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Kevin van Veen’s clinically-taken double gave Motherwell the win at Aberdeen.

The Dutch striker’s two goals early in the second half did the damage to ensure the Steelmen ended their barren run with all three points taken.

Graham Alexander changed three men from the side which lost last time out to Rangers.

The suspended Stephen O’Donnell was replaced on the teamsheet by Juhani Ojala, with the Finn coming in at centre back and Bevis Mugabi switching to right back.

Callum Slattery and Connor Shields dropped to the bench, with Maguire and Van Veen their respective replacements.

Motherwell came north looking for a reaction to that loss but they found themselves under siege from the off at Pittodrie.

Solholm had to react quick to deny Watkins a free shot at goal from 10 yards early on, before Kelly was called into action soon after with a fingertip touch to turn away Ramirez’s goalbound header.

Motherwell settled but the Aberdeen attacks continued to come in waves.

Kelly just about got to a one-on-one with Watkins to clear, shortly before Ferguson slalomed his way through the ‘Well defence to only fire over from the right side of the area.

Hedges also saw a header from the corner flicked off the line by the head of Ojala, as Motherwell struggled to create any chances of their own in a challenging first half.

Motherwell though have proven time and again they are clinical when the chances do arrive and that proved to be the case just five minutes into the second half.

After a period in possession in attack, Goss swung a pinpoint cross to the near post where Van Veen found himself completely unmarked.

He still had work to do, but picked his spot perfectly to steer the ball across the face of goal and into the bottom-right corner of the net.

Motherwell were invigorated and were two ahead 10 minutes later.

A free-kick from the left was met at the back post by Lamie – on as a sub for the injured Ojala.

His header back across goal found Van Veen perfectly on the penalty spot, and he showed all the composure in the world to half-volley the ball into the net.

Motherwell switched to five at the back soon after and, against a wave of Aberdeen attacks, stood firm brilliantly.

They did have Kelly to thank again, with an unbelievable double save from Ramirez’s header keeping the Dons at bay.

Motherwell take on Aberdeen next in the final game of the first round of fixtures in SWPL1.

Kick-off on Sunday 7 November at Alliance Park is at 4pm.

Tickets will cost £5 for adults, while children go free.

Tale of the tape

Motherwell and Aberdeen faced off in the group stages of the SWPL Cup in August, with the Dons coming away with all three points in a tightly contested 1-0 victory.

The last league meeting came in 2018 in SWPL2, where Motherwell won comfortably 4-0.

Aberdeen’s victory in August was their first victory against the women of steel in the last four encounters.

Form guide

Motherwell and Aberdeen are both locked on seven points after eight games, with an identical match record of two wins, one draw and five losses in SWPL1.

Aberdeen currently occupy sixth in the table due to a superior goal difference.

Motherwell returned to action after the international break with a 5-0 defeat against title-chasing Rangers on Wednesday night.

Prior to that, Motherwell claimed seven points in nine in the league.

Aberdeen also played on Wednesday night, where they fell to a 5-0 defeat to Glasgow City. Three days earlier, they lost 2-0 to Hibernian.

Motherwell showed fighting spirit but would ultimately suffer defeat to Rangers in a tough SWPL1 encounter on Wednesday.

Brianna Westrup fired the hosts in front midway through the first half at the Rangers Training Centre, before Rachel McLaughlin added a second on the stroke of half-time with a clinical finish.

Zoe Ness prodded home a third from close range minutes later to give the hosts a comfortable advantage at half-time. Then, in the second half, Kayla McCoy added a fourth, before Lizzie Arnot struck late on to seal a 5-0 defeat for Motherwell.

The hosts came close to the opener early on with Khym Ramsay performing heroics in the Motherwell goal.

Nicola Docherty’s floated corner fell kindly to Kirsten Reilly at the edge of the box, who set herself before drilling her effort across the face of goal. But Ramsay reacted quickly to parry her strike wide of the post.

Rangers would break the deadlock after 22 minutes. Docherty’s deep cross found Westrup unmarked in the box, and the defender’s perfectly timed volley sailed over the head of Ramsay into the back of the net.

The hosts doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time. Chelsea Cornet’s incisive pass sliced through the Motherwell defence leaving McLaughlin in space, and the forward maintained her composure to coolly slot her strike past Ramsay into the bottom right corner.

Rangers continued to threaten the Motherwell goal and added a third in quick succession. The visitors failed to clear McLaughlin’s floated delivery and Ness calmly placed her strike past Ramsay into the bottom corner from a few yards out.

With the women of steel chasing the game in the second half, Paul Brownlie’s side thought they should’ve been awarded a penalty after Carla Boyce’s effort appeared to strike the hand of Demi Vance.

However, the referee looked disinterested and waved play on despite the adamant pleas of the Motherwell players.

The hosts continued to press and added a fourth in the dying stages of the game.

Rangers skilfully broke through the Motherwell backline with a quick counter attack, and Cornet’s low-driven effort was unfortunately deflected past Ramsay into the bottom corner by the outstretching McCoy.

Rangers sealed all three points in the final minute with a fifth goal. Brogan Hay’s perfectly weighted through ball left Arnot one-on-one with the keeper, and the striker calmly placed her strike nto the bottom right corner to settle the tie.

Despite the scoreline, Motherwell will have plenty of positives to take into this weekend’s encounter with Aberdeen at Alliance Park after a spirited display.

Motherwell have signed striker Carla Boyce.

The 22-year-old, who can play across the front three, joins up after departing Hibernian last month, having netted six goals in 26 appearances for the Hibees.

“Carla is another big signing to further aid the development of this team,” head coach Paul Brownlie said.

“She was one of our main targets when I first arrived at Motherwell during the summer. She will add even more quality to a squad that’s really growing in confidence.

“Carla will add goals to this team, I’m excited to see what she can add to this team.”

Coming through the ranks at Glasgow City, and playing for Rangers and Hibernian, Boyce has established herself as a regular goalscorer and will look to add to her tally this season.

“I’m delighted to sign for Motherwell,” she added.

“I think the club is making great progress, which has been clear to see this season.”

Boyce will wear the number nine shirt for the rest of the season.

Motherwell return to action after two weeks off when they face title-chasing Rangers.

Kick-off at the Rangers Training Ground on Wednesday 3 November is at 8pm.

Tale of the tape

Rangers have won their last six matches with Motherwell.

Last time out, Rangers came away with a 5-0 victory in the group stages of the SWPL Cup.

Motherwell last took something from this fixture in April 2019, when they fought back from 3-0 down to take a point.

Form Guide

Rangers come into this game after exiting the SWPL Cup to rivals Celtic, falling to a 1-0 defeat.

The Gers are unbeaten thus far in SWPL1, having only dropped points against champions Glasgow City.

Motherwell are undefeated in their last three league games, keeping three clean sheets, and have collected seven points out of a possible nine in that time.

Motherwell have signed attacking midfielder Katie Rice.

Rice, who was most recently at Hibernian, left the Edinburgh side last month and is looking forward to being back in the claret and amber for the second time.

“I am extremely happy to be back at Motherwell,” Rice said.

“I love the direction the club is going in and I think it is really exciting to know I will be a part of it. I feel like I am back home.”

Katie Rice will wear the number 20 shirt this season.

“I’m delighted we have managed to get Katie on board,” head coach Paul Brownlie added.

“She adds to our attacking threat on the pitch and I’m really looking forward to seeing what she can produce.”

Rice left the ’Well in January after featuring for the club for two seasons, but has now completed her return.

Nicole Cairney has left Motherwell.

The winger returned to the club for her second stint this summer, joining from Hamilton Academical.

Having made nine appearances this season, her contract has now been cancelled by mutual consent.

We wish Nicole well for the future.

Our fixture against Rangers, due to take place on Sunday 24 October, will now take place on Wednesday 3 November.

The game has been moved due to a number of international call ups within the Rangers squad.

A kick off time and ticket information for the game at Rangers Training Centre will be communicated in due course.

Motherwell cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Hearts at Alliance Park on Sunday.

Leanne Crichton’s opener from the penalty spot and Kaela McDonald-Nguah’s second-half header sealed all three points for ‘the Well.

Motherwell applied the early pressure and were unfortunate not to open the scoring in the early stages.

Gill Inglis skilfully danced her way past several Hearts challenges before unleashing her long-range effort on goal, but Hearts goalkeeper Parker-Smith responded quickly to produce a smart save.

Minutes later, Crichton would come close to the opener following some excellent link-up play.

Lori Gardner’s clever backheel left Crichton free to release her strike at the edge of the box, but the experienced midfielder’s curling effort was superbly tipped over the bar by the keeper.

The visitors would come close to breaking the deadlock on the stroke of half-time. Maria Mcaneny’s in-swinging cross was knocked on by Amelia Birse, but Khym Ramsay reacted quickly to parry away the close-range attempt.

Hearts would again come close in the opening stages of the second half. An exceptional piece of skill from Mcaneny left her free on the left, before cutting inside and placing her effort into the top corner, but Ramsay again reacted quickly to make a comfortable save.

The women of steel would then take the lead from the penalty spot on the hour mark after Crichton was caught with a high challenge in the box. The midfielder stepped up and coolly slotted her strike into the bottom-right corner.

Motherwell would add a second in the latter stages of the game. Crichton’s floated corner was superbly met by McDonald-Nguah, who powered her headed effort past the keeper into the top-right corner.

The win pushes Motherwell up into sixth in the league table, five points shy of fourth-placed Hibernian.

The team will be full of confidence as they travel to face Rangers next week, with three clean sheets and three games unbeaten on the bounce.

Motherwell face off against Hearts next in SWPL1 on Sunday 17 October at Alliance Park.

Kick-off is 4pm.

Come and watch

Tickets for Sunday’s match between Motherwell and Hearts are available for supporters.

Adult entry to the stadium will cost £5. Children will get in for free. All spectators will be housed in our covered seating area.

There are no tickets sold online and will be pay at the gate only.

Tale of the tape

Motherwell are unbeaten in their last six games against the Jambos, winning five and drawing one, with Hearts last beating Motherwell in October 2017.

Motherwell came away with all three points in each of the fixtures against Hearts last season.

Last time out, Motherwell won 1-0 in the capital thanks to a Jade Gallon penalty.

Form guide

Motherwell come into this game off the back of keeping two clean sheets in their last two fixtures.

A 0-0 against Spartans in Edinburgh in their last game, despite going down to 10 players and a comfortable 3-0 victory in the Lanarkshire derby the week prior will give the women of steel ample confidence going into the game against Hearts.

Hearts were beaten 2-0 against champions Glasgow City in their last fixture, but picked up their first points of the league season against Aberdeen the week prior, staging a comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2.