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“The young players have been well schooled, there are a lot of aspects that aren’t broken.

“I could see straight away that there are good habits here.”

Motherwell were on the road for the third time in seven days as they travelled down the M8 to the capital to take on Hibernian in the cinch Premiership at Easter Road. 

In a frantic first half, neither team could stamp their authority on the game. 

At the start of the second period, Motherwell shouts for a penalty were waved away by Grant Irvine after Connor Shields went down in the area. 

It would be Shields who would be involved in the biggest turning point in the match, after failing to clear the ball, Ryan Porteous raced through on goal but Shields pulled the defender to the ground and was shown a red card. 

Porteous would get on the end of Boyle’s deflected cross to net the opener and subsequently, the winner. 

With ten men on the park, Motherwell continued to create half chances but couldn’t find the equaliser and went back to North Lanarkshire empty handed despite a hearty showing from Steven Hammell’s men. 

The third inductee in the 2022 Hall of Fame is prolific striker from the nineties, Tommy Coyne.

Tommy started out at Hillwood Boys Club before Jack Steedman signed him for the then First Division side Clydebank in 1981/82. This was of course the year that Davie Hay’s all conquering Motherwell team blew the competition away as the Steelmen roared back to the top-flight.

Tommy enjoyed a prolific time at Kilbowie, netting 38 times in 80 league appearances for the Bankies. That prompted Jim McLean to pay £60,000 to take him to Dundee United in 1983. Tommy was unable to reproduce his form at Tannadice, and midway through the 1986/87 season he was transferred to city rivals Dundee for £75,000.

He was back to his scoring best, forming an effective partnership with Keith Wright, earning himself the nickname “The Cobra”, due to his lightning-quick reactions and reflexes.

In the 1987/88 season, Coyne was top scorer in the Premier Division as he scored 33 goals in 43 matches, a total which earned him third place in the European Golden Boot contest. That form, a total of 50 goals in 89 league games, earned him a £500,000 move to Celtic.

Tommy had mixed fortunes during his spell at Parkhead and after little over 100 appearances for the Hoops, he was off to English side Tranmere Rovers. His brief time on Merseyside coincided with Tommy’s darkest hour when his wife passed away in tragic and truly heart-breaking circumstances.

With Tommy and his three young sons needing family around them, Coyne looked for a move home. After taking some advice from his big brother Jim, Tommy McLean offered terms and Tommy arrived at Fir Park in November 1993 for a cool £125,000.

Coyne hit the ground running in claret and amber, striking an impressive and fruitful partnership with Dougie Arnott, which helped the team finish third in the Premier Division table, the club’s best league performance in over 35-years.

It was not only Motherwell who had benefited from Coyne’s contribution to the season. Republic of Ireland Manager Jack Charlton had also taken a shine to the blonde-haired hitman. Tommy had played himself into the starting line-up of Ireland’s 1994 World Cup campaign in the United States. His appearance in the Republic’s 1-0 win over Italy in New York made him the first ever Motherwell player to feature in a World Cup finals tournament.

He arrived back at Fir Park after the World Cup to work with a new manager, Alex McLeish, who had taken over from the legendary McLean. McLeish didn’t alter things initially, pretty much leaving the squad the McLean had left alone. The change in management didn’t seem to hamper Coyne as he continued his rich vein of form, including netting for the Steelmen in European competition against HB of the Faroe Islands and a superb showing against Borussia Dortmund in the Westfalenstadion. His goals, in an impressive team, earned him the Premier Division’s top scorer award for a third time and helped Motherwell finish league runners-up to Rangers, albeit some distance behind the Ibrox club in terms of points.

The next few years would be a struggle for the Steelmen, with many of the players who formed the spine of that successful team under McLean and McLeish leaving for pastures new.

However, Coyne remained a goal threat throughout and provided many happy memories through generally unforgettable seasons. Whether it was Owen Coyle, Dougie Arnott, Willie Falconer or Micky Weir as his strike partner, Coyne could always be relied upon to find the net on a regular basis.

When ‘Well appointed Harri Kampman in early 1998, it soon brought about the end of Tommy’s time at Fir Park, as he moved back to Dundee after five years, 156 games and 61 goals. He also had brief spells on loan at Falkirk, back to Clydebank before finishing with Albion Rovers.

Tommy had a great ability to hold the ball up and play clever passes to retain possession. He was a number nine who perhaps lacked a yard of pace but was excellent in the air and could protect the ball with ease.

Coyne was never just a goal scorer, he was much more than that, being blessed with a football intelligence rarely seen below the top echelons of the game. Five years isn’t a huge amount of time to etch your name at any club, but for fans of a certain vintage, the Cobra is a hero and a legend at Motherwell Football Club.

Our highly-anticipated Hall of Fame dinner will welcome its fourth batch of inductees this November.

The event, launched in 2019, has already paid special tribute to the legendary names of the club’s long and distinguished history.

For the first time, the dinner will take place at Dalziel Park Hotel on Friday 18 November, with host Tam Cowan inducted five new names, with Tommy joining the already-announced Keith Lasley and Willie MacFadyen.

The event is priced at £64 for adults and £30 for children aged under 12.

You can buy tickets for the dinner online here now or contact the commercial department on 01698 338 011.

The final three legends of the 2022 class of inductees will be revealed shortly, joining:

* Please note that some of the colourful language on the night may not be appropriate for young children or those easily offended.

We had seven in action over the last week on loan.

Max Johnston

Max Johnston was once again in the starting 11 for Cove Rangers when they took on Raith Rovers.

The full back played 45 minutes in the game, as Cove Rangers fell to a 3-0 defeat and ended their unbeaten run.

Robbie Mahon

Still waiting on his first start for the club, Robbie Mahon was an unused for Dunfermline as they took on Alloa Athletic.

Scott Fox

It was an action packed game for Scott Fox at Queen of the South, they travelled to Airdrie with the goalkeeper starting.

The match finished 3-3, with Scott Fox playing the full game. Queen’s now sit seventh in the table.

David Devine

David Devine started for Alloa Athletic as they took on title chasers Dunfermline.

The centre back played the full match but lost to the Pars 3-0.

Ewan Wilson

It would be another start for Ewan Wilson at Albion Rovers. They were at Cliftonhill Stadium to take on newly promoted Bonnyrigg Rose.

Wilson played the full 90 as Albion came away with an impressive 2-1 victory to push them up the table.

Logan Dunachie

East Kilbride fell to a 1-0 home defeat to Cowdenbeath, as Kilby make a charge for the title this season.

Dunachie was named on the bench and played the last ten minutes of the game.

Daniel Hunter

Daniel Hunter announced himself as a Cumbernauld Colts player with a bang. The midfielder joined the club on Wednesday morning, made his first start that night against Gretna before scoring his first goal for the club.

He was back in action on Saturday as Colts took on Spartans at Broadwood.

Hunter was once again in the starting lineup, playing 86 minutes. Colts would lose the game 3-0.

Ten-man Motherwell left the capital empty-handed after a 1-0 defeat to Hibs.

Ryan Porteous’ header in the 67th minute was enough to give the Edinburgh side the three points.

Steven Hammell went unchanged for his side’s third away game in the space of a week and they got off to a lively start, with Sean Goss firing just wide of the target in the opening minutes.

Hibs then threatened and probably should have taken the lead but Kelly was on hand to save Boyle’s shot as he broke clear. Solholm then had react quickly to get across the box and block Youan’s shot after he found himself clear inside the area.

As both sides settled into the game, the action settled down too, with a Joe Efford shot wide of the target  being tht only threat on goal before half-time.

Twelve minutes into the second half the Steelmen were reduced to ten men. Connor Shields had tracked back and as Porteous broke clear, he hauled him to the deck with little complaint.

From there it was an uphill task and ten minutes later Hibs took the lead.

Boyle’s cross from the right was deflected into the air and Porteous beat Solholm to head the ball past Kelly.

‘Well huffed and puffed with an effort from Goss and late pressure from Moult and Efford not enough to snatch a point.

“I felt like we had enough of the game.

“The red card changes it and now we’re left disappointed.”

Motherwell manager Steven Hammell was please to see his side start to take their chances on Tuesday night against Ross County.

He hopes that is something Motherwell can take into the next cinch Premiership match against Hibernian and believes in what is a very tough run of fixtures, his team will have to be at their best to take points.

You recently had the opportunity to share your views on the Well Society. And now we’re ready to report back. The good news is that most of us are on the same page in terms of what we think the Well Society is, what can be improved, and what the benefit of being a member is.

But the Society needs to work on how we can better engage with members – and we need your help to find out how best to do that. Check out the survey where you’ll find:

• executive summary
• an in-depth look at the results
• what we’re doing about the issues raised.

It’s Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week.

What better way to mark it with a more detailed look at the long-term plan for Motherwell Women, and short-term steps they want to take?

Paul Brownlie, our head of girls and women, recently updated the Well Society board on progress.

He gave a great insight into how far the girls’ and women’s game has come in the past year, with the following achieved so far:

• community relationships which help inspire and identify talent
• a girls academy with 80 youngsters training every week
• a set up which provides positive role models for girls and young women
• a system which seeks to embed quality in every aspect
• a first team which is competing well with better resourced clubs
• engagement and growth in the women’s game

“We’d love to see supporters at our new home at K-Park in East Kilbride, backing the team,” Paul Brownlie added.

“Keep an eye on Motherwell FC’s website for game details.”

You can watch Paul Brownlie’s presentation here.

Connor Shields feels like the team having playing well under Steven Hammell and have been enjoying the way manager wants to play.

The attacker says players are working hard outwith training hours with staff to improve their game and hopes to see some of that hard work pay off in the cinch Premiership against Hibernian.