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[tab:Match report]

A dramatic encounter at Rugby Park resulted in a hugely important three points for Motherwell in the Ladbrokes Premiership this afternoon.

Carl McHugh and Zak Jules scored their first goals for the Steelmen, who rallied from behind to win 2-1.

The meeting was an important one for two sides led by two interim managers.

Stephen Robinson named three changes for the ‘Well to the side that lost heavily to Dundee by recalling skipper Keith Lasley and the more experienced full-back duo of Stevie Hammell and Richard Tait in place of Joe Chalmers and Jack McMillan.

Kilmarnock were unchanged from their 2-0 victory away to St Johnstone last weekend as Lee McCulloch’s men looked to continue their strong run of form.

The travelling Steelmen started positively when Richard Tait won a freekick in a dangerous area. The fullback swung in the set piece but Killie managed to clear the danger only as far as Lasley, who struck a sweet strike narrowly over the crossbar.

Killie grew in to the match, which became an exciting encounter for the on looking supporters, but neither side could find a breakthrough in the match in the opening 30 minutes.

The home side looked increasingly dangerous from set pieces as their unorthodox approaches proved quite difficult to pick up.

It was a free kick in the 29^th minute which was perhaps the hosts biggest chance, when an unmarked Kris Boyd headed wide of the mark from eight yards.

However, the forward did find the back of the net when he got in behind the ‘Well defence in the 34^th minute and turned the ball neatly beyond Samson and in to the back of the net.

Scott McDonald forced a very good reaction save from Freddie Woodman just minutes before the break, getting on the end of a Hammell cross to turn the ball on goal, but the stopper did well to get down and palm it away from danger.

Robinson acted swiftly at the break and made two changes – replacing Lasley with Ryan Bowman and Hammell for Elliott Frear.

Carl McHugh drew the Steelmen level just five minutes in to the second half when Killie failed to clear from a ‘Well corner. Moult got his head to the initial cross but it was blocked to McHugh eight yards out and the Irishman made no mistake as he thundered home his first goal in claret and amber.

Jordan Jones, who had been a threat down the left for most of the afternoon, nearly put Killie back in front when he side-footed towards goal from a cross from the right, but it was wide of the far post.

Gary Dicker went closer when he powered an unstoppable strike from 25 yards beyond Samson, but the keeper was let off by the crossbar as the ball thundered off the woodwork.

A terrific Motherwell move nearly led to the games third goal as the encounter at Rugby Park surged in to the final 15 minutes.

Zak Jules drove forward from the back before laying the ball off for Tait. The fullback played the ball forward and it was knocked down for Cadden, who played in Moult just outside the box. The forward cleverly let the ball run through his legs for Scott McDonald to step on to and curl a low shot towards goal, but Woodman saved low to his left.

Robinson removed Tait after the defender had a recent lay off through injury and replaced him with David Ferguson.

The Fir Parkers did find the lead though and it was courtesy of yet another player bagging his first goal for the club.

Jules got on the end of Elliott Frear’s freekick and headed past Woodman at the back post to send the travelling ‘Well fans into wild celebration.

Killie won a freekick in a dangerous position with just minutes left on the clock. From 20 yards, but substitute Callum Roberts curled his effort well over the bar.

Just as it seemed the Steelmen would hold on for all three points, Killie won a penalty in the dying seconds of the game when Roberts fell in the box after a clearly fair challenge by Frear.

Boyd stepped up, looking to fire in his 101st goal for Killie, but he smashed it off the post to see the Steelmen leave with all three points!

[tab:As it happened]

 Alastair Reilly at Rugby Park

FT: Kilmarnock 1 – 2 Motherwell
‘Well come from behind to take all three points, surviving a last minute penalty miss by Boyd!!

YESS!!!!!!!!

FULL TIME!!!

90+1′ | 1-2
OFF THE POST!!!!

91′ | 1-2
Penalty to Killie! ‘Well players not happy about that!

88′ | 1-2
Moult brings down Roberts on the edge of the box. Chance here for Killie……..well over the bar!

87′ | 1-2
Now Killie have a corner………headed away by Bowman!

85′ | 1-2
Bowman does excellently to win a free-kick on the byline….Moult tries to run down the clock with it…

77′ | 1-2
Kilmarnock sub, Roberts on for Longstaff

76′ | 1-2
Free-kick is whipped in superbly to the head of JULES who nods past Woodman!!!

GGGOOOAAALL!!!!!!

75′ | 1-1
Motherwell sub, Tait makes way for Ferguson

74′ | 1-1
McDonald forces a good save from Woodman after Moult dummied Cadden’s square ball. Unlucky!

72′ | 1-1
Dicker shoots from distance and clips the top of the bar. Ref gives the corner, unsure who got the touch on it.

68′ | 1-1
Heneghan booked for taking down Jones as he broke away just inside the ‘Well half.

63′ | 1-1
Tait recovers superbly to dispossess Boyd as he was about to pull the trigger

53′ | 1-1
‘Well have came out the traps flying here. Another corner…….this time Killie clear it. COYW!!

50′ | 1-1
It’s 1-1!!!! Moult wins the header and it falls nicely for McHugh who powers it past Woodman!!!!

50′ | 1-0
Frear does well down the left and wins a corner….GGGOOOAAAALLL!!!!

Two changes at half-time, Lasley off for Bowman, Frear on for Hammell

HT: Kilmarnock 1 – 0 Motherwell #KFCvMFC

42′ | 1-0
Chance! Hammell chases a lost cause and crosses to the front post where McDonald’s prodded effort is well saved by Woodman.

32′ | 1-0
Goal – Boyd has been threatening all afternoon and finally breaks the deadlock, getting on the end of a long ball and poking in.

28′ | 0-0
McDonald wins a corner off Ajer…..Woodman gathers Hammell’s delivery

28′ | 0-0
Good chance for Boyd as he comes from deep to meet Taylor’s cross but thankfully its inches wide of the post.

26′ | 0-0
Chance! Moult clips in a ball from the right towards Cadden but he can’t get over it to keep it down, flashes inches over!

23′ | 0-0
Sammon’s cross is headed out for a corner by Heneghan….Boyd’s shot comes crashing back off the bar!

21′ | 0-0
Longstaff breaks away avoiding tackles from Lasley and Pearson, eventually tripped by McHugh. Lasley gets booked.

19′ | 0-0
Ball pings around the Motherwell box and eventually falls to the head of Longstaff 6 yards out but McHugh is on hand to clear.

10′ | 0-0
Taylor whips in a great ball across goal which Jules does well to deal with an knock out for a corner, which comes to nothing

1′ | Tait wins a free-kick in a decent area wide on the right…..ball falls to Lasley on the edge of the box but he fires over the bar.

Lasley gets the game underway at a now sunny Rugby Park. COYW!!!

[tab:Reaction]

Motherwell caretaker manager Stephen Robinson:

Kilmarnock caretaker manager Lee McCulloch:

[tab:Man-of-the-match]

[poll id=”313″]

Motherwell Football Club Community Trust, in partnership with NHS Lanarkshire’s Smoking Prevention team, is delivering a tobacco prevention and second hand smoke initiative within a number of primary schools across North Lanarkshire.  

Tobacco prevention sessions will be incorporated into the schools’ existing sports programmes, with a particular focus on Primary 6 and 7 pupils, delivered by MFC Community Trust coaches who have been trained in tobacco prevention and second-hand smoke key messages.

A pre-programme survey has been developed and will be circulated to test attitudes and knowledge of pupils in targeted schools prior to the onset of the initiative.

Each participating school will be given a brief regarding the programme’s overall aims and objectives and the commitment required by the school. The initiative will then be delivered by two experienced community coaches.

The key messages of the programme are:

• Keep Smoke Outdoors

• Smoke Damages Young Lungs

• Smoking Makes You Unfit

• Smokes Damages Pets’ Health

• Smoking is Expensive

• Smoking can affect your appearance and can cause premature wrinkles, makes your breath and hair smell. It can also cling to clothes.

• Smoking makes your teeth yellow

• To be healthy you need to be smoke free!

To find out more, visit www.protectyourkids.scot

	Kilmarnock v Motherwell
	Saturday 4th March 2017
	3.00pm
	Rugby Park

Motherwell travel to face Kilmarnock in the clubs first match since the departure of Mark McGhee earlier this week.

And in Kilmarnock, they face a tough test against one of the sides battling for the top six.

Lee McCulloch’s side are four points ahead of the Fir Parkers, who are led by interim manager Stephen Robinson and are on the hunt for their first win since the 2-1 victory away to Ross County in late January.

You can buy your match tickets from the Fir Park ticket office, open tomorrow from 10am – 1pm, online at www.motherwellbuyonline.co.uk or on the gate at Rugby Park.

Admission prices are as follows: 

• Concessions – Over 65, Under 21 and Student with valid matriculation card
• Supporters who require Wheelchair, ambulant/carer tickets should contact John or Shaz McCaskie on 07711 992161 or 07745 494631

Images from Dalziel Park as caretaker manager Stephen Robinson takes training in preparation for Saturday’s game.

Snaps courtesy of SNSPix

[svgallery name=”training030317″]

Motherwell travel to face Kilmarnock in the Ladbrokes Premiership tomorrow afternoon in the first match since the departure of manager Mark McGhee.

Led by caretaker boss Stephen Robinson, the Fir Parkers head in to the clash looking to end a run of four straight defeats.

But for the Northern Irishman, it is also about finding a way to tighten up defensively, with a staggering seventeen goals shipped in the last four matches.

However, the Steelmen will be boosted in terms of personnel having finally got through the toughest spell of the season in terms of absences.

Richard Tait and Stevie Hammell are both expected to be back to match fitness while Jacob Blyth and Ryan Bowman have both enjoyed positive spells when called upon for the under 20s.

Stephen McManus remains out with a groin injury though, with the Fir Parkers hunting for a much needed win which could potentially see them move up to 9^th in the table and remain within reach of the top six chasing pack.

Stephen Robinson revealed his aims ahead of Saturday, admitting that the Steelmen need to rediscover a way of becoming hard to beat.

He said: “We’ve conceded 27 goals in 10 games so we have to stop conceding goals. We’ve worked a lot on shape this week and being organised.”

After all the events in recent weeks, he added: “It’s been difficult. Mark was a popular person around here and he brought a lot of the players and staff to this club.

[pullquote]They’ve been good and they’ve reacted to it because there was a lot of disappointment, there was a sombre mood around the place on Tuesday, but now they have to pick themselves up and go again.[/pullquote]

“There’s a lot of disappointment, but footballers get another chance, they always get another chance to go and prove themselves and that’s what they need to do now.”

He added: “As Mark has said himself, their attitude was not something that was in question, it was more individual errors and mistakes that were costing us.

“They’ve been good and they’ve reacted to it because there was a lot of disappointment, there was a sombre mood around the place on Tuesday, but now they have to pick themselves up and go again.”

Tomorrow’s opponents Kilmarnock are four points ahead of Motherwell and find themselves eighth in the league and in the middle of a positive run of results.

It is the third meeting between the two sides this season, following a 2-1 win on the opening day for the ‘Well and a 0-0 draw at Fir Park back in early December.

Returning from a combined injury and suspension lay-off is the ever-consistent Richard Tait, who is expected to be fit for the club’s 27^th league game of the season.

And the 27-year-old is fully focussed, despite the recent events around Fir Park.

The right-back, signed by Mark McGhee last summer, missed the trip to Celtic Park as well as last weekend’s heavy defeat at home to Dundee.

But he’s fit now, and he’s ready for what he knows is a hugely crucial match.

He said: “It’s been hard seeing the gaffer go, but everyone knows that’s football.

“We have to make, as horrible as it sounds, a quick turnaround and focus on Saturday now and that’s mainly what we’ve been doing.”

[pullquote]We’ve had a focussing week ahead of Saturday’s game and like I said before, it has to be a quick turnaround, as horrible as that is.[/pullquote]

He added: “All the boys would agree that we’ve let the gaffer down in that sense and he’s ultimately paid the price for it.

“I just wish him all the best in the future and I’m just really grateful that he brought me to the club.”

The defender echoed the sentiments of stand-in manager Stephen Robinson, admitting that the main thing to do this week was to keep focussed.

And he believes that has happened, revealing it had been a productive week in terms of preparation, but a hard one as a professional.

He said: “We’ve had a focussing week ahead of Saturday’s game and like I said before, it has to be a quick turnaround, as horrible as that is.

“We’ve got to turn our attentions to Saturday and that’s mainly what we’ve done this week.”

Kilmarnock have enjoyed a positive run of form recently which has seen them pick up eight points in their last five games and move six points clear of bottom placed Inverness.

After the recent departure of Lee Clark, the Ayrshire side appointed Lee McCulloch as interim boss.

A familiar face for ‘Well fans, McCulloch arrives with his side tomorrow’s match on the back of a hugely impressive 2-0 victory away to St Johnstone last weekend.

Rory McKenzie’s stunner in the 12^th minute, his fifth goal of the season, helped secure all three points for McCulloch’s men.

The midfielder fired home from 35 yards after a poor clearance from goalkeeper Zander Clark allowed the Scot to lob him in stunning fashion.

Conor Sammon doubled Killie’s lead midway through the second half as he headed home Greg Taylor’s cross.

The win is their third in a row at McDiarmid Park, however, Kilmarnock remained in eighth place due to Dundee and Partick Thistle picking up big wins too.

It was a well-deserved win for Killie in a game in which they always looked the more threatening side and after the match. McCulloch said: “I’m delighted with the result, delighted with the performance, I thought we stopped St Johnstone playing in the middle of the pitch.

“They didn’t have any clear cut chances, they are a top team and have a top manager but we’re delighted to come here today, score two great goals and have a couple more chances as well.

“I thought we looked organised and I thought our desire and energy all over the pitch was brilliant.”

The hosts tomorrow have won one of their last five clashes with Motherwell at Rugby Park, with the home side beating the Steelmen 2-0 back in August 2014.

It is the third meeting between the two outfits this term, with Motherwell winning 2-1 at Rugby Park on the opening day and the two sides drawing 0-0 when Killie came to Fir Park.

As Motherwell travel to take on Kilmarnock in the Ladbrokes Premiership on Saturday afternoon, we take a look back over the past clashes between the two sides.

In a total of 238 matches, the Steelmen have won on 107 occasions, while Killie have taken all three points 90 times.

The two sides have failed to be separated in 41 of those games and a positive result for the Fir Parkers on Saturday could take them to 99 league victories over this weekend’s hosts.

More recently, the ‘Well have won four of their last five trips to Rugby Park, with the home side beating the Steelmen 2-0 back in August 2014.

The highest scoring league match between the outfits was a nine goal thriller back in January 1977, when Motherwell clinched victory with a 5-4 victory at Fir Park.

Since that day, Motherwell have gone on to score 187 goals against the Ayrshire outfit and have conceded 128.

Stephen Robinson described the past week as “difficult” following the departure of Mark McGhee on Tuesday.

But the caretaker boss admitted the entire squad must pick themselves up quickly as they head in to a crucial encounter with Kilmarnock on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking to the press this morning, the Northern Irishman said: “It’s been difficult. As I said when I spoke to the press on Tuesday, Mark was a popular person around here and he brought a lot of the players and staff to this club.

“There’s a lot of disappointment, but footballers get another chance, they always get another chance to go and prove themselves and that’s what they need to do now.”

[pullquote]They’ve been good and they’ve reacted to it because there was a lot of disappointment, there was a sombre mood around the place on Tuesday, but now they have to pick themselves up and go again.[/pullquote]

He added: “As Mark has said himself, their attitude was not something that was in question, it was more individual errors and mistakes that were costing us.

“They’ve been good and they’ve reacted to it because there was a lot of disappointment, there was a sombre mood around the place on Tuesday, but now they have to pick themselves up and go again.”

Robinson admitted that one of the crucial things the Steelmen need to rediscover is a way of becoming hard to beat.

He said: “We’ve conceded 27 goals in 10 games so we have to stop conceding goals. We’ve worked a lot on shape this week and being organised.”

You can watch the full interview on MFC TV’s YouTube channel.

‘Well defender Richard Tait believes that the focus must now be on Saturday afternoon following the departure of Mark McGhee.

The 27-year-old admitted that the players let their manager down in recent weeks, but made sure to keep his attentions on Kilmarnock.

Speaking to the press this morning, the full-back said: “It’s been hard seeing the gaffer go, but everyone knows that’s football.

“We have to make, as horrible as it sounds, a quick turnaround and focus on Saturday now and that’s mainly what we’ve been doing.”

Tait, who was signed by McGhee in the summer window, expressed his gratitude to the ex-Well boss.

[pullquote]We have to make, as horrible as it sounds, a quick turnaround and focus on Saturday now and that’s mainly what we’ve been doing.[/pullquote]

He said: “All the boys would agree that we’ve let the gaffer down in that sense and he’s ultimately paid the price for it.

“I just wish him all the best in the future and I’m just really grateful that he brought me to the club.”

He added: “We’ve had a focussing week ahead of Saturday’s game and like I said before, it has to be a quick turnaround.

“We’ve got to turn our attentions to Saturday and that’s mainly what we’ve done this week.”

You can watch Richard’s full interview on MFC TV’s official YouTube channel.

Motherwell FC are pleased to launch the recruitment opportunity for Supporter Liaison Officers (SLO’s) at the football club.

We are looking for four SLO’s to service the club and supporters in the build up to, on and after matchdays, to help improve the supporter experience at home and away games.

The four SLO’s will need to represent each stand, with one SLO also having a heavy focus on the ‘Well Bois and away fans section of the stadium.

Marketing and Fan Engagement Manager Ryan Murrant said: “This club have always been proactive on improving the supporter experience for those that come here, and for our own supporters when they travel to away games.

“This SLO recruitment forms part of our strategy moving forwards and allows us to take our fan interaction to the next level. The board, the Well Society, Alan Burrows and Alan Marshall want us to have the best SLO’s out there and we will work towards that and continually look to improve how we operate.”

He added: “We have invested a lot of time meeting amongst ourselves and with our contacts at other clubs to allow a role where the SLO’s in place have a free and positive impact on the matchday experience and we thank all those friends of the club for their help with this.

[pullquote]”We hope to have the SLO’s in place for next season at the absolute latest however we won’t rush things through as we want the best people possible in place for those roles.”[/pullquote]

Craig Hughes of the ‘Well Society added: “As a fan owned club it is vital that we do all we can to improve the experience for our supporters.

“After researching the SLO role and the impact they have across Europe we felt it was vital that we introduced them here at Fir Park.

“A number of months have been spent working to ensure this is done effectively and we are very much looking forward to beginning the recruitment process.”

If you are interested in becoming an SLO or understanding more about the role please see the attached Job Description PDF.

To apply for one of the positions, please send your CV to us at supporter.services@motherwellfc.co.uk and tell us more about yourself, why you should be suited to the volunteer role of an SLO and what stand you would best represent.

Ahead of Motherwell’s trip to Rugby Park on Saturday, we look back on one of the ‘Well’s impressive victories at the home of Kilmarnock.

On January 16, 2010, the Steelmen faced up against strugglers Killie and managed to secure three points for the first time under Craig Brown.

It dealt Jimmy Calderwood a painful defeat in his first game in charge of Kilmarnock, but meant that Motherwell remained in the top half of the table, narrowly ahead of Aberdeen.

Jim O’Brien opened the scoring with a left-footed shot into the bottom corner in the 55th minute and he then doubled his tally 20 minutes from time with another close-range drive past keeper Cammy Bell.

Eight minutes later, Lukas Jutkiewicz completed the win for Motherwell from inside the box with good finish.

The match was nearly called off due to burst pipes forcing the closure of the stands behind both goals at Rugby Park.

But it went ahead and two of Brown’s changes to his sides last outing combined for the first effort on goal in the fourth minute when John Sutton headed Keith Lasley’s cross narrowly over the bar.

Lukas Jutkiewicz scuffed a shot wide from 18 yards before Frazer Wright intercepted Sutton from point-blank range.

On-loan Everton striker Jutkiewicz was inches from opening the scoring in the 14th minute with a left-footed strike from 10 yards as Motherwell continued to dominate the match.

Motherwell broke the deadlock 10 minutes after the break though when O’Brien fired a left-footed shot in to the bottom corner.

Mark Burchill could easily have levelled moments later, but he headed Mehdi Taouil’s cross over the bar.

O’Brien made it two in the 70th minute before Jutkiewicz wrapped up the points for the visiting Steelmen just eight minutes later, when he found the corner of the net on the rebound after Sutton’s initial shot was blocked.