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‘Well youngster Jamie Semple has been called-up to the Scotland under-17s squad for an upcoming International Tournament.

The forward, who has represented his country at numerous age groups, received the well-earned recognition today for clashes against England, Italy and Turkey.

The highly-rated 16-year-old, who recently penned a professional deal at Fir Park, has starred for the National team in recent months and broke in to Stephen Craigan’s under-20s side at the tail-end of last season.

Brian McLaughlin’s side will start their tournament against Turkey on August 18^th at St George’s Park.

Everyone at Motherwell FC would like to congratulate Jamie and wish him and the under-17s all the best for the competition later this month.

‘Well defender Charles Dunne may have shied away from singing in front of his teammates, but the summer signing more than made up for his decision.

Upon his arrival at Fir Park, the 24-year-old knew that he would be required to partake in an initiation task – singing in front of the entire team – and, if he didn’t, he would be faced with a fine.

But that didn’t stop Charles biting the bullet and with the money he was told to pay as a fine, he decided he would buy one lucky fan the brand new 2017/18 away kit.

For Charles, it was rewarding to see the look on young fan Adam’s face – who got Dunne’s name and number on the back of his gift.

He said: “It was great to see Adam’s reaction when I gave him his top and moments like that really are special.

[pullquote]It was great to see Adam’s reaction when I gave him his top and moments like that really are special.[/pullquote]

“I knew I always wanted to use the money to do something like that and his reaction really made it all worth while.”

And he admitted that captain Carl McHugh and vice-captain Stevie Hammell encouraged the decision.

“It came about from speaking to the skipper and Hammy,” the Irishman said, “and they both really appreciate how much gestures like this can mean to supporters.”

Marketing and Fan Engagement manager Ryan Murrant added: “This epitomises what this club is about. When you have players going out of their way for random acts of kindness, or magic moments as we call them, then that says something about the culture that we have here.

“Fair play to Charles for this and to the other lads who thought this would be better than him paying a fine. It’s truly magical.”

Motherwell Under 20s have a home match against Queen’s Park in the First Round of the Irn Bru Cup.

And the clash will be played out at Forthbank Stadium in Stirling on Wednesday, August 16 at 7:30pm.

The young Steelmen beat League Two side Edinburgh City at Fir Park last year, drawing a crowd of almost 700 people to watch the match.

They were rewarded with a Lanarkshire derby against Airdrie and over 1000 fans were in attendance, but despite a brave and valiant effort from the youngsters, they were edged out 1-2.

However, that wouldn’t be the end of Fir Park’s tale in the 2016/17 competition, as the Final returned to North Lanarkshire in March as Dundee United lifted the trophy, edging out St Mirren 2-1.

‘Well will kick-off their involvement in this year’s tournament against the Spiders with the tie due to be played on 15th / 16th August.

The revised format of the IRN-BRU Cup for the season ahead sees a reduction in the number of rounds from seven to six, with the competition kicking off in six weeks times, leading up to the Final being played on Saturday 24 or Sunday 25 March, 2018.

SSE Airtricity League Premier Division sides Bray Wanderers and Sligo Rovers will join the 2017/18 IRN-BRU Cup along with the Northern Irish and Welsh teams (Crusaders, Linfield, The New Saints and Gap Connah’s Quay) at the Second Round stage.

Ticket prices will be confirmed shortly…

The referee for Wednesday’s Betfred Cup clash with Ross County is Stephen Finnie.

It is already the officials second ‘Well match of the new season after he took charge just over a week ago when Berwick Rangers came to Fir Park.

That 1-0 victory wrapped up a perfect group stage for Stephen Robinson’s men and he was again at Fir Park at the weekend as the fourth official for the league opener against Rangers.

The time before that he was the man in the middle for the forgettable 5-1 home defeat against Dundee back in February.

However, the time before that was an important 3-1 victory over Partick Thistle in February 2016, when three points lifted the Steelmen to eighth in the table.

Louis Moult smashed a brace on that afternoon to take his tally to 16 for the season.

His first came from the spot on 37 minutes after on-loan Celtic youngster Aidan Nesbitt tripped ‘Well skipper Keith Lasley in the box.

The ‘Well hitman ran on to Scott McDonald’s superb pass on 51 minutes to confidently lash the ball past Tomas Cerny for the killer second goal.

Marvin Johnson then made it 3-0 on 69 minutes when he cut in from the right hand side and cracked a sweet low drive into the net.

Callum Booth grabbed a consolation for Partick on 76 minutes when he drilled a low 20 yard effort past Connor Ripley.

Stephen has taken charge of thirteen Motherwell games over his career, the Steelmen winning eight and losing five; curiously, no draws.

In those matches, he has dished out 51 cautions, 20 of which flashed at a player wearing Claret and Amber. Only two players have been sent for an early bath, Scott Brown for a second bookable offence in a match at Parkhead in 2010 and Henrik Ojamaa in season 2014/15.

Stephen will be assisted by Jordan Stokoe and Ralph Gordon, with Steven Reid on fourth official duties.

Extended highlights from Fir Park a Graham Dorran’s penalty leaves the Steelmen starting the season with a 1-2 loss.

‘Well boss Stephen Robinson admitted that he was frustrated to see his side lose 2-1 against Rangers this afternoon.

His side put in a positive display at Fir Park in their season opener, yet were left disappointed at the full time whistle.

And Robinson believed it was a case of missed chances punishing his side on an afternoon when Motherwell could have picked up at least a point.

[pullquote]It’s frustrating, but the positive is we created a lot of chances – it doesn’t make up for the fact that we haven’t come away with anything but we’re creating chances, we look solid and I thought we dominated large parts of the game.[/pullquote]

Speaking to MFC TV, the Fir Park boss said: “We’re disappointed not to come away with a point, never mind three, and with the chances we created with Moult in the first half, Tanner going through with four vs one and then Bowman and Fisher’s chances too.

“So it’s frustrating, but the positive is we created a lot of chances – it doesn’t make up for the fact that we haven’t come away with anything but we’re creating chances, we look solid and I thought we dominated large parts of the game.”

He added: “Rangers are going to be a top three side, yet we outplayed them for large parts of the game and we created debatably more chances than them too.”

Images from this afternoon’s 1-2 defeat to Rangers in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Snaps courtesy of SNSPix

[svgallery name=”rangers060817″]

[tab:Match report]

Motherwell started their 2017/18 league campaign with a 2-1 loss at home to Rangers this afternoon. 

A Graham Dorrans brace either side of a first ‘Well goal for Ben Heneghan dealt the Steelmen a frustrating blow on a dull day in Lanarkshire. 

Stephen Robinson included five summer signings in his starting line-up, with Trevor Carson, Cedric Kipré, Charles Dunne, Andy Rose and Craig Tanner.

Similarly, Pedro Caixinha named a number of new faces, who looked to bounce back from a disappointing European exit.

And it was the ideal start for the visitors, who found themselves ahead inside five minutes when the ball broke kindly for Dorrans on the edge of the box – who duly side footed beyond Carson courtesy of two deflections.

And in what was a frantic opening period, surprisingly, neither side registered a shot on target until late in the first half.

Prior to that, Louis Moult was presented a golden opportunity just before the 20^th minute when some hard work down the right allowed Chris Cadden to send in a terrific cross for the forward, who side-footed well wide of the target from a few yards out.

However, the Steelmen drew level with five minutes remaining in the half, when an inswinging cross from Tanner was nodded in by Heneghan for his first goal in a claret and amber shirt.

The start of the second period got off on a similar foot to the first, and before too long the Gers went back in front when Bobby Madden pointed to the spot following a collision in the box between Moult and Fabio Cardoso.

Dorrans stepped up and slotted the ball just inches beyond the fingertips of Carson in front of the packed McEwan Fraser Legal Stand.

But as Motherwell started to up their game, Rangers switched formation and replaced striker Kenny Miller with defender Danny Wilson.

That didn’t halt the home side’s momentum, and in the final ten minutes it looked like the ‘Well would be rewarded with an equaliser.

Another superb cross from the right was tapped towards goal by substitute Ryan Bowman, but clipped agonisingly off the far post and wide for a goal kick.

Two minutes later, the ball broke kindly for fellow sub Alex Fisher, who was denied by a tremendous close range save by Wes Foderingham as the ball, yet again, clipped the post.

It was very much a case of Motherwell not having luck on their side as the visitors left Lanarkshire with all three points after a dramatic league opener.

[tab:As it happened]

 Alastair Reilly at Fir Park

FT: Motherwell 1 – 2 Rangers

Three minutes added on.

..nodded out for a second corner….Heneghan heads over the bar at the back post!

89’| 1-2
Corner to the Steelmen….

88’| 1-2
Great break away but Tanner doesn’t release the ball to Newell who had made a great overlapping run!

86’| 1-2
Close! Fisher gets the break of the ball but his shot deflects off Foderingham then out off the post for a corner.

83’| 1-2
Rangers sub, Herrera off for Morelos

79’| 1-2
Dorrans booked for hauling down Cadden as he broke away from him

79’| 1-2
Final Motherwell change, Rose off for Newell

78’| 1-2
Heneghan booked for a challenge on Herrera

77’| 1-2
Rangers sub, Miller off for Wilson

74’| 1-2
So close!! Cadden’s ball is whipped in and touched on by Bowman but it goes out off the base of the post.

73′ | 1-2
Motherwell sub, Moult off for Fisher

68’| 1-2
Cardoso slides wildly through the back of Moult and is rightly booked

64’| 1-2
Motherwell sub, Frear off for Bowman

62’| 1-2
Rangers sub, Tavernier on for Hodson

….Dorrans converts.

67’| 1-1
Penalty for Rangers…

51’| 1-1
Candeias beats Dunne on the line and cuts it back to Miller but he scoops his shot over the bar.

49′ | 1-1
Dunne goes into the ref’s book for a challenge on Candeias

Tanner gets the second half underway. COYW!!!!

HT: Motherwell 1 – 1 Rangers

41′ | 1-1
Close! Windass again hits the woodwork, this time with a fine curling effort from the edge of the box.

40′ | 1-1
Heneghan with his first Motherwell goal!! Outstanding ball in from Tanner headed home at the back post!!

GGOOOAAALLL!!!!!

38′ | 0-1
Claims for handball there against Hodson in the box but looked more like ball to hand

31′ | 0-1
Rose and Frear combine down the left and from the ball in, Tanner is inches away from making proper contact. Chance trickles away

26′ | 0-1
Cadden’s cross is knocked out for a corner…

….Tanner’s ball in is far too deep and goes out for a throw-in.

25′ | 0-1
Frear wins a free-kick wide on ‘Well’s left….

20′ | 0-1
Windass with a burst of pace gets past his man and into the box. Curls his shot off the base of the post!

18′ | 0-1
What a chance! Cadden with a great ball in to the back post but Moult puts his effort wide of the post from close!

8′ | 0-1
Windass does well and gets in behind the defence but thankfully Kipré is on hand to stick it out for a corner.

4′ | 0-1
Goal – Alves clips the ball back into the box and Miller’s knock down is converted by Dorrans

3′ | 0-0
Free-kick to Rangers on their right-hand side….

We are now underway. COYW!!!!

Both sides out the tunnel. Great atmosphere here at Fir Park. COYW!!!

[tab:Reaction]

Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson:

Rangers manager Pedro Caixhaina

[tab:Man-of-the-match]

[poll id=”327″]

‘Well boss Stephen Robinson says his squad are determined to get off to a good start in the SPFL Premiership.

The Steelmen have won four from four to qualify from their Betfred Cup group ahead of this weekend’s big kick-off in the league.

And Robinson is under no illusions about what will be required and what the benefits of a positive start could be.

Speaking to the broadcast press at the weekly pre-match news conference, the Northern Irishman said: “It’s really important to make a good start and use it as a platform to build upon.

Last year our home record was poor and we want to try and turn this place [Fir Park] into somewhere that teams don’t want to come.

“We don’t want teams to come here thinking it’s easy-osy, on a beautiful pitch and they enjoy coming here. We want to make it tough, we want people to know exactly what they’re going to get when they come here.”

[pullquote]It’s really important to make a good start and use it as a platform to build upon.[/pullquote]

Sunday’s opponents Rangers have put disappointment in the Europa League qualifiers behind them to put together and impressive run of pre-season results.

Pedro Caixinha’s men have drawn with French giants Marseille and followed it with wins away at Watford and Sheffield Wednesday.

And although Robinson knows it will be a stern test, he says there is a confidence in his ranks after four successive wins.

“We’ve watched a lot of Rangers, including their recent pre-season matches and we know the sort of test this will be.

“They’ve had some good results in those matches, but we’re coming into the match on the back of four wins ourselves, so we’re feeling confident.”

Motherwell Football Club is delighted to announce our new mascot, “Steelman” after a club and MFC Community Trust competition that saw 1000’s of entries from the children of Lanarkshire and beyond.

Steelman will make his debut with his miniature assistant “Raven Steel” when we face Rangers here at Fir Park on Sunday (1.30pm Kick off). The children that designed each of our mascots were the first ever supporters to meet the new Motherwell heroes earlier today and were very excited about it. Abbi Kilgour (7) from Newmains designedRaven Steel Whilst Freddie Hughes (10) of Wishaw was the brains behind Steelman .

AAAAA

The winners will each receive a bundle of prizes including a kit and meeting the players for their efforts, whilst the schools of all those that entered the competition will be invited to a game this season as the guests of the Community Trust. Other runners up and winners of the age group categories will be announced shortly.

Marketing and Fan Engagement Manager Ryan Murrant said “This competition reached out to 1000’s of children across Lanarkshire and got them involved with the club. That was our aim alongside the community trust. It really did capture the imagination of the children and we are so pleased with the relevance of the winning designs, the back stories to them and we thank both Abbi and Freddie for what they have helped create for our supporters. There is a lot planned that we can do with these mascots on matchdays and beyond and we can’t wait to see them out and about on in the wider community promoting the club, the community trust and the Well Society”.

The new mascots can be seen around the ground on Sunday for the first time and will be at the club shop from 12.30pm-1pm to meet with supporters and to pose for pictures. Next week they will both be visiting the MFC Community Trust football camps to join in with the fun and games. You can book on to the camps by visiting https://www.motherwellfcct.co.uk