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[tab:Match report]

Phil McGhee at Fir Park

A goal in each half gave ‘Well a narrow win over Celtic, exactly two years after their last win over the Parkhead side.

James McFadden made his first start, wide left in place of Stuart Carswell and Stevie Hammell return in place of the injured Zaine Francis-Angol – the only changes to the side which was comprehensively beaten by Ross County on Saturday.

And from the kick-off there was a sense of Stuart McCall’s men looking to atone for that performance at Dingwall, setting about Celtic with a mixture of determination and purpose, which they maintained for the entire ninety minutes.

The first chance came ‘Well’s way after five minutes when Nicky Law’s 30-yard free kick curled the ball a few yards wide of Fraser Forster’s post.

The home side continued to search for the opening goal and after Stevie Hammell’s free kick bounced out of a packed penalty box Simon Ramsden slashed his volley off target.

Foster was forced into his first save after 16 minutes easily smothering Keith Lasley’s 20-yard trundler.

Although Celtic responded when Kris Commons fired a free kick wide of Darren Randolph’s goal, it was not unexpected when ‘Well grabbed the lead in the 31^st minute.

Lasley sent Law into the box, and after turning Victor Wanyama a couple of times he screwed his shot across the face of the goal. Chris Humphrey nipped in on the blind side of Emilio Izaguirre to squeeze the ball inside the post to stun the league leaders.

Celtic appeared a bit rattled and few tasty challenges from both sets of players before half-time gave the game a competitive cup tie look and set the scene for the second half.

The action was mostly confined to the middle of the park and it took Celtic until 57 minutes to force the first save from Randolph, the ‘Well keeper getting down to hold a drive from Commons.

Five minutes later the Parkhead side snatched the equaliser. James Forrest wide on the right touchline somehow found space for a delivery and as Randolph waited to collect his cross, Georgios Samaras ghosted in front of him to nod the ball into the net.

After an very impressive and influential 70 minutes, McFadden was replaced by Carswell and Celtic brought on their leading scorer Gary Hooper.

However, it was ‘Well’s hit man Michael Higdon who found the net after 73 minutes. Law was again the provider, this time turning Efe Ambrose before floating a delightful ball to the back of the six-yard box leaving Higdon to confidently volley high into the net for his 19^th goal of the season.

As Motherwell looked for a third goal to seal the points Randolph was finally called into some sustained action.

A great block with his legs denied Joe Ledley from a couple of yards before the Fir Park keeper comfortably dealt with a Commons’ header and a swerving drive from Forrest.

Not unexpectedly Celtic put the home defence under some pressure in the closing but every ‘Well player stood firm to comfortably hold on for a deserved win.

Apart from hoisting ‘Well back up to second place the performance was the perfect tonic after two defeats and ahead of the trip to Tynecastle on Saturday.

[tab:As it happened]

Alastair Reilly at Fir Park

An unbelievable victory for the Steelmen!!!!

IT’S FULL TIME!!!! Motherwell 2 – 1 Celtic

91mins: Matthews launching in long-throws but the ‘Well defence hold strong!

3 minutes added on!

89mins: Motherwell sub: McHugh on for Higdon

Randolph wins a free-kick after a foul from Wanyama

87mins: Free-kick to Celtic….Dangerous postition out wide.

84mins: Forrest shoots straight at Randolph from 18 yards. Into the final 5 minutes!

83mins: Bit of a scare there as Commons heads Forrest’s cross goalwards. Straight at Randolph, thankfully

79mins: Motherwell sub: Ojamaa off for Higginbotham

78mins: Great save from Randolph at the feet of Ledley!!!

74mins: Celtic look to reply quickly but Matthew’s cross is over everyone in the box and out for a goal kick.

72mins: Law with a beautiful cross to the back post where the big man sent it home with a sweet volley! 2-1

HIGDON MAKES IT 2-1!!!!!

GOAALLLLLLLL

Celtic sub: Stokes off for Hooper.

70mins: Motherwell sub, McFadden off for Carswell

64mins: Wanyama booked for hacking down McFadden

62mins: GOAL – Samaras levels for Celtic. Heads home Forrest’s cross in front of Randolph 1-1

61mins: Celtic sub, Ambrose on for Kayal

Wanyama heads clear and Celtic break. Randolph does fantastically well to put Commons off and concede a corner.

58mins: Trickery from McFadden wins yet another corner.

57mins: Comfortable save for Randolph from Commons’ shot on the edge of the box.

56mins: Wanyama slides in to clear Law’s cross after Faddy slips him in inside the box.

55mins: Ledley volleys over from 18 yards.

54mins: Celtic Sub – Ledley on for Rogic

Law swings it in and Celtic clear

52min: Humphrey wins another corner for ‘Well off Matthews.

Commons delivers…..Higdon powers clear.

50mins: Corner to Celtic this time.

Faddy delivers to Hutchinson who can’t quite get a firm connection with his head. Wanyama clears.

47mins: McFadden wins ‘Well a corner.

Second half underway! #COYW

HT: Motherwell 1 – 0 Celtic

41mins: Good attacking plays from ‘Well breaks down when Humphrey slices his cross over the bar.

33mins: Commons blasts well over from distance. No threat to Randolph.

31mins: Law jinks inside and out and his shot is diverted into the net by Humphrey at the back post. 1-0!!!

HUMPPPPHREYYYYY!!!!!

GOAALLLLLL!!!!!

28mins: Good pressing allows McFadden to rob Matthews of the ball and slide in Lasley. The captain’s first touch allows Celtic to clear.

27mins: Nearly an OG from Hutchinson. He went to sweep Forrest’s cross clear but ended up almost diverting past Randolph!

17mins: Dangerous free-kick for Celtic. Commons drives it but it’s always flying wide of the post.

16mins: Space opens up for Lasley to get s shot off . It’s 25 yards out and is the sting is deflected out it allowing Forster to gather

12mins: Rogic tries his luck on his left foot from 25 yards. High and wide.

11mins: Bit of last-ditch defending from Cummins, swiping the ball clear from the feet of Commons.

9mins: Forrest finds Stokes at the back post with his cross but the striker gets it all wrong and shoots at fresh air.

Higdon nods the free-kick down to Ramsden who volleys wide and over

7mins: McFadden fouled just inside the Celtic half. Chance to fire a ball in.

5mins: Commons tries to slide in Stokes with a free-kick but the striker is flagged offside.

Law curls it but it’s just wide. On reflection, a little far out to test Forster

4mins: Rogic brings down Lasley in a dangerous shooting position!

3mins: Decent start from Motherwell. Had some nice forward possession but hasn’t came to anything as yet.

Celtic get us underway. #COYW

Here come the teams! Come on Motherwell!

[tab:Reaction]

Motherwell manager Stuart McCall:

“We play Law and Las (Keith Lasley) in there and they both want to get forward and sometimes it leaves us a little bit open. It was a really attacking side with two up front and Faddy and Humph wide.

“But I thought at the back Shaun Hutchinson and young Adam Cummins were outstanding and Lawsy did what I know he is capable of; he has got that little bit of magic.

“I thought McFadden showed his hunger and desire and it rubbed off on everybody throughout the side. It’s a fantastic result and fantastic performance.

“All we asked for before the game was enthusiasm, desire, work-rate and really have a go, and then when you get in the final third hopefully we’ve got that bit of magic and take some chances.”

Celtic manager Neil Lennon:

“I’m raging. I made changes with games in mind but still put a strong team out.

“People keep coming to me looking to play – they got the opportunity and didn’t play.

“It seems to me if I leave Hooper out the team then we suffer. We were very, very poor going forward in the first half.

“We got a good goal to equalise, we drop a clanger, then we bring Hooper on and made more chances in the final 15 minutes when he is on than we did in the whole game.

“I’m pretty angry with some of the performances.”

[tab:Man-of-the-match]

[poll id=”139″]

‘Well boss Stuart McCall is demanding a reaction from his side after two below-par performances.

After a super showing against Inverness ten days ago, the Steelmen have slipped up against Dundee Utd and Ross County, throwing the race for second place wide open.

Motherwell now face the most difficult test the SPL has to offer with the visit of Champions Celtic tomorrow night.

Exactly two years ago to the day, Motherwell beat the Parkhead club 2-0 at Fir Park and McCall hopes his men can summon the spirit and performance of that day to record another victory against Neil Lennon’s run-away league leaders.

[pullquote]It’s like any time we play the Old Firm; we’ll have to be at our best and I’m confident that if we are, we can get a positive result[/pullquote]

Reflecting on Saturday’s defeat at the Global Energy Stadium, the former Scotland midfielder told the gathered press at Motherwell’s pre-match news conference: “I can’t remember the last time we were as limp as that and, having watched the game back, it definitely wasn’t acceptable.

“It’s not often we get all the lads underperforming but that’s what happened on Saturday. That game is history now and we’ve got to make sure we don’t have any more of those performances.

“Last time we beat Celtic the park wasn’t the best and that played a part in it. We got a goal early on after Charlie Mulgrew made an uncharacteristic mistake and then we got a penalty that might have been 50/50.

“We had a strong performance that day and we’ll need the same again.

“Since then we’ve ran them close a few times with a few one-nils at Celtic Park, but we’ve not quite been good enough to get anything.

“It’s like any time we play the Old Firm; we’ll have to be at our best and I’m confident that if we are, we can get a positive result.”

-WATCH THE FULL PRESS CONFERENCE ON MFC TV-

Steelmen skipper Keith Lasley hopes the ‘Well squad can get the Ross County disappointment out their system when Celtic visit Fir Park tomorrow.

The veteran midfielder made his 300^th start in Claret and Amber in the Highlands last weekend, but it won’t be a milestone that will live long in the memory for the former Plymouth and Blackpool man.

‘Well lost 3-0 and were very much off colour against a battling and determined County side.

Now Lasley wants to hit back in the best possible fashion, by taking the scalp of the SPL’s lead-leaders.

[pullquote]We know if we perform the way we know we can, we’ll give ourselves a good shot of winning the game but we also know is that we’ve got to be miles better than we were on Saturday.[/pullquote]

“It’s good we’ve got a chance to get back out and playing again so soon after the Ross County game,” he said.

“After any defeat you want to get out there as soon as you can and tomorrow night gives us that chance, albeit a very difficult one at that but we have to back ourselves at home.

“We know if we perform the way we know we can, we’ll give ourselves a good shot of winning the game but we also know is that we’ve got to be miles better than we were on Saturday.

“More often than not the best and biggest squad will prevail but certainly, on a one off basis, from numbers one to eleven we’ve got to perform to our best and in the past that’s when I’ve had some joy against Celtic.

“That’s what we’ve got to look to do and there is certainly no fear factor there, it’s just a hunger to try and bounce back from Saturday.”

-WATCH THE FULL PRESS CONFERENCE ON MFC TV-

Motherwell FC is delighted to announce that the Steelmen Matchday Magazine has been awarded the ‘Most Improved’ prize in the 2012-13 Programme Monthly Awards.

It is the second successive year that the magazine has won the award and the programme team are also celebrating after finishing close runner-up to Aberdeen in the overall award, as well as a second place in the best design category.

“It’s a great reward for all the contributors to the programme,” said editor Andy Ross.

“We have worked hard to make this season’s programme our strongest yet and I think the award reflects that.

“Our designers at Blue Chilli and publisher Curtis Sport have been fantastic in their support and enthusiasm – hopefully we can continue to flourish in the remainder of the season.”

Press & Media Manager Alan Burrows added, “I am very proud of everyone involved in the Matchday Magazine and I would like to record my personal thanks to everyone who contributes and gives of their time to make things happen issue to issue.

“We have the ultimate aim to be the best in the SPL and with the second successive most improved award, we are certainly heading in the right direction.

“The content and design of the magazine is superb and we hope our readers enjoy the publication.”

The MFC Community Trust is pleased to announce a re-launch of the successful Soccer Centres programme.

Motherwell Soccer Centres have been operating since the 1990’s and during that time, thousands of boys and girls from all around Lanarkshire and beyond have developed their skills in a fun and safe environment, through our community coaching programmes.

The courses are based on the same principles used on the training ground by our first team players such as Chris Humphrey, and Tom Hateley; developing the young players technical skills and passion for the game to ensure they become the best players they possibly can at a level they are comfortable with.

Our soccer school courses welcome children of all abilities and it doesn’t matter which team they support, we just want everyone to have fun whilst learning to play football the Motherwell way.

All players on our courses will have the chance to learn the techniques of the game: dribbling, passing, turning, finishing, defending, and we have goalkeeping courses too.

All coaching is delivered by experienced Motherwell Soccer School coaches accredited by the Scottish Football Association. For more information, including a breakdown of courses and online booking, CLICK HERE.

The Under 20s have kick-started their Community Sports Leader Award (CSLA) course with MFC Community Trust’s Programme Development Manager, Graeme McArthur.

Graeme will take the boys through the course, which aims to give our rising stars an understanding of what it means to be an effective leader, and to teach them about the skills and abilities, which are required to lead others successfully.

The Under 20s will work within the MFC Community Trust Soccer Centres and Community Teams to give them an opportunity to develop their coaching skills and to experience what it is like to work within a Community Trust.

It also allows the footballers to use this nationally recognised qualification as a stepping-stone to further education or further employment later in their career.

Graeme explained “It’s not only a great opportunity from the Under 20s but also for the younger children who attend our Soccer Schools.

“I remember being one of the first kids to attend the Saturday Morning Club at Fir Park and the under 20s came along to take a session. A few years later one of the players which took my session was playing in the first team and it’s stuck with me to this day!”

For more information on the projects carried out by Motherwell Football Club Community Trust visit: www.mfccommunitytrust.org.uk or to book your child on to the Soccer Centres call 01698 239 926.

Motherwell FC would like to acknowledge and thank the many supporters who made the long trip to Dingwall on Saturday.

Colour and vibrancy has become synonymous with our travelling support and it is very much appreciated, particularly by the management staff and players.

Unfortunately however, there were several incidents both before and during the match that has caused difficulty and embarrassment for the club, including five separate smoke canisters.

These incidents were acknowledged by the match commander and will be included in the SPL delegate’s report.

We recognise that it was only a very small minority of our support and that our fans normally enjoy away trips without incident. Events on Saturday however fall way below the usual impeccable standards.

Smoke canisters, fireworks and pyrotechnics are absolutely forbidden from Scottish Football grounds and are frowned upon by Motherwell Football Club and the authorities.

We would ask our fans to refrain from using anything of this nature.

Hospitality bookings are now being taken for the match against Celtic at Fir Park on 27th February.

Matchday host Stevie Kirk will meet and greet you at the door before showing you to your table.

Expect a visit from first-team players and of course our matchday snapper will be on hand to take your photographs as a lasting memory of your day.

Catch some of Stevie’s pre-match banter and hear any team news first. Don’t forget to visit our other resident legend, Dougie Arnott, at the bar.

Our Centenary ‘Claret’ Package starts from £60 per person. For more information or to book your place, contact us now on 01698 338062

Season Ticket Upgrades…

Upgrade your season ticket for just £25 to include a fabulous pre-match meal in our Centenary Suite before taking your own seat in the stand to watch the match.

Upgrades are available to all season ticket holders so book early to avoid disappointment.

* Please note dress code is smart casual; no jeans or trainers.

Extended highlights from the Global Energy Stadium as Motherwell sink to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of on-form Ross County

-WATCH EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS FROM FIR PARK ON MFC TV-

Stuart McCall was left angered as a below-par Motherwell crashed to a poor 3-0 defeat at the hands of Ross County this afternoon.

The Steelmen never really good going and were out-fought by the Highlanders, who controlled the majority of the match and could have added more goals to their tally.

The Fir Park boss admitted he had a few choice words for his troops and awarded none of them pass marks in what was a miserable showing.

[pullquote]Throughout the team, there is not one player who gets pass marks in what was a really, really poor performance.[/pullquote]

He told MFC TV after the match: “I’m hugely disappointed with the lack of anything both in an attacking and a defending sense, and I’ve made those feelings clear to the players.

“We’ve not put in a performance as limp as that for a long, long time and that is hurtful.

“Ross County did all the dirty things better than us, winning all the second balls and putting their head in.

“Throughout the team, there is not one player who gets pass marks in what was a really, really poor performance.

“I’m annoyed at the lack of desire although thankfully performances like that are few and far between.”

-WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ON MFC TV-