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Motherwell’s youngsters are in action on Tuesday night as they take on East Stirlingshire in the Irn-Bru Cup.

Stephen Craigan will be able to field players aged up to 21 in this season’s competition, as they take on Lowland League opposition.

The match is being played at the Falkirk Stadium with a 7.45pm kick off. Admission is priced at £10 for adults and £5 for concessions.

All four Motherwell loanees made their first league appearances for their respective clubs at the weekend.

Midfielder Ross MacLean got amongst the goals as Morton drew 2-2 with Queen of the South at Cappielow.

The goal had a real Motherwell flavor to it as well, as the 21-year-old picked up a through pass from former ‘Well striker Bob McHugh and slotted past Alan Martin, another Fir Park alumni.

That put Ray McKinnon’s side 2-0 ahead, but Queens fought back in the second half to earn a share of the spoils.

Jake Hastie was again named in the starting team for Alloa as they faced the long trip north to take on Ross County in Dingwall.

Jim Goodwin’s side held tight for the majority of the match, but were stung late on when Davis Keilor-Dunn netted the winner in the dying moments.

Staying in the Championship, Shea Gordon was also named in the starting XI for Partick Thistle’s defeat to Ayr United at Somerset Park.

The Jags fell victim to the red-hot Lawrence Shankland, whose early brace ensure Ian McCall’s men got their league campaign off to the best possible start.

Neil McLaughlin got 82 minutes as Stirling Albion lost 1-0 to Berwick Rangers at Shielfield.

The youngster was unlucky not to get amongst the goals, a 37th minute effort coming back off the frame of the goal, only for Ross Brown’s second half effort to win it for the Borderers.

Image: Ross Cameron

Motherwell’s reserve side will open their season with a home match against Hearts in the SPFL Reserve League.

The game, which will be played at our ‘home’ ground of Forthbank Stadium in Stirling, will be played on Monday, 20 August. Kick off is at 2pm.

The newly formed SPFL Reserve League will see us play 17 fixtures across the 2018/19 season. Each team in the 18-club league will play each other once.

All games are currently scheduled to kick off at 2pm on Mondays. You can see our full fixture list for the campaign here.

Reserve League Cup

Also included in the match calendar for the 2018/19 campaign is the introduction of a Reserve League Cup.

Mirroring the format of the Betfred Cup, Motherwell will play in a five-team group with Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic, Morton and Queen of the South.

Our first game will be against Dundee at home on Monday, 10 September.

Irn-Bru Cup

The Motherwell ‘Colts’ side have been drawn to face East Stirlingshire in the first round of the Irn-Bru Cup. The match will take place at the Falkirk Stadium on 14/15 August.

Motherwell’s ‘Colts’ side will take on East Stirlingshire in the first round of the Irn-Bru Cup.

The young Steelmen had to wait for the outcome of a preliminary round match to learn their opponents, with the Shire beating BSC Glasgow on Sunday.

The Lowland League side will now play host at the Falkirk Stadium on Tuesday, 14 August. Kick off is at 7.45pm.

Motherwell’s loanees had a mixed weekend as they rounded up their Betfred Cup group stage campaigns with their respective clubs.

Shea Gordon played the 90 minutes as Partick Thistle missed out on top spot in a 2-0 home defeat to Ayr United.

Despite the loss, Hearts’ win over Inverness CT on Sunday meant the Jags progress and set up a home clash with Celtic in the knockout stage.

In the same group, Ross MacLean played 77 minutes as Greenock Morton routed Albion Rovers 5-0 at Cappielow.

Despite the result, the ‘Ton finished third in the group and exited the competition. They open their Ladbrokes Championship campaign against Queen of the South on Saturday, after a midweek friendly at home to Cardiff City.

Alloa Athletic missed out on top spot in their group as they lost 2-0 at home to Ross County, with Jake Hastie playing the full 90 minutes.

The Wasps had won two of their three games going into the fixture with the Staggies, taking a bonus point from the other. But defeat to their fellow Championship side saw them consigned to third spot.

Neil McLaughlin also got 90 minutes as Stirling Albion lost out 3-1 to group winners Dunfermline Athletic at East End Park.

Motherwell’s young on-loan talent continue to impress in the Betfred Cup, with Jake Hastie grabbing his first goals for Alloa Athletic in a 3-0 win at Elgin City.

Having already impressed with his direct style against Dundee United at the weekend, he scored the first and third in a victory that puts the Wasps top of their Betfred Cup group.

Shea Gordon was the only other loanee in action on Tuesday night, impressing again for Partick Thistle in a 2-0 win at Albion Rovers.

The result put the Jags level at the top of Group E with Ayr United, ahead of a showdown clash at Firhill on Saturday.

Ross MacLean and Neil McLaughlin, on loan at Morton and Stirling Albion respectively, were not in action as their sides both had their free fixture date.

Photo courtesy of David Glencross / Alloa Athletic FC

Motherwell will take part in the Reserve League in the 2018/19 season, with 18 teams making up the top division.

Stephen Craigan’s side will play each opponent once over the campaign, with the first match due to be played on Monday, 20 August.

There will be no upper age limit or restrictions on which players can take part in the league. Players loaned out by the club are eligible to return to play reserve football.

Games will generally take place on Monday afternoons. A full fixture list will be released shortly.

Motherwell will be joined by Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee, Dundee United, Dunfermline Athletic, Falkirk, Hamilton Academical, Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian, Kilmarnock, Morton, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South, Rangers, Ross County, St Johnstone and St Mirren.

A Reserve League Cup will be played to provide additional games during the season, with the format mirroring the Betfred Cup in that any drawn group games will proceed to penalties with an additional bonus point available. Further details on the cup competitions will be confirmed in due course.

Motherwell’s reserve side are in action on Monday night when they travel to face Musselburgh Athletic.

Stephen Craigan’s men will make the trip to the Olivebank Stadium for a 7pm kick off.

Reserve League fixtures will be announced shortly, while the team are also waiting to hear their opponents for the first round of this season’s Irn-Bru Cup.

The reserves will play the winners of the match between BSC Glasgow and East Stirlingshire, who face each other on July 29.

Motherwell’s loan players were again in Betfred Cup group stage action across the weekend.

Ross MacLean scored his first goal for Championship side Greenock Morton, as they ran out 2-0 winners at home to Stenhousemuir.

The midfielder netted the opening goal in the game at Cappielow with 33 minutes on the clock, giving manager Ray McKinnon a win in his first match at home.

Jake Hastie caused no end of problems for Dundee United as his Alloa Athletic drew at Tannadice, before going on to claim the bonus point in the penalty shootout.

The young forward won the penalty that gave the Wasps their equaliser in the 1-1 tie, with Frederic Frans knocking him off the ball in the box.

Neil McLaughlin played the full 90 minutes up front as Stirling Albion defeated Peterhead 2-0, while Shea Gordon‘s Partick Thistle had a free weekend and travel to Albion Rovers on Tuesday night.

Three Motherwell youngsters were in Betfred Cup action this weekend for their respective loan clubs.

Northern Ireland youth international Shea Gordon made a blistering start to his stint at Partick Thistle with a brace on his debut, helping the Jags to a 2-0 win over Stenhousemuir at Ochilview.

The 20-year-old opened the scoring after just two minutes, smashing home after some unselfish play by Blair Spittal.

He doubled his and Thistle’s total just four minutes later with a goal of some quality. The former Sheffield United man latched on to a long ball by Sean McGinty to send a lovely lob over the goalkeeper and into the net to complete the scoring.

Ross MacLean also made his first competitive appearance for Morton who went down 3-1 away to fellow Championship side Ayr United.

The ‘Ton took an early first-half lead through Michael Tidser and were ahead at the break, but lost three second half goals to a Ayr side that contained former ‘Well youngsters Craig Moore and David Ferguson amongst the squad.

Recent recruit Neil McLaughlin was also named amongst the starters for Stirling Albion as they took on Premiership side Dundee at Forthbank.

The striker played the full 90 minutes, but the Binos were unable to stop Neil McCann’s side from running out comfortable 4-0 winners.

Jake Hastie’s Alloa Athletic kick off their Betfred Cup campaign on Tuesday night when Arbroath visit the Indodrill Stadium.