| 8 | St. Johnstone | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | -4 | 12 |
| 9 | Aberdeen | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -1 | 11 |
| 10 | Motherwell | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -7 | 8 |
| 11 | Kilmarnock | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -13 | 8 |
| 12 | Hibernian | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 7 |
Going from the highs of qualifying for the playoff round in the UEFA Conference League, to the elimination of the Premier Sports Cup against Stenhousemuir was something manager Alfred Johansson said we should be annoyed at.
The early signs have all been positive and this result is one that should hurt, but one we must move on quickly with our tie against SC Freiburg ahead of us on Thursday.
Motherwell exited the Premier Sports Cup at the first hurdle following a 1-0 defeat to William Hill Championship side Stenhousemuir.
Euan O’Reilly was the hero for the Warriors, scoring in extra-time to set up a quarter-final tie with Hearts.
Following their terrific result in the UEFA Conference League against HJK Helsinki on Thursday night, Alfred Johansson opted for rotation throughout his side. Making eight changes in total, Matty Connelly, Luca Ross, Jamie Knight-Lebel, Ewan Wilson, Olly Whyte, Mikey Booth and Willy Vogt all came in, with latest summer signing Joe Hodge making his debut in the middle of the pitch.
Over 1600 Motherwell fans were in the away end but would have been less than enthused with the early stages of the match. Marvin Bartley’s Stenhousemuir had a succession of corners in the first 20 minutes, with Connelly dealing with all the crosses into the penalty area, but the Steelmen were struggling to string together their usual fluid football on the sticky, dry surface.
The first notable attempt came after 20 minutes when Michael Anderson tried his luck with a left-footed effort from just inside the box, to the relief of Motherwell, who made an effort straight at Connelly, who gathered.
Motherwell’s first shot on target arrived after 36 minutes. Ibrahim Said showed his magic down the right-hand side and set Booth away; the ball came to Whyte, who struck cleanly but was straight at Darren Jamieson.
Just before the half-time mark, Said once again burst forward using his power and pace; he decided to shoot from distance but was well over the bar.
Motherwell made two changes at the half time interval, bringing on Emmanuel Longelo and Alex Lowry in place of Said and Wilson.
Despite the changes, Stenhousemuir started the brighter of the two sides in the second-half. Sam Young got himself on the end of a cross into the box in the back-post area; the knockdown caused an alarming moment in the penalty area with the ball ricocheting multiple times before Connelly gathered.
The Steelmen ventured forward after 54 minutes. There was nice build-up play involving Lowry, Vogt and Longelo which ended in Tawanda Maswanhise having a shot from 20 yards out; the strike skimmed off the turf and went wide of the target.
Gus Stevenson went close after the hour mark, as the Stenny man got on the end of a cross but volleyed over the bar. But Motherwell kept probing, and Booth found himself unmarked in the penalty box. He leaped to head towards goal from Regan Charles-Cook’s cross, but the youngster didn’t find the desired connection, with Jamieson comfortably catching the effort.
Knight-Lebel was next to have a chance on 78 minutes; the centre-back was able to rise above his marker, but his connection on the cross wasn’t clean. Vogt went close a minute later when he tried to curl the ball into the corner following good work from Ross and Lowry; the summer signing didn’t get enough curl on the strike, and it went wide.
Stenhousemuir really should have broken the deadlock with seven minutes of normal time remaining when Stevenson found himself 1v1 with Connelly as he raced towards goal, but he got it all wrong, and the chance disappeared.
Motherwell themselves had one more chance to win it in regulation time when on the counter-attack, Charles-Cook was slid the ball on the right-edge of the box, but the recovering Warriors backline managed to slide and block his strike before Lowry’s attempt trickled wide of the post.
With no goals in 90 minutes, the match went to extra-time and the home crowd were up on their feet as they thought Lewis O’Donnell had opened the scoring after his strike from distance beat Connelly, but the ball came crashing off the inside of the left-hand post before going across the line and away from goal.
It was Stenhousemuir again who went close in the first-half of extra time when Matty Aitken was free at the back-post, but he somehow missed the opportunity.
As the second-half of extra-time began, the momentum was most definitely with the hosts, and after 109 minutes of football, the deadlock was finally broken. A long throw-in fortuitously found itself with O’Reilly who, with appeals of handball, brought the ball down on the right-edge of the box and slotted it past Connelly to give his side a deserved lead.
There would be one more talking point when in the 111th minute, Charles-Cook looked to be clipped in the box with his back to goal, but referee Colin Steven didn’t blow for a foul despite heavy claims from all Motherwell players and staff around him.
In the end, the rest of the half passed without any major chances for Alfred Johansson’s side, who suffered their first competitive defeat of the season.
Motherwell Team: Connelly, Ross, Girdwood-Reich, Knight-Lebel, Wilson, Whyte, Hodge, Booth, Maswanhise, Vogt, Said.
Motherwell Subs: Paulsen, Moormann, Fadinger, Lowry, Charles-Cook, Koutroumbis, McAllister, Weir, Longelo.
The post-match thoughts of Alfred Johansson.
Mikey Booth has been pleased with the minutes played so far this season, with the midfielder making his Premiership and professional debut in European football so far this season.
The Academy Graduate has loved work under new manager Alfred Johansson and is excited for what’s still to come this season.
Manager Alfred Johansson says the players must quickly shift their focus to Stenhousemuir on Sunday, and cites the difficult matches in the Premier Sports Cup last year that Motherwell played in as evidence for how tricky a match this will be.
Johansson says the fast start and quick connection everyone at the club has made did take him by surprise, but believes there is even more still to come.
The Steelmen knew getting the tie back to Fir Park for the second leg on level terms was a boost, but also knew they still had a huge job to do to secure qualification for the playoff round of the UEFA Conference League.
8,150 Motherwell fans gathered at Fir Park for what was billed to be a huge opportunity to play last season’s Europa League finalists SC Freiburg in the next round.
Motherwell were well on top for the duration of the 90 minutes, with Ibrahim Said lifting the roof off Fir Park, as everyone has the chance to now make more memories in the next round of the competition.
Following our progression to the playoff round of the UEFA Conference League, our William Hill Premiership match against St Mirren has been moved to Sunday 30 August.
Kick off remains at 3pm.
Our William Hill Premiership match against Aberdeen on Saturday 22 August has been postponed due to our involvement in the UEFA Conference League.
Match details for the rescheduled match will be confirmed in due course, but the match will be played September 8/9 or 15/16.
Match and ticket information for our home match against SC Freiburg has now been confirmed.
The match will take place at Fir Park on Thursday 20 August at 7:30pm.
Season Ticket holders have until 12 noon on Tuesday 18th Aug to secure their own seat.
Information surrounding the second leg will be communicated shortly.
You can buy yours by CLICKING HERE.
|
Ticket |
Price |
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Adults |
£25 |
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Concession (over 65, 18-22, student and 13-17) |
£20 |
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Children (12 and under) |
£10 |
Centenary Suite and 91 Lounge:
Price: £60pp
12 and under: £30 (kids ’ meal)
Cooper Box
Price: £60pp
12 and under: £30
Dress code for all areas is smart – no jeans, trainers or colours permitted. To book, please phone our hospitality team on 01698 338003 or email: hospitality@motherwellfc.co.uk.
Motherwell will begin their Premier Sports Cup journey on Sunday afternoon against Stenhousemuir at Ochilview.
Kick off is 2pm.
You can buy your tickets now by CLICKING HERE.
Prices are:
The temperature will be around 18 degrees on Sunday at kick off, with a chance of rain in the area.
The Steelmen remain unbeaten in competitive action this season. Unbeaten in six games so far in charge, Alfred Johansson’s side moved a step closer to the UEFA Conference League league-phase, defeating HJK Helsinki 3-1 over two legs.
Ibrahim Said stole the show on Thursday night, as the Nigerian scored his second and third goals of the season in the 2-0 win on the night.
Travelling to Ochilview for the second time in just over 12 months, the Steelmen will know all too well the difficulty facing them this weekend. A solitary goal from Stephen O’Donnell was just enough for Motherwell to take the three points back to North Lanarkshire in the Premier Sports Cup group-stage last season.
Stenhousemuir are also unbeaten in 90 minutes this season, with three wins and three draws in regulation time so far in 26/27. The Warriors are playing in the Championship for the first time in their history following promotion via the playoffs last season.
There has been change over the summer months at Stenny, with former Livingston man Marvin Bartley in charge of the side this season following Gary Naysmith’s departure to Ayr United.
And they have adjusted well to the change. An opening day point gained on the road to Raith Rovers was followed up with a 2-0 win on home soil against Greenock Morton last weekend. Michael Anderson and Gus Stephenson were on the scoresheet, and the Warriors will be aiming to cause an upset once again, having already topped their group ahead of Partick Thistle and Livingston.
Motherwell produced one of their finest-ever performances on the European stage, dismantling HJK Helsinki 2-0 to progress to the playoff of the UEFA Conference League.
A stunning Ibrahim Said double sent 8,100 Motherwell fans home in jubilation.
The Steelmen were forced into more changes to the starting 11 following Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Falkirk. Tom Sparrow missed out on the action having come off during the second-half, and was replaced by Johnny Koutroumbis, who was making his first competitive start of the season following a hand injury.
Jake Girdwood-Reich was back in defence, replacing Jamie Knight-Lebel, with Alex Lowry also restored to the 11 in place of Mikey Booth. Regan Charles-Cook was the final alteration, as he started in place of Willy Vogt, making it four changes in total.
There were over 8000 Motherwell fans packed into Fir Park as the Steelmen looked to progress to the playoff round of the UEFA Conference League for the first time. Both sides knew Freiburg were the opponents in the next round, as HJK Helsinki got the game going with under 40 Finns making the journey from Helsinki.
The atmosphere was electric, and Motherwell were applying their possession-based approach, which penned HJK into their own half. The first half-chance came after ten minutes when Lukas Fadinger clipped a ball into the back-post area where Girdwood-Reich was lurking; the defender managed to get his head onto the ball but could only find the side netting.
Fir Park was encouraged, and seven minutes later, Longelo also found the side netting after Maswanhise crossed to the opposite side and the full-back volleyed towards goal. Under 60 seconds later, Maswanhise himself got in behind the HJK backline and tried to beat the on-rushing keeper, but Markovic was equal to the effort.
The chances just kept on coming for the Steelmen, but the breakthrough didn’t. Said tried to catch the keeper napping and struck over the bar from 25 yards before Maswanhise forced the keeper into a smart save after cutting inside from the left wing.
Pressure was mounting on HJK, who looked like they needed the half-time break. Longelo showed his pace and skill to beat the defender and fizzed a cross towards Charles-Cook, but he couldn’t wrap his foot fully around the ball, and the ball went blazing over the bar. Longelo continued to cause problems and went through one on one with Markovic from a tight angle, with the keeper making a smart save with his feet to prevent the opener.
At half-time, the Motherwell players were cheered off the pitch after a dazzling first-half display, and that level of energy carried into the second-half, when after 60 seconds, they got their reward.
It took some individual magic, but Said was able to pick up the ball on the left-wing, before coming inside. He evaded the tackles from defenders before stabbing the ball into the far corner to break the deadlock.
That goal didn’t stop the MFC train, as they pressed on to extend their lead. Maswanhise showed some incredible pace and skill to skip away from two tackles; he tried to set himself for a shot at goal, but the effort was never troubling the keeper.
And bang on the hour mark, the Steelmen did double their lead. Said, once again, was presented with the ball and space in front of him, which he stepped into. Driving forward, he showed a quick turn of pace before toe-poking the ball past the keeper to make it 2-0.
Motherwell were firmly in control, but HJK didn’t give up the fight. Alfie Cicale looked bright on the wing and curled a cross into the penalty box; Alex Paulsen had to be alert to push the ball away from danger.
Johansson’s side responded by going up the other end and creating another opportunity. Longelo, once again posing a key threat, came inside this time, going past multiple defenders, but on his weaker foot, he couldn’t keep his strike on target. Substitute Olly Whyte slotted into the heart of the team with ease and showed strength before sending a ball in-behind to Maswanhise, who reached the byline and sent a cross across the face of goal, but the sliding Willy Vogt and Said couldn’t reach the cross.
Fir Park got louder and louder as the game neared its conclusion, and when the final whistle blew, 8,150 Motherwell fans screamed in delight as a trip to Germany to take on Europa League finalists Freiburg was confirmed.
Motherwell Team: Paulsen, Koutroumbis, Girdwood-Reich, Moormann, Longelo, Priestman, Fadinger, Lowry, Maswanhise, Charles-Cook, Said.
Motherwell Subs: Connelly, McConnell, Ross, Knight-Lebel, Wilson, McAllister, Hunter, Whyte, Booth, Vogt, Weir.
