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Michael Wimmer gives his reaction to the goalless draw with Hearts.

The point means Motherwell will miss out on top-six.

Defender Dan Casey has described Saturday’s game against Hearts as a ‘Cup Final’ for the players. The Irishman is excited for what is ahead and hope everyone turns up on the day. 

Casey says there is frustration with the amount of wrong decisions the club have been involved in over the course of the season, however these decisions are in the past and now everyone has to remain fully focused on the opportunity to get into the top-six.

Manager Michael Wimmer is pleased to have defender Kofi Balmer available for Saturday’s match against Hearts. The Motherwell boss offers his opinion and thoughts on VAR and referees in Scotland. 

Wimmer explains how his team should be motivated to the max for the top-six shootout against Hearts on Saturday, with everyone fully aware of how big a game it is in the context of the Steelmen’s season.

Motherwell will face Hearts on Saturday 12 April at Fir Park in the William Hill Premiership. 

Kick off is 3pm.

How to follow the game

• Young Adults tickets would ages 14-17.
• Juveniles would be 13 and under
• Ticket Office open from 11am – the ticket office is open until kick-off with no pay gate facility.

Supporters are able to buy tickets online here or visit the ticket office at Fir Park.

Ticket Office 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?

The Motherwell FC Community Trust will be collecting money by bucket collection on Saturday. Please, if you can, hand in any spare change that can go towards helping those within our community.

There will be a display in the Cooper Stand for when the players emerge from the tunnel. There will be a minute’s applause on the 53rd minute to remember Karen Ferguson, who we sadly lost at the end of March.

Our beer garden will be open for home fans only from 12.30pm for pre match drinks. The Cooper Bar will be also open to home and away supporters from 12 noon until kick off serving food and drink. The bar will also be open post-match for an hour for those wanting to avoid any traffic.

Kit Watch

We will be wearing our home kit for this match.

Squad Update

There are no new injury concerns. We await to hear the outcome of Kofi Balmer’s appeal.

Motherwell’s Fortunes

Motherwell have lost their last two games against Aberdeen and Kilmarnock. Kofi Balmer saw red just 25 minutes into the game at the weekend, which made it a difficult afternoon for the Steelmen.

Goals from Paul McGinn, Stephen O’Donnell and Tom Sparrow helped Motherwell on their way to a 3-1 win against Hearts earlier in the season at Fir Park. Hearts came away with the points at Tynecastle, thanks to a narrow 1-0 win.

Opposition Report

Hearts also lost out last weekend, losing 1-0 to Dundee United at Tynecastle. James Wilson saw red in that match, so he will be unavailable for Saturday.

The Jambos have won two and lost three of their last five matches. Elton Kabangu has been a revelation for Neil Critchley’s side since joining in January, with the striker netting eight times and becoming Hearts’ top goalscorer.

Permutations

Motherwell, Hearts and St Mirren can all finish in the top-six going into this weekend. Hearts are on 39 points, while St Mirren and Motherwell are on 38.

Motherwell can only finish in the top-six if they beat Hearts and results elsewhere go their way. A Motherwell win would only see the Steelmen move into sixth if St Mirren lose or draw against Ross County.

Hearts will claim their top-six spot if they beat Motherwell. They could also secure sixth if they draw at Fir Park and St Mirren fail to win.

A draw would not be enough for St Mirren to finish in the top-six. The Paisley side must beat Ross County and hope either Hearts don’t win or Motherwell don’t win by enough to swing the goal difference, which is currently at a difference of nine.

Motherwell returned from Ayrshire empty-handed, having played over 70 minutes with ten men on the pitch. Shortly after Kilmarnock’s opener, Kofi Balmer was given his marching orders following contact on the follow-through with a Killie player. 

From then on, the game was killed as a contest, with Derek McInnes’ side having large spells of possession. They doubled their lead seven minutes after the interval from a corner, which secured the win for the hosts.

However, with Hearts failing to register a win against Dundee United, the race for top-six will go down to the wire on Saturday, with Motherwell, Hearts and St Mirren all in contention.

We can confirm we have submitted an appeal for the red card shown to Kofi Balmer in our Premiership match against Kilmarnock on Saturday 5 April.

The outcome of this appeal will be communicated in due course.

Motherwell were defeated by two-goals to nil after an inexplicable red card decision left the Steelmen playing with ten-men throughout most of the 90-minutes. 

Fraser Murray broke the deadlock 22-minutes into the contest, pouncing onto a loose ball in the Motherwell penalty area after an excellent stop from Ellery Balcombe initially denied Bobby Wales the opener.

Motherwell’s frustrations only mounted, as VAR incredibly instructed referee Matthew McDermid to take a closer look at Kofi Balmer’s clearance. Unbelievably, McDermid reversed his initially correct decision, giving Balmer his marching orders for a perfectly-timed clearance.

Motherwell toiled in the Ayrshire sunshine, but with the one-man disadvantage, Motherwell’s high-intensity pressing tactic proved challenging to implement. Eight-minutes into the second-half, Killie doubled their advantage after Joe Wright powered home Danny Armstrong’s delivery across the face of goal.

The visitors were then initially reduced to nine-men after McDermid brandished a red card to defender Dominic Thompson after the Motherwell full-back himself was fouled by Armstrong at the edge of the pitch. VAR quickly intervened, and on this occasion reached the correct decision to overturn the initial red card.

Motherwell’s top-six hopes will remain unchanged if results elsewhere are favourable tomorrow, and could come down to a final-day clash between fellow top-six rivals hearts at Fir Park.

Michael Wimmer gives his verdict on the 2-0 defeat to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

Luke Armstrong says the players are ready to execute the manager’s game plan on Saturday against Kilmarnock. The forward believes the plastic surface does change the game slightly but still believes it shouldn’t change the team’s approach. 

Armstrong wants to show the manager and the fans that the team will fight until the end, no matter how the team is getting on. The Englishman also lays out his thoughts on his time in Scotland so far.

Manager Michael Wimmer is expecting to see a reaction from his players following the disappointing result in Aberdeen last weekend. Wimmer says Liam Gordon will miss out on the trip to Ayrshire, while Marvin Kaleta will be assessed. 

Wimmer discusses his thoughts on playing the artificial surface, as well as recent speculation on the league expanding.