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[tab:Match report]

 Gavin McCafferty Fir Park

A late, late Ross County leveller denied Motherwell all three points at Fir Park this afternoon.

Two goals in six second-half minutes from John Sutton and Henrik Ojamaa cancelled out Tony Dingwall’s first half opener as the Steelmen edged towards a five-point gap over the bottom side.

However, Dingwall fired home from 14 yards exactly three minutes into injury time to seal a 2-2 draw and deny Motherwell a hat-trick of positive news after the ownership and manager announcements in the last 24 hours.

The club had announced on Friday night that a deal in principle had been agreed for Lanarkshire-born businessman Les Hutchison to complete a takeover in the coming weeks in a partnership with the Well Society fans group.

The club also announced Ian Baraclough as the new manager, and he watched from the stand as Kenny Black brought his caretaker stint to an end. There was little between the sides in the first half, with neither able to find the creativity needed to translate possession into chances.

Sutton flashed an early header wide for the hosts following a good break and cross from Ojamaa and the striker had another decent effort when he turned and shot just inside the box, but Antonio Reguero comfortably saved.

County’s movement was slightly superior to Motherwell’s and the home defence, missing the injured Craig Reid, Fraser Kerr and Steven Hammell and suspended Simon Ramsden, were occasionally looking stretched.

And it was disorganisation at the back that saw them concede a goal on the stroke of half-time. Zaine Francis-Angol was drawn into the middle when opposing left-back Jamie Reckord floated a cross to the back post, leaving Dingwall free.

The winger fired a powerful strike that was well stopped by Dan Twardzik but he still had the time to control the rebound and fire a low shot into the far corner.

County could have put the game to bed in the opening stages of the second half as they continued to make space inside the Motherwell half. Jake Jervis and Graham Carey fired just wide from long range and Twardzik spilled a shot from distance from Dingwall, with Mark O’Brien perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty for a clumsy challenge on Jervis from the follow-up.

Paul Quinn then missed an open goal after Twardzik had parried a Jervis volley. County soon paid the price in the 53rd minute. Ojamaa got the ball out wide for Lionel Ainsworth – a half-time replacement for pre-match injury doubt Iain Vigurs – and the winger crossed over Reguero for Sutton to head home from close range.

Motherwell soon went ahead when Ojamaa raced on to Josh Law’s flick and fired a low shot into the corner from 18 yards.

Going ahead appeared to have a negative affect on the time though, and the team looked both tense and nervous. As they got deeper and deeper, it invited County onto them.

Twardzik and Stuart Carswell combined to stop County sub Michael Gardyne converting from close range following a corner, and the goalkeeper saved Jackson Irvine’s looping header as the visitors pressed.

That did leave gaps at the back and Ainsworth fired just wide after running from his own half.

Gardyne looked set to level in the 85th minute when a cross fell for him on the edge of the six-yard box but he hit the post and Motherwell looked to have survived the late pressure until Dingwall arrowed a first-time finish into the corner following a lay-off with the last kick of the ball.

It was a real sting in the tail for the Steelmen, but few who watched the game could argue the Dingwall club didn’t deserve a point from the match. A draw, on reflection, was probably just about right.

[tab:As it happened]

 Ally Reilly at Fir Park

FT: Motherwell 2 – 2 Ross County #MFCvRCFC

93mins: Goal! – Incredibly, Ross County equalise, Dingwall again. 2-2

91mins: Motherwell sub, Ojamaa makes way for Cadden #MFCvRCFC

90mins: There will be three minutes added on #MFCvRCFC

87mins: Motherwell sub: Erwin on for Law #MFCvRCFC

84mins: Gardyne hits the post! Arquin nods it down, he got a toe to it and beat Twardzik but sees it come back off the post #MFCvRCFC

81mins: Corner to County, bit of pingball before finding the head of Irvine whose looping header is clutched to safety by Twardzik #MFCvRCFC

71mins: Another ‘Well breakaway, this time Ojamaa combines with Ainsworth, the latter being inches away from his cross #MFCvRCFC

66mins: County corner creates a scramble in the box but thankfully it is swept away to safety by Sutton! #MFCvRCFC

65mins: Quick counter attack creates a decent chance for Ainsworth who drags his shot inches past the post #MFCvRCFC

63mins: Another County sub, Jervis off for Gardyne #MFCvRCFC

61mins: Ross County sub, Cardle on for Carey #MFCvRCFC

59mins: It’s 2-1! Ojamaa takes it on himself, drives forward and fires low past Reguero!!! COYW!

GGGOOOAALLL!

Sutton appeared to have picked up a head knock but is back on with the head bandage on.#MFCvRCFC

It’s 1-1! Ainsworth clips a lovely ball to the back post which SUTTON nods home with ease. Come on ‘Well!! #MFCvRCFC

GGGOOAALLL!!

50mins: Glaring chance for Quinn as he follows in a Jervis shot. Should burst the net but fires well over.#MFCvRCFC

49mins: County break away and with options either side, Dingwall opts to shoot. Bounces just in front of Twardzik who does eventually clears

And theres a half time sub, Ainsworth on for Vigurs #MFCvRCFC

Second half is underway #MFCvRCFC

HT: Motherwell 0 – 1 Ross County #MFCvRCFC

45mins: Goal – County take the lead through Dingwall who fires home at the second attempt. 0-1

43mins: Arquin dithers as he goes through one on one with McManus. Could haave shot but Mick holds him up well allowing O’Brien to clear

39mins: Fine defending from McManus, who slid in at the front post to clear from Jervis who had a good scoring opportunity. #MFCvRCFC

36mins: Irvine picks up a loose ball about 20 yards out but is always leaning back and hooks his shot well over #MFCvRCFC

31mins: Ojamaa wins a free-kick, wide on the left. Quinn heads clear but it comes back to Sutton who shoots on the turn. Reguero saves.

26mins: Scrappy ‘Well defending gifts a corner to County…which McManus heads away at the front post #MFCvRCFC

22mins: Ojamaa does superbly to win a corner. VIgurs’ delivery falls at Sutton’s feet but County sweep clear! #MFCvRCFC

19mins: First shot on target goes to County. Arquin sprints down the left and fires off a shot from 20 yards. Twardzik gathers quite easily

16mins: Decent chance for Woods as he darted forward and found some space on the right of the box but seemed to slip as he shot. Well wide

10mins: Up the other end, Twardzik does well to punch away Carey’s deep cross as it looked destined for the head of Irvine #MFCvRCFC

8mins: CHANCE! Ojamaa whips in a great ball from the left to Sutton whose diving header is just wide of the post. Unlucky! #MFCvRCFC

5mins: Even first five minutes. Neither side really having a sniff of goal as yet. #MFCvRCFC

Lasley and Law get the game underway. COYW! #MFCvRCFC

[tab:Reaction]

Motherwell caretaker manager Kenny Black:

Coming Soon…

Ross County manager Jim McIntyre:

Coming Soon…

[tab:Man-of-the-match]

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Motherwell FC is today delighted to confirm the appointment of Ian Baraclough as the club’s 23rd manager.

After a rigorous interview process, Baraclough was the outstanding candidate, with the Board hugely impressed by his vision and plans for both on and off the field.

The 44-year old enjoyed a 20-year playing career with the likes of Leicester City, Wigan Athletic and Queen’s Park Rangers, before finishing at Scunthorpe United in 2008.

When Nigel Adkins was appointed Irons manager in November 2006, Baraclough was made first-team coach, a role he later gave up playing to concentrate on.

When Adkins left for Southampton, Ian was made manager of the then Championship side, but in difficult circumstances, left six months later.

He then joined SSE Airtricity League side Sligo Rovers and led them to one of their most successful periods ever.

Despite taking over the day before the start of the campaign, The Bit o’ Red won the league for the first time in 34 years, pipping Drogheda United to the title and leading his side in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers.

In his second season, Sligo once again qualified for Europe, finishing third in the table, five points behind winners St Patrick’s. However, success came in the shape of the FAI Cup, which they won by beating Drogheda in the final.

His third and final season brought more success, this time completing the set by winning the all-Ireland Setanta Cup, beating Dundalk 1-0 in the Final, the first time the club had ever lifted that trophy.

After leaving Sligo, Baraclough has been doing extensive scouting for Huddersfield Town, a similar role to what he performed at Watford when he was between jobs previously, and brings a wealth of contacts to the role.

Speaking exclusively to motherwellfc.co.uk, Baraclough said: “I am delighted and find myself in a privileged position. I’ve done some research into the history of the club and I know how well the football club has done, certainly over recent years. It will be a hard task to take over from Stuart but one I’m very excited to take up.

“I’m a positive guy and I’m upbeat most of the time. The players will find that and I’ll try and get that across to them. I want this club to feel energised and start climbing the table as soon as possible.

“I want players to be comfortable on the ball and not give up possession easily. I want the players to be full of expression and play with a freedom, which they will enjoy. They have got to be hard working though. I demand hard work and honesty from players and I think most fans can relate to that. If they can see players putting in a shift, they can forgive mistakes. They will make mistakes but if they are trying the right things in the right areas then there will be no qualms from me and the coaching staff.

“Short term my aim is to keep this club in the Premiership. There is no easy way to go about that and it is a situation that hasn’t been at this football club in a few years but it doesn’t scare me. I feel as though there is more than enough to push us up the table in the short term then try and build for long term by producing players. I am big on development, so the young players will certainly have a pathway to the first team if they are good enough.

“I want to win trophies. Why not Motherwell Football Club? Why can’t we win the Premiership? You’ve got to go out with that thinking otherwise you won’t achieve anything. To have days out in the cup are great for fans,but they are important. It’s a way into Europe and I’ve been used to that and want more of it, as I’m sure the fans do too.

“I want to give the fans as much pride in their team and town as soon as possible. I’m not going to say we need to win these games but psychologically these next few games could be massive for the season and I’m very confident that we can get out the bottom three and start moving up to mid-table and then aim for as high as position as possible.”

Motherwell Football Club and the ‘Well Society can confirm that they have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mr Les Hutchison.

If the transaction set out in the MOU is concluded, Mr Hutchison will provide the club with working capital finance, alongside the ongoing funding support provided by the Society, which has just provided another loan totalling £100k to the club

This finance will take the form of an interest free loan, repayable over a maximum period of five years.

During that time the Society Board have committed to growing both membership numbers and funds in order to demonstrate that the supporter base is fully behind the concept of fan ownership.

Once Mr Hutchison’s loan has been repaid in full, it is anticipated the Society will become the owners of the club. Mr Hutchison will effectively act as facilitator for the transition of ownership of the club to supporters, provided there is clear evidence that more of our fan base is willing to support the initiative.

We have now entered a 30-day exclusivity period to enable financial and legal due diligence to be undertaken.

Mr Les Hutchison stated: “I look forward to working with the Society and the Club to help them achieve their objective of fan ownership and be financially sustainable within five years.”

Mr Brian McCafferty, acting Chairman of the Society, added: “We would like to sincerely thank Les for his generous loan to the club which has kept alive hopes of community ownership. We emphatically believe the partnership between Les and the society provides, by far, the best solution to both the club’s short-term financial needs and its long -term sustainability and success.”

The club can also confirm that it has formally interviewed six potential candidates for the vacant manager’s position and hopes to be able to make an announcement of an appointment shortly.

Goalkeeper Dan Twardzik is hoping his own good form will help the Steelmen take all three points tomorrow.

The young ‘Well stopper was praised last weekend after the game against Celtic for a string of sensational saves which kept Motherwell in the game.

This was on the back of a similar performance in the William Hill Scottish Cup where time after time the German was on hand to deny Dundee Utd.

However ‘Well ended up losing both games, something which Twardzik hopes will change tomorrow against fellow SPFL strugglers Ross County.

[pullquote]Collectively, as a group, we have not been good enough but we’ll be looking to change that on Saturday.[/pullquote]

Speaking to the broadcast press at ‘Well’s pre-match news conference, the 23-year old said: ” I did pretty well but we are still not picking up points, which is disappointing.

“Collectively, as a group, we have not been good enough but we’ll be looking to change that on Saturday.

“It doesn’t matter who the manager will be. If we pick up the three points tomorrow, we’ll be five points above them so that is a big incentive. That gives you a little bit of a cushion which can hopefully then build some confidence.

“We had a good win at Dingwall earlier in the season and on that day we did everything we had to do to win the game. We took our chances and that will need to be the same again tomorrow, especially at home for the fans and everybody around the club.”

Kenny Black says he and his players have their minds firmly on football ahead of a huge game against Ross County.

There has been an air of uncertainty about Fir Park since Stuart McCall left, leaving assistant manager Kenny Black in charge.

As the club  deal with ownership negotiations and search for a new manager, Black says it would be easy to take his eye off the ball but insists he and the team are fully concentrated on matters on the pitch.

“There has been a great deal of speculation since Stuart resigned, but I think more so this week because I believe we are getting to the final stages of negotiations for the ownership of the club and the final stages for the announcement of a new manager,” Black told the press at Motherwell’s pre-match press conference.

“From my point of view, from Tuesday of this week all of that takes a back seat because the preparation of the players is of up most importance for a difficult game tomorrow.

“We don’t want to look too far ahead but even after this game we have two big games coming up and that has been the main topic of conversation for the players and myself.

[pullquote]”I’m quite conscious about not wanting to know too much of what is happening off the pitch as in this game it is very easy to get side-tracked and take your eye off the ball. We really can’t afford to do that ahead to the ninety minutes we have ahead of us tomorrow. [/pullquote]

“Of course players watch TV and read newspapers, but I’ve tried to make sure the focus solely on football, which they have done and the have done ok.

“Despite losing an early goal against Celtic and them having a lot of chances, we still hung in there and possibly could have had an equaliser. That gives you a little bit of hope that they can transfer that and get Motherwell up the table as soon as possible.”

Willie Collum will take charge of Saturday’s Scottish Premiership meeting with Ross County at Fir Park.

Regarded as one of Scotland’s best and most recognisable officials, Willie will be handling his third ‘Well game of the new campaign.

The first was at Rugby Park in late August, the home side running out comfortable 2-0 winners. The game didn’t pass without controversy, with Stuart McCall left frustrated at a number of decisions involving Manual Pascali and a missed handball in the box.

The other match was the instantly forgettable 0-4 reverse against Hamilton Accies at Fir Park. When goals from Mickael Antoine-Curier, Tony Andreu and a double from Ali Crawford gave the Accies their biggest win at Fir Park in over 80 years,

He took charge of three during the 2013/14 season too.

His first was a 3-0 win over St Mirren back in December when Lionel Ainsworth and a Henri Anier double separated the sides.

The second was at Tynecastle a few weeks later, John Sutton scoring the game’s only goal.
The last was the 2-1 win over Inverness back in May with goals coming from Sutton and a Gary Warren OG.

Willie is no stranger to ‘Well fans having been a top-flight whistler for a number of years, taking charge of six Motherwell matches the previous term too.

The first was the 1-0 defeat to Hearts in October 2012 when Danny Grainger’s long-range effort separated the sides.

He also took charge of both William Hill Scottish Cup clashes with Aberdeen last December.
In the first meeting at Pittodrie, Niall McGinn headed home a late equaliser to cancel out Jamie Murphy’s opener 10 minutes from time.

There would be disappointment for the Steelmen in the replay as goals from Rory Fallon and Joe Shaughnessy helped the Dons progress to the next round.

Motherwell were handed a lifeline in injury-time when Michael Higdon netted from the penalty spot, however Craig Brown’s side held firm in the final minutes.

He was also the man in the middle for the narrow 3-2 win over St Johnstone in January; Michael Higdon’s hat-trick sealing a terrific three points and also the disappointing 3-0 defeat at Ross County shortly after.

He also handled the James McFadden-inspired 4-1 victory over Hibs in March and, finally, the 4-3 defeat to Inverness Caley in the Highlands in May.

His overall record in charge of the Steelmen reads eight wins, fourteen defeats and five draws from twenty-seven matches (in all competitions).

In those games, Motherwell have scored 37 and conceded 50.

58 players have gone into the book, 29 wearing Claret and Amber, while five players have been dismissed – Ian Murray of Hibs at Easter Road five years back, Jerard Aafjes at Falkirk four seasons ago, Paul Dixon at the end of 2009/10, Henrik Ojamaa in that game at Caley fifteen months ago and, most recently, Fraser Kerr down at Rugby Park.

Stuart Stevenson and Frank Conner will run the lines with Brian Colvin on fourth official duties. The referee observer is Donald McVicar and the SPFL Delegate is Tim Love.

‘Well fans group – the Motherwell Bois – have launched a collection initiative for this weekend’s game aimed to help local food banks.

Motherwell Football Club were formed in 1886 when the two main work teams, Glencairn and Alpha, merged to create a club which could represent the town at a higher footballing level.

For the past 128 years, the club has been at the heart of the local community.

Unfortunately, in recent years, unemployment has been on the rise within our community and recent studies show 1 in 4 children in the Motherwell and Wishaw area now live in poverty.

We believe that as supporters of Motherwell FC, we have a duty of care to support, not only the football team, but the local community in these times of financial hardship.

The need for a united community, which strives to work together, has never been greater.

For this reason we have decided to organise a food bank collection which will take place before this Saturdays match at Fir Park between Motherwell and Ross County.

All donations will go towards ‘Basics Food Bank’, which operates throughout North Lanarkshire.

The aim of Basics Food Bank is to reach out to those in crisis with the provision of a food parcel and toiletry items.

We understand that times are tough, particularly in the run up to Christmas, however we would like to encourage fellow ‘Well fans to give what they can.

Where to find us: Outside the Davie Cooper Stand / The Well Shop from 1:30pm up until kick off!

What to bring: Non perishable food! The following items are desirable: tinned custard, tinned fruit, tinned meat, tinned fish, super noodles, soup, beans, life long milk, pasta sauce, instant coffee, tea bags, biscuits and any basic toiletries.

Please note this list is advisory, not exhaustive!

Jonatan Johansson’s Under 20s are in action tonight when they take on Partick Thistle at Firhill.

The young Steelmen’s bounced back from 0-2 to draw 2-2 with Ross County and will be desperate to pick up three points in Glasgow tonight.

A win could take the Fir Parkers as high as eighth, depending on other results in the league.

Thistle sit four points behind on 13 and they themselves will be keen to bounce back after their 4-2 defeat away to Hibs last time out.

The match takes place tonight (Tuesday 9th December). Kick off is 6pm.

 Extended highlights from Fir Park as Motherwell slip to a 0-1 home defeat at the hands of Celtic.

Action pictures from this afternoon’s 0-1 SPFL Premiership defeat by Celtic at Fir Park.

Snaps courtesy of SNSPix.

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