministry, and she got a position in the Foreign Affairs Department in the central headquarters, which is in Brussels. So it was a nice chance for me to go and expand myself. My mum and I moved down there for three years, and my father would join us every week, as well as siblings here and there.

“It was an experience which has kind of shaped my road later in life in terms of moving around. In Belgium I played for both the international school team and a club team. Right off the bat, it was a good experience and backing for me. It furthered my career and gave me a different output than I was used to. When I was finished in Belgium, I went back to my old club.

“When I was done with high school, I had a lot of offers to go play college football in the U.S., and I pursued that. In America, you have summers off, so I came back to Norway just because I was looking to play during the summer, and there is a rule that you can’t sign a professional contract whilst you’re in college, and Nardo was in the third tier of Norway, so it was allowed.

“I played four games with Nardo before I went back to America again.”

Bjørgolfsson has had a truly unique journey in football. Whilst in Belgium, advisories in the athletics department had stated that there was the opportunity to play college football in America. Having heard this opportunity, Bjørgolfsson had the seed planted and began to do his research about going down this path.

Having spoken with agencies and people in his personal circles, he opted to make the move to the other side of the world and join up his studies with the sport he loved. Moving to America aged 18 to study economics and pursue his dream of becoming a footballer, Bjørgolfsson began life at the University of Kentucky.

Scoring five goals in his freshman year, which consisted of three starts and 19 appearances, he continued to thrive in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, taking his goal count to 24 for the Wildcats in total. He netted ten goals in his senior year.

“I went to America with it in my mind that I was going to get drafted by an MLS club,” he explained.

“I went to a good school with a good programme where, if I performed, I would have the opportunity to go to the next level and get drafted. Having a degree in the back pocket was a bonus for me. Before my senior year, it’s normal for players to go to USL League Two clubs. They play spring/summer leagues, and it’s a good place for players to get some exposure. MLS coaches look at you, and Vermont Green reached out, and it sounded very interesting.

“They were a newly founded team, and I decided to go to try and increase my exposure. It became a very popular club. Very good people are running the club, and I still have a great relationship with them. They’ve had a lot of players who have gone on to play in MLS or at a high level. College football and making it big after that can be difficult.

“Especially for an international player, it’s even tougher. There are only so many international roster spots in the MLS, so even getting drafted as a foreigner is pretty tough. But I was aware of all that before getting started on this journey, but I believed that I possessed qualities that any team could use.

“Going into your last year, you kind of have an idea from previous seasons if you’re going to end up in a draft. All last year’s students are eligible for the MLS draft, and if you have a good season, you’re most likely going to get drafted. I’d had a great season and got drafted, but even then, it’s weird in the football sense because you’re not guaranteed a contract. So I was over the moon, but you still need to go through pre-season and prove yourself in order to get a first-team contract.

“For my situation, it was hard because some teams value the draft and some don’t. Some look for players for their second team, and I came in and had an incredible pre-season with Seattle Sounders, but the coach told me they didn’t have enough salary cap space. So I was signed to a second team deal and spent a lot of time training with the first-team.

“Me, straight out of college, having got used to that professional life, I was a little immature. I felt that I deserved more, and it became a tough year for me. But it helped me grow as a person looking back. Being in the situation where you know you’re not in the college world anymore and you’re now in professional sport was a learning curve, but I did have a lot of stuff going on at home. Everything that has been flung my way in my life, I’ve been able to cope with because of my time in Seattle.”

Although he made his Seattle Sounders debut against LA Galaxy in the U.S. Open Cup in May 2023 and spent most of the 2023 season with Tacoma Defiance, Seattle’s second team, where he continued to find the back of the net regularly, Bjørgolfsson’s personal situation changed, and a move back to Norway was required.

In March 2024, Bjørgolfsson returned to Norway to join Moss FK in the second tier. Scoring three goals in 18 games, he joined IK Start six months later in the Norwegian top-flight before returning to Moss three months later.

“A combination of a tough year and my dad passing away meant I knew once the season was over, I felt like I had to come home,” he added.

“I’ve been away from home for four-and-a-half years, so it was time to go home and be closer to my family but, at the same time, still try and pursue that path of playing European football. I had the opportunity to play for Moss, and I took that. Coming from America and not having played a lot of MLS minutes, it was a clean slate for me. I had a couple of weird injuries there after starting well, and that set me back.

“When I started getting back up to speed, I was offered a loan move to Start in the same division, but they’re historically one of the biggest teams in Norway. It’s one of those teams when you’re younger; you know they’re a big club in the country. So to go there and play for a club of that magnitude was special. After that season, I still had a year left at Moss, but near the end of the window, Umeå in Sweden made an offer for me.

“It sounded interesting to me, and I’ve always been a fan of Swedish football. The culture around football there is interesting, so it felt like the right time to go back out again and become uncomfortable again. When you’re close to home, you may get a little too comfortable. I felt it was the right move for me to go out again and get some more exposure.”

Despite his side being relegated, he found the back of the net 15 times during the season. Eight of those goals came in his last five games for the club, with the forward finishing on a high by netting a hat-trick in his last game.

A strange season where, although his club suffered the disappointment of relegation, Bjørgolfsson had shown what he could do in a very competitive league.

“It was so odd because I still think about this,” he stated.

“Because we got relegated, I often wonder what more I could have done differently. But, purely on a personal level, I did have a good season and scored 15 goals. It showed other teams, and myself, I suppose, that I had those kinds of levels in me. I was ready to go to the next step.

“I absolutely love being in Scotland. Everything has exceeded my expectations in terms of the football and everything that goes with it here. Coming into a team that’s been doing so well, it makes things easier for me. It’s a whole new world to me with the exposure, fans and media around Scottish football. It’s been nice to have such good players around me, as it’s allowed me to lock in during this period.

“The support we receive from supporters is out of this world, to be honest. It drives you to keep working and adds some pressure when you know how much it means to our fans. But it’s exactly the type of pressure I was seeking when I was choosing my next move.”

Motherwell moved closer to the teams about with a comfortable 2-0 win over Dundee United. Tawanda Maswanhise scored a brace either side of half-time to the delight of the 7000 Motherwell fans at Fir Park. 

As a result of the win, they made it 12 games unbeaten in ML1. The clean sheet was their 21st of the season, making that a new club record.