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The madness of the winter months was drawing to a close, and with Motherwell eliminated from the Scottish Cup, there were only two fixtures scheduled for the month.

But with the Steelmen able to play their postponed fixture against Dundee, the month started at Dens Park with Motherwell going into the match knowing they could close the gap to those above, as they were the only team out of the top four playing in the Scottish Premiership.

A trip to Celtic Park followed next, with March finishing at home against Hibernian. Every game at this stage has significant importance attached to it, and with the finish line in sight, points become even more important.

Jens Berthel Askou is looking forward to facing Falkirk at Fir Park on Saturday, with the Scottish Premiership action getting back underway following the international break.

The Motherwell also goes in-depth about Callum Slattery’s four-game ban that was handed out by the SFA last weekend, with Askou calling for clear consistency going forward.

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of former Motherwell FC defender Willie Watson, aged 76.

Willie’s footballing journey burst into life when he impressed playing for the Under 15 Scotland side at Wembley Stadium. His impressive display meant that a list of clubs north and south of the border was keen to secure his signature.

Finding himself in a fortunate position of getting to choose his next destination, he opted for Manchester United. Involved in the same dressing room as Denis Law, George Best and Sir Bobby Charlton, Willie would stay at Manchester United for eight years, making 14 appearances for the Red Devils. When the time came to move on in 1973, he always wanted to try and turn out for his boyhood club.

A short loan spell in Miami saw him speak to contacts in Scotland who questioned if he’d like to come to Motherwell. A quick phone call to Ian St John saw the move to Fir Park become a reality, and with Bobby Watson picking up an injury, Willie Watson became a first-team regular straight away.

He made 173 appearances for Motherwell and played under and alongside some of the Motherwell FC all-time greats like Willie Pettigrew, Ian St John, Willie McLean and Bobby Graham.

He departed for Dundee in 1978 before rounding off his playing days in America.

The thoughts of everyone at Motherwell Football Club are firmly with Willie’s family and friends at this sad time.

RIP, Willie.

Two Motherwell players were away representing their country over the last couple of weeks. Here’s how they got on. 

Zander McAllister

Zander McAllister wasted no time in getting up to speed with the Scotland Under 19 side, with the 17-year-old earning his first start for the team.

Kicking off their qualifying campaign, McAllister featured at right-back for Scotland. The team weren’t able to start their qualifying campaign with a win, however, as they lost out against Italy.

McAllister was subbed after 74 minutes, with his side trailing 3-0 at the time. In their second fixture against the Republic of Ireland, McAllister was an unused substitute in the 3-3 draw.

The Motherwell man was restored to the Scotland Under 19 starting 11 for the third match of the week against Poland. McAllister, again used as a right-back, set up Aiden McCallion to slot home the third goal of the night in the comfortable 3-0 win. McAllister played the full match as Scotland retained their League A status.

Elijah Just

Elijah Just was also in international action this week, as New Zealand stepped up their preparations for the World Cup. They faced Finland in Aukland in their first match. Just started the match and played 79 minutes before being subbed off, with Finland winning the match 2-0.

Just was named amongst the starting 11 in their second match against Chile. With the game level after half an hour, Chile were reduced to ten men, and New Zealand took full advantage. New Zealand scored just minutes later, and before the half was out, Just converted to make it 2-0.

He played over 70 minutes before being subbed off, with New Zealand winning 4-1, their first victory over South American opposition.

Elijah Just is your G4 Claims March player of the month. 

Winning his first accolade since joining last summer, Just has been a prominent feature all season and has caught the eye of many.

In March, the 25-year-old scored his seventh goal of the season at Celtic Park and was unfortunate not to make it two goals in as many matches a week later against Hibernian.

His fine form has continued on the international stage also, as he netted in New Zealand’s 4-1 win over Chile.

Well done, Elijah.

Motherwell return to action after the international break on Saturday 4 April. 

Kick off is 3pm at Fir Park.

How to follow the game

• Young Adults tickets would ages 13-17.
•  Concessions are classed as, Over 65, Full Time Students, 18-21 Year olds.
• Juveniles would be 12 and under

On Match days, the Ticket Office is open from 11am – the ticket office is open until kick-off with no pay gate facility.

If you are outside the UK, you can watch the game via Motherwell TV.

Should you be in the UK, it will be live commentary only.

What else is happening?

Guide Dogs North Lanarkshire are collecting money via bucket collection.

The Cooper Bar and Mrs Baillie’s Fanzone will be open from 12pm on Saturday for home fans only. The Cooper Bar will be open for one hour post-match for those looking to avoid the traffic.

Motherwell’s Fortunes

Motherwell were held to a 0-0 draw by Hibernian prior to the break and are looking to get back to winning ways this weekend following a draw and two defeats in their last three matches.

But the Steelmen still hold a six-point lead over the Hibees in the race for European football, and with Celtic playing on Sunday, Motherwell could close the gap to just four points to third with a win over Falkirk.

Falkirk inflicted Motherwell’s last home defeat, which will have come 168 days ago by the time matchday arrives this Saturday. A 0-0 draw followed in the reverse fixture in December, as Jens Berthel Askou’s side look for a first win over the Bairns this season.

Opposition Report

Motherwell have received plenty credit for performances this season, but Falkirk have not been far behind. Having achieved back-to-back promotions from League One to the top-flight, John McGlynn’s side has continued in an upward trajectory this season.

Defying the odds, Falkirk have been nowhere near the relegation zone this season like many predicted and have instead all but secured top-six football.

Playing attractive football, one of the other outstanding stories to come out of the Falkirk Stadium this season has been Scotland Under-21 international Barney Stewart, who has 17 goals in all competitions this season, with the forward spending the first half of the season on loan at Dunfermline.

His story is made even more remarkable by the fact he arrived from Herriot Watt University in January 2025 to join Falkirk.

Calum Ward arrived in ML1 simply to cover in the goalkeeping department. Extensive injuries saw a number of keepers ruled out of action, and Ward arrived off the back of playing in Finland to be the number three choice.

That first six months saw Ward only take part in training sessions, with his only chance to make his debut dismissed due to other factors.

But he did enough to earn a new contract, and with Jens Berthel Askou arriving, Ward saw it as a fresh start and backed himself to play more minutes. But even during pre-season, Ward never expected to play. But when first choice Aston Oxborough picked up an injury, Ward was drafted in and quickly became the keeper for the club.

Supporters were wary, with a lack of first-team exposure of great concern regarding the Englishman. This paired with a couple of unfortunate errors early on in the season saw many write the keeper off.

But not only did Ward, through the use of analysis with goalkeeping coach Neil Alexander and thorough training sessions, prove the doubters wrong; he has gone on to be an influential member in the team that has adopted a bold and advanced style of play.

The system sees Ward sometimes become a centre-back and relies on the keeper being able to adapt well under pressure. Ward has passed with flying colours, as he has smashed the club-record for number of clean sheets in a season, with Ward currently on 20 in all competitions, surpassing Darren Randolph’s decade-long record.

He has also matched his goalkeeping coaches’ record for number of clean sheets for a non-Rangers or Celtic goalkeeping in a Premiership season, with the team also setting a new record for nine consecutive clean sheets at home.

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

Paul McGinn, Elijah Just, Calum Ward and Callum Slattery are all up for nomination.

To vote, head over to the Motherwell Facebook page.

Games in March

• Dundee 2 – 1 Motherwell
• Celtic 3 – 1 Motherwell
• Motherwell 0 – 0 Hibernian

We can confirm that following a SFA hearing, Callum Slattery has been handed a four-match suspension, two of which are suspended. 

This suspension is related to the red card incident involving Richard King against St Mirren back in February. The club was informed earlier in the month that Slattery had been issued with a notice of complaint from the Compliance Officer and that the midfielder would be issued with a match suspension, the length of which would be decided by a panel.

On the night, the fourth official communicated to the match referee about the off-the-ball incident, to which a red card was shown to King. Following a VAR review, the decision was upheld due to the inconclusive evidence from the cameras, which couldn’t confirm the level of contact with Slattery’s face due to poor quality.

Despite the correct protocol being followed on the night, a third layer of refereeing has now been implemented, and despite using the same poor-quality camera angles, the panel has imposed a four-game ban for our player, two of which he is to serve in the next two matches with the other two suspended.

The club attended the hearing with clear evidence showing that the camera angles from the match in Paisley couldn’t provide anyone with conclusive footage on the amount of contact to Slattery’s face.

This is the first incident in Scottish football where a player has received a match suspension via retrospective action for inappropriate behaviour, and we question why this incident meets the criteria, yet countless others don’t.

All clubs have witnessed similar incidents in games which haven’t resulted in retrospective bans; therefore, we will watch and expect consistency going forward so that Callum isn’t treated differently to others. The club will be making no further comment at this time.

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

Aston Oxborough

Aston Oxborough has been loving life on loan at Dunfermline. Not only has the goalkeeper played five games and kept four clean sheets, but he is also preparing to represent the Pars at Hampden in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.

Following their triumphant 3-0 win over Aberdeen in the quarter-final, Oxborough and the squad face off against Falkirk for a spot in the final.

• Appearances: 5
• Clean Sheets: 4

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 played one match for Cowdenbeath since our last report.

The defender featured off the bench at half-time in the 1-1 draw with Stirling Albion, taking his appearance count to 18 this season.

• Appearances: 18
• Assist: 2

Kofi Balmer

Kofi Balmer has continued to be a regular in the Bristol Rovers side, playing a further five matches since the last loan report, playing the full 90 minutes in all matches.

Of his 16 appearances so far, 15 have been as a starter.

Bristol Rovers are in a rich vein of form, winning four of those five matches, which has boosted Rovers well clear of the relegation zone. Moving up to 17th in the table and 14 points clear of the bottom, Rovers are looking more up than behind.

• Appearances: 16
• Goals: 2
• Clean Sheets: 2

Ewan Wilson

Ewan Wilson hasn’t featured since our last report. The defender has been an unused substitute in each of Raith Rovers’ last four matches.

• Appearances: 18
• Assists: 1

Jay Gillies

Jay Gillies has featured once for Cumbernauld Colts since the last report, taking his appearance count to three for the Lowland League side.

That appearance came in a 3-1 win over Gala Fairydean Rovers, with the defender playing the final 14 minutes of the match.

• Appearances: 3

Campbell Forrest

Campbell Forrest has played one match for Hamilton Accies in recent weeks, which came in a 3-1 defeat to Queen of the South.

The midfielder was subbed on for the final five minutes of the game.

Accies remain in the relegation playoff spot in League One, but despite the points deduction applied, they are three points off of 8th-placed Cove Rangers.

• Appearances: 5
• Assists: 1

Olly Whyte

Olly Whyte is now on 38 appearances for Stenhousemuir this season, with the Warriors pushing for automatic promotion to the Championship.

Whyte played the full 90 minutes in all three of those matches, which saw Stenhousemuir pick up seven out of a possible nine points.

Stenhousemuir are a point behind Inverness CT, who occupy first place in the table, and with a nine-point gap to third, it looks like a two-horse race for the title in League One this season.

• Appearances: 38
• Goals: 8
• Assists: 1 

Dylan Wells

Dylan Wells is back in action and has made a real impact for Stirling Albion.

The young midfielder marked his return to action against Annan Athletic, where he came off the bench with 25 minutes remaining. Stirling Albion were 3-0 down to Annan at half-time, and with the score 3-2 when Wells came on, he set up the equaliser as Stirling completed a wonderful comeback.

He subsequently started the next match against Forfar Athletic, where he played 65 minutes. He started his second consecutive match against East Kilbride last weekend, where he got his second assist of the season.

Stirling are two points clear of Dumbarton in the relegation playoff, as they look to remain in League Two for next season.

• Appearances: 4
• Assists: 2

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos is now on seven appearances for Sydney FC, having played a further three matches for the A-League side, all of which were starts.

He scored his first goal against Melbourne City in a 2-2 draw. However, it was announced this week that manager Ufuk Talay had departed the club, and Patrick Kisnorbo would become the new boss, as Sydney look to go in a different direction for the final four games of the season.

Sydney have slipped down the table and are now ten points behind leaders Newcastle Jets.

• Appearances: 7
• Goals: 1

Nathan Lawson

Nathan Lawson is now on 20 appearances for Cowdenbeath, featuring a further three times in recent weeks.

All three of those appearances have come from the bench, with the Lowland League side drawing two and losing one of those three matches.

Cowdenbeath remain mid-table after 29 games, accumulating 38 points. With no fear over dropping down near the bottom, and the top six 17 points clear of them, the goal will be to finish as strongly as possible this season.

• Appearances: 20
• Goals: 2
• Assists: 2