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“When we play with intensity, we win games. When we don’t, you get today.”

Graham Alexander speaks after Motherwell’s 4-1 away loss at Kilmarnock.

Motherwell’s 2020/21 Scottish Cup campaign starts with a trip to face Highland League side Formartine United on Saturday.

Here are the key topics going into the third round match.

On a cup run

Formartine United have come through three rounds of the Scottish Cup already to set up Saturday’s tie.

The campaign started back in December, when a 2-1 home win over Turriff United set up a trip south to face Haddington Athletic.

After another 2-1 victory, league side Annan Athletic were the visitors to North Lodge Park late in March.

An early opener from the visitors was cancelled out soon after, with the game eventually going the distance to penalties, resulting a 3-1 shootout win for the Highland League men.

Varying gametime

While Formartine have played three Scottish Cup matches, that comes in contrast to the two league games managed in the season before their league was curtailed.

In total, our opponents have played five competitive matches since their first cancellation on 18 March 2020.

Motherwell since that date have played 40 across the Premiership, Betfred Cup and UEFA Europa League qualifiers.

Condensed schedule

For Saturday’s victors, an intensive period of Scottish Cup matches lies in wait on the road to Hampden.

The fourth round will be played two weeks later on 17 April and, should the winners progress further from that, the quarter-finals are just seven days later on 24 April.

Progression beyond that will mean for trips to Hampden on 8 May in the semi-finals, and 22 May in the final.

Motherwell shot themselves in the foot with a collapse in performance in defeat at Kilmarnock.

Kyle Lafferty’s goal in the opening minute was cancelled out by Barry Maguire’s first goal in claret and amber to take the game in level at the break.

But a quickfire double from Rory McKenzie and Chris Burke before the hour mark put the hosts in the driving seat, before Mitch Pinnock added further insult to injury late on.

The afternoon started with the Motherwell team deciding to no longer take a knee before the match.

The squad spoke out beforehand to say the action had became an empty gesture, with further action required by those in power to fight properly against racism.

When the game got going, a minute hadn’t passed before the hosts took the lead.

Lafferty found room on the edge of the box and his snapshot caught Kelly off guard to find the bottom-right corner of the net.

Motherwell were shellshocked but started to get on the ball and would bring themselves level seven minutes later.

Jordan Roberts was denied at point-blank range by Doyle’s save but Maguire reacted quickest, finding the corner of the goal from the edge of the area with a precise finish.

The Steelmen were in level at the break despite not putting in their normal level of performance but would collapse 10 minutes into the second half.

A ball from the right wasn’t cleared and allowed McKenzie to be alert to nick the ball, round Kelly and slot home from close range.

Barely a minute later, they were 3-1 ahead. A cross from the left sailed unchallenged all the way to the back post, where Burke was on hand to fire into the roof of the net.

Long and Lawless were introduced to try and spark the team back to life but, save for Roberts’ volley hitting the post, Graham Alexander’s men couldn’t get a foothold back in the fixture.

Then, with seven minutes left, Pinnock got the better of Magloire down the left to find himself one-on-one with Kelly, picking his spot to give the Ayrshire club a vital victory in the fight against relegation.

A live stream of Motherwell’s Scottish Cup third round trip to Formartine United is available.

Priced at £12, the game can be purchased direct at ppv.motherwellfc.co.uk.

Fans worldwide can purchase a streaming pass for the match streamed live from North Lodge Park.

Season ticket holders will need to create a new account if they have not done so already for previous games on the PPV website, which were against Hapoel Beer-Sheva in the UEFA Europa League and St Johnstone in the Betfred Cup. If you created an account for these matches, just use the login details you previously used.

Kick-off on Saturday is at 3pm.

Our players have stopped taking the knee before matches, effective immediately from our Scottish Premiership match on Saturday 20 March.

Motherwell Football Club stands united with this collective decision and their reasons. We fully endorse the following statement from the players. It is time for action on racism, not empty gestures.

The players of Motherwell FC said:

“When we started taking the knee at the start of the season, it had an impact. For the first few weeks, the message was loud and clear. Now it has been lost.

“Taking a knee has become something someone does now for the sake of it. It has completely lost its meaning.

“As a squad, we spoke and asked ourselves ‘why are we doing this anymore? Is it having any impact at all?’. The answer was a clear no.

“Taking a knee has become an empty gesture. Instead, we want those in power to take real and immediate action on racism.

“Apathy and complacency have set into the routine. We want our actions to cause a realisation and a reaction.

“Racism is apparent everywhere in the day-to-day life of society. People need to realise change is required.

“Players, clubs, authorities and society now need to unite, and fight for a level playing field for all.”

“Every point is vital. We have to fight hard to make sure we take them.”

Graham Alexander looks ahead to the final game before the split away at Kilmarnock.

Win a share of cash and other great prizes with our new, free-to-play Steelmen Selects predictor game.

Every Motherwell match week, we’re giving away £500.

To play, head to our dedicated Steelmen Selects game page and create an account.

Supporters compete on a peer-to-peer basis, predicting a series of match outcomes including goals scored, corners taken and saves made.

The more predictions you correctly make, the more points scored and higher up the leader board you move.

Steelmen Selects is in partnership with Low6.

“We are excited for the launch of Steelmen Selects and our partnership with Low6, Suzanne Reid, head of commercial and marketing at Motherwell FC, added.

“In the current climate, it is more important than ever to ensure our supporters remain connected to the club.

“The partnership will provide an additional revenue source for the club and with the game free to play and a £500 minimum prize pot from each game, it really is a win-win.”

Low6 Commercial Director Chris Hector added: “We are delighted to be partnering with Motherwell FC to produce the new free-to-play Steelmen Selects game.

“Bringing together an innovative, gamification-styled product to a brand with such an engaged audience is very exciting.”

*18+. T&Cs apply. Please play responsibly. Begambleaware.org.

Motherwell head to Kilmarnock on Saturday, in the final match before the Premiership split.

Here’s the key topics going into the fixture.

Every point matters

Saturday could be crucial for both teams in the fight against relegation danger.

As it stands, Kilmarnock are bottom of the table, a point behind Hamilton in the play-off spot and 10 behind Motherwell.

A victory for Graham Alexander’s side would put them 12 clear of Killie with 15 points left to play for, which would be a strong position to take into the split.

Defeat, however, narrows the gap to seven and depending on other results, could set up a nervous few weeks.

Contrasting fortunes

After a mid-February blip, Motherwell’s form has picked up again.

A battling point at St Mirren was followed by victory at Hibernian, before a 3-1 home win over Livingston to make it five wins in the last 10 matches.

Killie meanwhile have lost nine of their last 10, with the only respite coming in a 1-1 home draw with Dundee United in late February.

Head to head

Motherwell have had success in recent trips to Ayrshire.

The last two encounters away have ended in 1-0 victories. Allan Campbell netted in the win in February this season, with Jake Carroll’s free-kick sealing the same scoreline in December 2019.

Prior to that, a 0-0 draw makes it three matches undefeated for the Steelmen away.

Kilmarnock v Motherwell on Saturday is available to stream live, wherever you are in the world.

If you’re in the UK or Republic of Ireland, a live stream of the game is available to buy on a pay-per-view basis for £12.50 direct from Kilmarnock.

International-based supporters can watch via their usual subscription at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

Kick-off at Rugby Park on Saturday is at 3pm.

Declan Gallagher and Stephen O’Donnell have been selected by Scotland for their forthcoming FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.

The pair, an integral part of the squad who qualified for this summer’s EURO 2020 tournament, are in Steve Clarke’s selection for matches with Austria, Israel and the Faroe Islands.

Scotland start their campaign at home to Austria on Thursday, 25 March, before travelling to Tel-Aviv three days later.

Hampden then hosts the final of the triple-header against the Faroes on 31 March.