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Jens Berthel Askou gives his thoughts on earning a point against Rangers.

A determined Motherwell recovered from an early James Tavernier goal to take a deserved point thanks to Emmanuel Longelo’s long overdue equaliser four minutes from the end of an exciting encounter.

The opening day of the Scottish Premiership League season brought former Norwich City teammates head-to-head for the first time as managers.

And despite a draw, it was Well boss Jens Berthal Askou who took the honours after a terrific performance that left Russell Martin’s men hanging on for a point at the end.

Starting with the same eleven who proved a match for Hertha Berlin, the Steelmen

Brave and confident from start to finish, the home side immediately pressed Rangers towards Jack Butland’s goal.

There was an early touch for Calum Ward at the other end when he raced across his line to push Tavernier’s curling free kick round his right-hand post.

Butland was then forced into his first save to prevent an own goal. Nasser Diga’s outstretched boot directed Tawanda Maswanhise’s cross towards his keeper with Apostolos Stamatelopoulos lurking behind him.

The ‘Well goal then had a scare when Danilo’s snapshot from 20 yards skimmed the top of Ward’s crossbar.

The next threat after 13 minutes, though, was on target as Rangers opened the scoring.

And following a positive start from the Fir Park side, it was a careless moment that led to the goal.

Paul McGinn, attempting to play out from the back, needlessly conceded a corner. And when Joe Rothwell crossed the ball into a packed box, Tavernier rose to nod the ball down and beyond Ward.

To their credit the Fir Park men stuck to their game plan and gradually gained more of the play around the visitor’s penalty area.

Midway through the half, Elliot Watt’s switch of play sent Longelo into the box, and his low-angled drive had Butland at full stretch to save.

A couple of minutes later a quick break on the right opened up for Koutroumbis to find Stamatelopoulos and Maswanhise racing through the middle, but the Australian’s cross was just too strong.

Minutes from half-time another cross from the right, this time by Maswanhise, saw the ball rise above Elijah Just in the six-yard box.

After Danilo’s header gave Ward his first comfortable save of the second half, the Steelmen resumed their pursuit of an equaliser as they peppered Butland’s goal with a series of goal efforts.

Firstly, Longelo’s free kick found Stamatelopoulos beyond the six-yard area, but he could only blast the ball over the bar.

Then Calum Slattery’s free kick found Koutroumbis rising at the back post only to power his header wide of goal.

Stamatelopoulos then had an angled drive blocked by Diga before Well came close to an equaliser.

McGinn, looking to atone for his earlier error, worked a 1-2 at the edge of the box before curling a low finish, which was heading inside Butland’s left-hand post until the Gers keeper at full stretch superbly palmed the ball away.

As the Well fans acknowledged the players’ efforts, Stamatelopoulos had another drive blocked, this time by John Souttar, before the Australian striker came agonisingly close to finding the net.

From the left side of the box Just floated an inviting ball into the six-yard box, but although Stamatelopoulos tried to cushion his header, the ball drifted inches over the bar.

Liam Gordon’s injury after 72 minutes forced Stephen O’Donnell to replace him in central defence.

But Well were still determined to find an equaliser, and with just over ten minutes remaining, after a hard-working shift and standing ovation from the home fans, Stamatelopoulos made way for Ibrahim Said.

Finally, four minutes from time, the Steelmen were rewarded.

Longelo’s mazy run across the box was ended, but when Koutroumbis fired the loose ball towards the goal, it was deflected into the path of the former Birmingham City player, who swerved a wonderful drive beyond the diving Butland.

As four minutes of additional time was indicated, a double substitution by Askou almost found a winner.

Two minutes later Said sent Sparrow into the box, and his clever touch with the outside of his right boot looked to evade Butland until another superb save denied Motherwell three points they probably deserved after dominating the second-half.

Motherwell Team: Ward, Koutroumbis, Gordon (71′), McGinn, Longelo, Watt, Fadinger, Slattery, Just, Maswanhise, Stamatelopoulos (78′). 

Motherwell Subs: Oxborough, Wilson, O’Donnell (71′), Balmer, Whyte, Halliday, Ross, Said (78′), Sparrow.

“It is still early days this season, but there is a really positive harmony in the team, and we are all looking forward to returning to competitive action.”

Manager Jens Berthel Askou is excited to get the league season underway against Rangers at Fir Park, and has called for supporters to get behind the new regime. 

AND SO IT BEGINS…

We welcome everyone who has made their way to Fir Park to turn the first page of a new chapter in the history of Motherwell Football Club. I’d also like to extend a warm welcome to an old friend who now leads today’s opposition from Glasgow Rangers.

Rangers, like ourselves, have had a very busy summer with significant changes both in the squad and among the staff. Having followed their pre-season and early European ties, it’s clear this is a Rangers side playing with a fresh, modern, and more dynamic style—and they’ll offer us some real challenges tonight.

We’ve also been working hard to implement a new approach—something I believe many of you have already noticed. There’s still plenty of work to be done, but our recent performances have been promising. If we can reach our best level, we’re confident we can compete with anyone on the day.

Playing high-tempo football demands a top-quality surface—and I want to give a big high five to our fantastic grounds team for the outstanding work they’re doing to provide exactly that. So many vital roles are being played behind the scenes at every football club—many of them unpaid. I hope you’ll honour them tonight with a big, warm round of applause.

This will be our biggest test yet as we begin our journey back to the top half of Scottish football. We’ve been longing for this day—and I know you have too.

I hope you’ll be with us, lifting the team from the stands, helping us build momentum, and pushing us through the tough moments.

Enjoy the game!

Jens Berthel Askou

Manager

Liam Gordon is looking forward to a new campaign after a strong pre-season. The centre-back has enjoyed learning the new style being adopted by manager Jens Berthel Askou, and hopes the team can put in a good shift on Saturday against Rangers. 

Gordon believes the group of players have what it takes to cause an upset on Saturday.

Details for our Premier Sports Cup match against St Johnstone have now been confirmed. 

The match will take place on Saturday 16 August at 3pm. You can watch the match on the Premier Sports Player.

Ticket pricing has also been agreed. Tickets will be available to buy online shortly.

Manager Jens Berthel Askou is looking forward to kicking off the league season against former teammate Russell Martin, with the Motherwell boss pleased with the efforts his team have put in thus far.

Berthel Askou answers questions regarding Lennon Miller and all the speculation surrounding the 18-year-old, and also discusses coming up against such a tough opponent so early on in his tenure.

Tawanda Maswanhise has won the G4 Claims player of the month for July.

The Zimbabwean scored a brace against Clyde, and a double against Morton, making it four goals in the four group-stage games.

Well done, Tawanda.

Motherwell kick off their 2025/26 William Hill Premiership season at Fir Park against Rangers on Saturday 2 August. 

Kick off is 5:30pm.

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 day, the ticket office is open from 2:30pm—the ticket office is open until kick-off with no pay gate facility.

There will be no online sales, as we need to check you have a continuous purchase history.

Supporters can buy tickets by visiting the ticket office at Fir Park.

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.

The match will also be shown live on Sky Sports.

What else is happening?

The Beer Garden will be closed for this match.

The Cooper Bar will also be open to home supporters from 3:30pm to kick off serving food and drink. The bar will also be open post-match for an hour for those wanting to avoid any traffic.

Please note, the southbound slip road to Motherwell at Junction 6 of the M74 is closed. The diversion is in place, which will significantly affect journey time, so please plan ahead accordingly.

Motherwell’s Fortunes

Motherwell come into the first league match full of confidence after topping their Premier Sports Cup group and drawing with German side Hertha BSC.

Tawanda Maswanhise has been the man in form, with the Zimbabwean international scoring four goals in four Premier Sports games. Apostolos Stamatelopoulos has also found his shooting boots, with the Aussie scoring two goals in the last two games.

Jens Berthel Askou will be pleased with the progress made by his squad thus far. Motherwell’s last encounter against Rangers at Fir Park ended in a 2-2 draw back in December 2024. Stamatelopoulos and Maswanhise goals had the Steelmen 2-0 up, but they were pegged back in the second-half before controversy struck, as VAR ruled out a Motherwell winner later in the game for a foul on Jack Butland.

Opposition Report

It’s been a summer of change at Ibrox. With new owners, a new manager, new coaches, and a host of new players, this is a new-look Rangers side for the 25/26 season.

They have eight new additions so far this summer, as Martin looks to build a squad that will compete on both the European and domestic fronts. After winning 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier against Panathinaikos, Rangers travel to Greece to play the second leg on Wednesday night.

Djeidi Gassama looks to be a solid addition to the team from Sheffield Wednesday. Highly rated, the winger got off to a perfect start in Rangers colours, scoring in his first competitive match. Academy graduate Findlay Curtis has also made a flying start to the season, scoring in his last two matches, as he looks to break into the first team regularly this campaign.

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

Lukas Fadinger, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Tawanda Maswanhise and Callum Slattery are all up for nomination.

To vote, head over to the Motherwell Facebook page.

Games in July:

• Clyde 2-2 Motherwell (Motherwell win 5-4 on penalties)
• Motherwell 2-1 Peterhead
• Stenhousemuir 0-1 Motherwell
• Motherwell 3-0 Morton
• Motherwell 1-1 Hertha BSC (Friendly)