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Motherwell FC is today delighted to confirm match and ticketing arrangements for the William Hill Scottish Cup 4th Round clash with Cove Rangers.

The match will take place at Fir Park on Saturday 9th January 2016, with a 3pm kick off.

Tickets for the match will go on sale tomorrow (Thursday, 10th December 2015) afternoon at 12 noon priced at:

• Concessions are listed as Under 16s, Over 60s and Full Time Students with a valid matriculation card.

In addition, both clubs have agreed an initiative whereby any fan that pre-purchases their adult ticket on or before 2nd January 2016 will qualify for an additional concession tickets free of charge.

For clarity, that is one free concession tickets per adult ticket purchased on or before 2nd January 2016.

Any tickets purchased after the 2nd January, or on the turnstile on the day of the match, will be subject to the standard pricing of £12 for adults and £5 concessions.

Away fans are also able to claim this same deal, but should check directly with Cove Rangers for full sales and distribution arrangements.

General Manager Alan Burrows said: “The club have worked with our colleagues at Cove Rangers to not only price the match competitively, but also incentivise families to join us for what we hope will be an exciting afternoon of Cup football.

“We have listened to supporter feedback, particularly around the time of year the match is taking place, and tried to make the fixture as attractive as possible.

“We’ve not had too many home ties over recent years, and Motherwell has always traditionally carried a sizeable Cup support.

“In what will be the 25th anniversary year of our famous 1991 success, we hope fans will come out and back the team in large numbers and hopefully roar them through.”

Referee for Saturday’s Ladbrokes Premiership game with Dundee at Fir Park is Euan Anderson.

Anderson, 32, will be handling his first Motherwell match of the season and it will be the whistler’s third Ladbrokes Premiership match of the season having been in widespread action across the divisions in Scotland this term.

He has been fourth official at several top-flight matches as well as Motherwell’s Scottish Cup success against Queen’s Park a few seasons back.

The Dumbarton-based whistler was promoted to category one in the summer of 2011 and has taken charge of three Motherwell matches in the past, the first coming in the Scottish Cup fourth round defeat to Albion Rovers at New Douglas Park on November 2013 where a first goal of the season for Albion’s Gary Phillips ensured the Coatbridge outfit’s qualification to the next round of the cup.

He was also in charge of Motherwell’s 2-1 win away to Kilmarnock in 2014/15 season where goals from Stephen Pearson and Lee Erwin secured three points for Well’ on this occasion with an Anthony Straker own-goal being the only blotch to the copybook on that day.

The win was part of a three match win streak that Well’ put together on the backend of last season, commencing with a 4-0 victory over Hamilton and a 5-0 victory over St Mirren to bookend the Kilmarnock fixture.

This season he has handled two other Premiership matches at Inverness and Partick as well as Championship matches at Dumfries, Livingston, Paisley and Falkirk.

His record for this season reads: 11 matches officiated with 32 yellow cards and two red cards.

Euan will be assisted by Kylie McMullan and Ross Haswell, with Alan Muir on fourth official duties. Brian Winter and Brian McGarry are the referee observers and Tim Love is the SPFL Delegate.

‘Well Society members are reminded that nomination forms are due in by midnight December 8th

By now you should have received your nomination forms for the Well Society board vacancy via email or post. If you haven’t submitted your vote you can access the form by clicking here and submit it to us by post, email well.society@motherwellfc.co.uk or in person.

You can find out more about each candidate by clicking here

Thanks again for all your support and good luck to our three candidates.

Extended highlights from Excelsior Stadium as Ross MacLean’s free-kick gives Motherwell U20s a 1-0 win over Kilmarnock in the Youth Cup.

Stephen Craigan was pleased with how his young side handled the Youth Cup occasion to book their spot in the Quarter Final.

The Steelmen, who have barely got past the first round in recent years, roared into the last eight, eliminated their second top league team, after beating Partick Thistle earlier in the year.

Ross MacLean’s 20-yard free-kick on the half hour was enough to separate today’s game with Kilmarnock, and the former Fir Park skipper declared himself content with progress so far, with ‘Well looking in control for large spells and limited the Ayrshire side to very few opportunities.

“I’m delighted to be through, but even more pleased with the way we managed the game,” Craigan told MFC TV after the match.

“If anything we could have been a lot more comfortable after getting ourselves into so many good positions, but we deserved to go through.

[pullquote]“It is a wee marker about how we’re moving forward. We played Kilmarnock earlier in the season and drew 2-2; they were one of the better sides we faced in the league, but today I thought we were slightly ahead of them, which tells me the players are taking things in.[/pullquote]

“We have to be careful not to get too carried away, yes it’s back-to-back wins, yes it’s back-to-back clean sheets, but I also want us to be more ruthless.”

The win puts Motherwell in the Quarter Final of the Youth Cup, the first time the club has reached that stage in many, many years.

The Northern Irishman admits he would love his side to go all the way to Hampden, which could be just two games away.

He said: “Our aim, before the game, was to get beyond Christmas in the competition.

“I said to a few of the older lads like Cadden and Thomas, who are both ‘96’s’, that this is their last year in the competition, but encouraged them to not see this as their last game in it.

“Would we like to win it? Of course! A lot may depend on the draw but with the improvements and the strides we’re making, I don’t think we fear anyone.

“We have already eliminated two top-level clubs and with one or two lads still to come back, we’re in a strong position.

“The chance is there for the players – it’s up to them how far we can go.”

Motherwell progressed to the Quarter Final of the Little Big Shot Youth Cup with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock today.

The hosts controlled large periods of the game, particularly during the first-half, and limited Killie to very few attempts at Brett Long’s goal.

The winning goal came on the half hour when, after Dom Thomas had been fouled on the edge of the area, Ross MacLean curled home a stunning free-kick past Miller and into the net.

Stephen Craigan named almost the same side that progressed through the last round against Stenhousemuir, with Jake Hastie starting ahead of Dylan Falconer the only difference.

‘Well had first-team experience in the shape of Luke Watt, Chris Cadden, Ross MacLean and Dom Thomas. Killie could call on Syme, Splaine, Frizzell and McLean for players who had featured for Gary Locke’s side.

It was the Fir Parkers who made a bright start to the game and after Allan Campbell had dragged a low show wide of target after just sixty seconds, they should’ve gone ahead with just two minutes on the clock.

Dylan Mackin and Thomas combined down the right, and when the latter flashed a low cross across the face of goal, Jake Hastie could only scoop an effort high over the bar from close range.

It was the Steelmen who continued to set the agenda from an attacking point of view, creating numerous openings including a MacLean cut-back that almost picked out Thomas before being cleared, a Thomas shot that bounced just wide of target and something similar from Luke Watt, who tried his luck from 30-yards out.

MacLean also had a header that squirmed past Miller in the home goal, only for Hodge to hook it off the line as it headed towards the net.

Kilmarnock’s first real venture up the park came on the 27th minute when they forced Brett Long to tip over a whipped McLean free-kick from wide on the left.

However, it looked a matter of time before the Claret and Amber men made their pressure count and on the half hour, the goal finally came. Dom Thomas was the creator when, after dancing around a few challenges, was crudely felled on the edge of the area.

MacLean stepped up, and wrong-footed the goalkeeper with a curling free-kick that flew over the wall and into the far corner.

Just before the interval, another free-kick, this time from Watt, caused problems for Miller who looked to have been caught under it, only to recover and tip over, albeit at the expense of a sore looking collision with the goal frame.

As expected after a fairly disappointing first-half, Killie came out with the foot firmly on the accelerator at the start of the second half.

However, despite having more of the ball, it was ‘Well who created the first chance when a solo run from Thomas ended with a fierce shot that went narrowly off target.

Kilmarnock’s best chance of the game came shortly after that Thomas effort, when following a neat passing move, a reverse ball had Wilson in on the right side of the box, but his shot flew just over the bar.

Motherwell’s reply was swift when MacLean let rip from distance, skimming the top of the bar as it flew over, and Thomas, who after being sent scampering away by Mackin, shot inches wide of the right hand post.

Thomas had a free-kick cannon off the wall and Kilmarnock had a sight of goal via Sibbald only for the ‘Well rearguard to recover enough to make his chance more difficult.

As the game neared his conclusion, Thomas was so close to adding a second with a net-bound looking effort that only went wide after flicking Mackin on route.

However, despite a few long balls into the area, ‘Well comfortably seen out the game and safely progressed to the last eight of the competition for the first time in well over a decade.

Motherwell: Long, McMillan, Livingstone, Watt, Hall, Campbell, Hastie (Turnbull – 86mins), MacLean (R.Leitch – 71mins), Mackin, Cadden, Thomas

Subs Not Used: Morrison, Maguire, Falconer

Goals: MacLean (30)

Booked: Campbell

Today’s proposed SPFL Premiership match with Partick Thistle at Firhill has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Horrendous overnight conditions in the West of Scotland, coupled with a bleak forecast for the rest of the day, forced Thistle to have the match official Greg Aitken check the surface at 9.15am this morning and he deemed it unfit to stage the match

No date has, as yet, been scheduled for the re-arranged match.

Top scorer Louis Moult wants ‘Well to start picking up results, even if it is at the expense of free-flowing football.

The Steelmen currently sit eleventh in a fairly congested SPFL Premiership table, with the top-six clubs still within relative touching distance.

Since Mark McGhee’s arrival in September, the Fir Parkers have collected some impressive points from Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and Hearts, but disappointments have came in the shape of defeats to Inverness, Ross County and Champions Celtic.

Now Moult, who hit 39 goals in his previous two seasons before arriving in Scotland, and who already has eight to his name in Claret and Amber, is anxious to find some consistency, regardless of the opposition.

He said: “We need to win the games against the teams around us, it’s not good enough picking up points against the likes of Aberdeen and Hearts.

“We need to go Thistle and ensure we’re at it in exactly the same way as against those teams I mentioned.

[pullquote]“Personally, I think we ought to be higher in the table, but I understand football is a results based industry and you get what you deserve. If we’re lower than we should be, then that’s our fault.[/pullquote]

“Some of our performances have been good at times, but the result not so much. We either need to switch that round or, ideally, get both a good showing and a positive results.”

Speaking about how own performances, Moult has been satisfied with his return, but is targeting more in his debut season north of the border.

“I’ve been pleased with the goal tally so far,” he explained “but the key is to try and maintain that ratio and even add to it. It’s my job to work hard, score goals and help the team and that’s what I intend to do.

“Some players don’t go for it, but I have set myself personal targets about what I want to try and hit and so far, it’s going okay.”

‘Well fans should note the the Fir park Ticket Office-will be open tomorrow (Saturday) between 10am and 1pm.

Tickets for the game against Celtic will be available as well as possible Christmas gifts such as:

Our Flexi-ticket package allows supporters to choose when to visit Fir Park and watch the mighty Steelmen with prices starting from £30.

Buying a tile in the tunnel or brick on the wall of the Davie Cooper stand is the perfect gift for those supporters who pay homage to Fir Park every other Saturday, leaving your special message for fellow fans to read or inspire the players on a match day you can have your say!

For £5 you can enter our Christmas raffle for the chance to win sponsorship of our match against St Johnstone on 30th December. The offer includes four course hospitality for 20 friends or family, complimentary bar pre & post-match with the highlight having the exclusive right to choose and meet the man of the match! Tickets available via www. motherwellbuyonline.co.uk

We have limited places available at our party nights on 11th & 18th so why not join us at Fir Park for your festive celebration. Click here for more details.

‘Well boss Mark McGhee expects another tightly-fought contest as his team prepare to face Partick Thistle at the weekend.

The Steelmen battled Hearts to earn a 2-2 draw in the lashing rain last weekend, halting a run of two defeats.

Thistle have been on a good run of form in recent weeks too and have hauled themselves up to ninth spot, level with eighth-placed Inverness.

Indeed, just seven points separate Hamilton in fifth and ‘Well in eleventh and any team in that pack who can string a run of results together could find things looking very positive indeed.

And McGhee told the broadcast press at Motherwell’s pre-match news conference: “I think the whole league is really tight and by tight I mean there’s not a lot of points between the teams in the top six and ourselves and secondly, the quality of the sides.

“We’ve taken points from Aberdeen and Hearts, the two teams right up there; on their day, most teams can beat one another in this division.

“We won’t be treating Partick Thistle any different to Aberdeen, Hearts or anyone else, regardless if they are close to us in the table or not. It’s another three points up for grabs and both teams will fancy themselves to get them, so it’ll make for a fascinating head to head.”

McGhee is also aiming for his side to find some level of consistency after an up and down start to his second managerial reign at Fir Park.

The Steelmen have taken a point each from high-flying Aberdeen and Hearts, as well as beating Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. However, the ‘Well have also lost to Inverness CT, Ross County and Celtic.

The Scotland Assistant boss hopes that being having a more settled feel to the starting eleven, positive results will follow.

“Progress requires consistency and up until now, things have been a little stop-start,” he explained.

“We lost recently at Ross County, but had three or four big players missing, so it’s difficult to really judge that against the others.

“When we get to the stage where we’re starting to see consistency in selection, with the team I hope can challenge to win matches, then hopefully consistency in results will follow and we can really measure how we’re doing.”