Latest News

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

Andy Halliday, Dan Casey, Dom Thompson and Tom Sparrow are all up for nomination.

To vote, head over to the Motherwell Facebook page.

Games in February

• Motherwell 1-3 Celtic
• Motherwell 0-3 Ross County 
• Dundee United 1-0 Motherwell 
• Motherwell 2-1 Dundee 

In Motherwell’s 139-year existence, they had never won back-to-back league matches at Ibrox. And although spirits were high after a Wednesday night win, the odds were stacked against Michael Wimmer’s side. 

But you wouldn’t have known that after the first 45 minutes. Luke Armstrong and Tom Sparrow had their side two to the good at the break, with the Ibrox crowd venting their frustrations.

Cyriel Dessers halved the deficit as Rangers looked to find a second. Spirited defending and continuous running kept Rangers at bay, and with Dessers scoring from an offside position, the clock worked it’s way to 90 minutes with Ellery Balcombe having little to do.

It would be another famous win at Ibrox for Motherwell, their first back-to-back wins there since 1961 and the result propels them into the top-six with St Mirren visiting Fir Park in two weeks time.

Motherwell hadn’t won a match in the league at Ibrox since 1997 when they arrived in Govan this time last year. They ended that 27-year wait, winning 2-1 on a famous day. The Steelmen repeated the feat on Saturday against Rangers when they beat the Govan side 2-1.

A blistering first-half performance, which saw Luke Armstrong and Tom Sparrow find the back of the net, had the Well two to the good at the break.

Cyriel Dessers pulled one back in the second half, but it would not be enough to stop Motherwell having another day to remember in Glasgow.

Michael Wimmer made one change to his starting 11 from the team that defeated Dundee on Wednesday night. Stephen O’Donnell came out of the squad and was replaced by Kofi Balmer.

With very little in the way of chances in the opening exchanges, it would be the visitors who got off to the better start. From the second phase of a corner, Dan Casey got control of the ball after Dom Thompson’s interception and fired a shot towards Jack Butland; the Rangers stopper couldn’t hold onto the shot, and Armstrong was there to follow in and score. The linesman’s flag was raised, but VAR would clear the goal, and Armstrong could celebrate his second goal in Motherwell colours.

Tom Sparrow was presented with the chance to double the lead; after some excellent, crisp passing by the Well midfield, Slattery slid the ball across to Sparrow, who could only find the side netting on 22 minutes.

But just eight minutes later, Sparrow would make amends. Slattery once again found Sparrow in space on the right-hand side of the box; this time the number seven made no mistake to fire past Butland and open up a two-goal advantage.

Ellery Balcombe stood firm before the break to save efforts from Mohamed Diomande, Dessers and Hamza Igamane, and the two-goal advantage remained.

With the Ibrox crowd growing ever impatient, head coach Barry Ferguson made a triple change for the second half, which saw Leon Balogun, Tom Lawrence and Nedim Bajrami all introduced.

The substitutes would seem to make an impact when, at 54 minutes, the Motherwell advantage was halved. Dessers pounced on a pass from Ridvan Yilmaz to fire beyond Balcombe and make it 2-1. Game on.

Wimmer reacted and made changes to the midfield and attack, with Moses Ebiye, Harry Paton and Davor Zdravkovski all introduced. Tony Watt was also brought on with ten minutes to go.

Motherwell looked comfortable in the latter stages, but Dessers did find the back of the net for the second time on 78 minutes, looping the ball over Balcombe; however, the Rangers forward was offside.

The closing stages would pass by, and Nick Walsh blew for full time, sparking excellent scenes in the away end, and Motherwell secured back-to-back wins at Ibrox as they moved into the top six.

Motherwell: Balcolmbe, Gordon, Balmer, Sparrow, Slattery (Paton 62), Halliday (Zdravkovski 62), Casey, Miller (Watt 72), Andrews, Thompson (Wilson 89), Armstrong (Ebiye 62)

Substitutes not used: Ward, Koutroumbis, Maswanhise, Plange

Michael Wimmer speaks following his side’s 2-1 victory over Rangers.

Luke Armstrong and Tom Sparrow netted the goals as Motherwell secured back to back wins at Ibrox.

Ellery Balcombe says Saturday’s trip to Ibrox is not a non-event for Motherwell and that his former side St Mirren showed that teams can get results there. 

He offers insight into the difference in Michael Wimmer’s approach and talks about a ‘whirlwind’ few weeks.

Manager Michael Wimmer says the result against Dundee was a ‘relief’ as he analyses the performance on Wednesday night. Wimmer also believes Rangers’ European performances show the quality they have in the side. 

Wimmer offers insight into the game-plan on Saturday, with his side having less of the ball.

Motherwell travel West to take on Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday 1 March in the William Hill Premiership. 

Kick off is 3pm.

How to follow the game

Tickets can be bought online.

A reminder that the Ticket Office will open on Saturday from 10-12 noon.

Any uncollected tickets will be distributed at the turnstiles by SLO, Chris Thomson.

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.

Kit Watch

We will be wearing our third kit for this match.

Squad Update

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Marvin Kaleta returned to training at the start of the week and will be assessed.

There are no new injury concerns.

Motherwell’s Fortunes

Motherwell ended a seven-game winless run on Wednesday night against Dundee. That 2-1 win was their first victory since 5 January against Aberdeen and made it a night to remember for manager Michael Wimmer.

The Steelmen moved up to 8th place in the table, opening up a seven-point gap to 11th and closing the gap to just two points to the top six.

Dan Casey scored a double under the Fir Park lights last time out and is returning to Ibrox for the first time since his winning goal against Rangers last season that ended Motherwell’s 27-year wait for victory in Govan in the league.

Opposition Report

It’s been a week of change at Rangers, with manager Phillip Clement departing the club last Sunday. Barry Ferguson was named head coach until the end of the season, and he got his tenure off to a strong start at Kilmarnock.

Despite going 2-0 down after 14 minutes, his side recovered well to win 4-2. Cyriel Dessers found the back of the net for the 20th time this season in all competitions in Ayrshire, with Vaclav Cerny also recording his 15th goal of the season.

It had been labelled a pivotal game for both sides, and with the added pressure of it being Michael Wimmer’s first home game, it was all set for a tense night under the Fir Park lights.

Motherwell showed ample energy and excitement in the first half and got their reward when Dan Casey bulleted home a header to open the scoring.

Wimmer was disappointed his team was only one ahead, and when Simon Murray drew Dundee level with just over ten minutes to go, hope of the perfect start to life at Fir Park was dwindling away for the new Well boss.

However, a special moment would follow when Casey found the back of the net for a second time, opening up a seven-point gap to the Dee in 11th and closing the gap to just two points to the top six.

We are pleased to confirm the date and details for our end-of-season awards dinner which will take place on Saturday 26 April at Dalziel Park Hotel.

A number of awards will be up for grabs on the night, recognising top performers across the first team, women’s team and the academy.

Hosted by Tam Cowan, the night will consist of live entertainment with songs from ‘Voice of the Town’, a three-course meal and the event will kick-off at 7pm with first-team players and coaching staff in attendance.

Individual places are available at £75 per person with tables available in multiples of ten.

To book, please call the events team on 01698 338 011 or you secure your space online.

Michael Wimmer’s first match in charge at Fir Park was a game to remember, with his side recording a 2-1 win over Dundee in the William Hill Premiership.

If ever a match merited the tag of being a six-pointer, a goal in each half from Dan Casey either side of a Simon Murray sealed a deserved victory to open up a seven-point lead over the Dens side in 11th place and hauled the Fir Park side to joint equal with St Mirren.

For his first match at Fir Park, Wimmer made three changes to his starting line-up.

After the narrow defeat at Tannadice, the new Well boss included defender Dom Thompson, midfielder Kai Andrews and Callum Slattery from the start, with Johnny Koutroumbis, Ewan Wilson and Tawanada Maswanhise stepping down to the bench.

Although Luke Armstrong was the lone forward, the five-man midfield with Lennon Miller and Slattery in a forward role immediately had the Dens men contained in their own half.

The German coach was equally committed, and within five minutes, he had called Ellery Balcombe to the touchline and issued new instructions.

Soon after, there were loud appeals for a penalty as Slattery, shielding the ball 16 yards from goal, was bundled to the ground, but neither referee Lloyd Wilson nor VAR thought it was worthy of an award.

After 11 minutes, Miller progressed towards the visitor’s box before his shot was deflected for a corner. Andy Halliday swung the flag kick into the box, where Casey, unmarked, powered his header inside Jon McCracken’s right post for the perfect start.

The Motherwell players looked rejuvenated, allowing Dundee no time on the ball, snapping into tackles and distributing the ball quickly.

Armstrong, free in the box, just failed to get on the end of a swift and decisive move as the Dens defence was opened up.

Another drive from Miller earned another corner, but although Halliday again found Casey’s head, the Well defender could only direct the ball straight at the keeper.

From another Dundee corner, a quick break upfield was started and finished by Stephen O’Donnell, as the fullback watched his shot from 20 yards palmed over the bar by McCracken.

As the team was warmly applauded by Well fans at the interval, the only disappointment was that the side had only one goal to show for its efforts and domination of the first half.

Dens boss Tony Docherty brought on experienced defender Joe Shaughnessy to try and steady the visitor’s defence.

But Well still carved out a couple of openings with Tom Sparrow involved in both.

Firstly, his low ball across the six-yard box just evaded Miller and Armstrong before the Well midfielder dived to meet Thompson’s cross, only to steer his header wide of goal.

The Steelmen then had an anxious wait as Dundee’s claims for a handball in the box required a long check from VAR before the referee allowed play to continue.

As the second half progressed, the Taysiders found their attacking threat, as Well were forced to defend deeper into their own half.

Fresh legs were required, especially in a tiring midfield, and in the 70th minute, Wimmer made a triple substitution, sending on Harry Paton, Davor Zdravkovski and Maswanhise to support Armstrong up front.

After 78 minutes, and just as Moses Ebiye waited to replace Armstrong, Dundee grabbed the equaliser.

A ball over the top sent Oluwaseun Adewumi down the right, and when he slid the ball past the advancing Balcombe, it found Murray sliding into the six-yard box and squeezed the ball over the line.

Motherwell immediately responded, and when O’Donnell’s cross found Ebiye eight yards in front of goal, he might have done better than head the ball into McCraken’s waiting arms.

Six minutes from time, Casey showed the Nigerian forward how to finish.

Paton evaded a couple of challenges to make his way down the left, and when he crossed into the box, Casey met it sweetly with his left foot, thundering the ball low past the keeper.

That set up a tense additional seven minutes, but it wasn’t backs to the wall from the home side as they continued to chase a third goal, with Zdravkovski and Maswanhise coming close.

Motherwell Team: Balcombe, O’Donnell, Gordon, Casey, Thompson, Sparrow, Slattery, Miller, Halliday, Andrews, Armstrong.

Motherwell Subs: Ward, Koutroumbis, Balmer, Zdravkovski, Paton, Wilson, Ebiye, Watt, Maswanhise.