| 7 | Hearts | 37 | 14 | 7 | 16 | 4 | 49 |
| 8 | Motherwell | 37 | 14 | 6 | 17 | -17 | 48 |
| 9 | Kilmarnock | 37 | 12 | 8 | 17 | -18 | 44 |
| 10 | Dundee | 37 | 10 | 8 | 19 | -22 | 38 |
| 11 | Ross County | 37 | 9 | 9 | 19 | -28 | 36 |
| 12 | St Johnstone | 37 | 9 | 5 | 23 | -28 | 32 |
Motherwell Under 20’s clash with Dundee United in the Development League on Wednesday has been postponed.
Due to illness and injuries, United lodged a request to have the game pushed back, which has been accepted by the SPFL.
The fixture, which was originally scheduled for December 20 at Forthbank Stadium in Stirling, will now be played in April 2018.
Kilmarnock potentially lie in wait for Motherwell in the quarter final of the 2017/18 Scottish FA Youth Cup.
Stephen Craigan’s side are still to play their previous round against Stranraer, with a new date for the postponed tie still to be confirmed.
The winners of that fixture will host Killie in the last eight. Quarter final ties are due to be played on or before Sunday, January 28, 2018.
Motherwell reached the semi finals of last year’s competition, before losing out to eventual winners Celtic.
The young Steelmen, of course, were the reigning champions after clinching the trophy at Hampden in 2015/16.
2017/18 Scottish FA Youth Cup quarter final draw
Inverness Caledonian Thistle or Hibernian v Greenock Morton
Celtic v St Johnstone or Rangers
Stranraer or Motherwell v Kilmarnock
Aberdeen v Stirling Albion or Ross County
Motherwell Football Club is a busy place all week long, with community activities and great events going on as well as football matches.
This is our schedule for the week ahead across the departments for the week beginning Monday, December 18. For more information on anything listed, click the relevant links or call the club on 01698 333333.
Please note that many community-based activities are weather dependent.
Community
Walking Football: Fir Park astro turf, 1-3pm
Girls Development Centre: Fir Park astro turf, 3-5.30pm
Community
Football Fans in Training: Fir Park astro turf, 11am-1pm
Community
Girls Development Centre: Fir Park astro turf, 3-5.30pm
Muir Street After School Club: Muir Street Primary School, 3-4pm
Dalziel After School Club: Dalziel High School, 5-6pm
Fir Park Mini Steelkids: Fir Park astro turf, 5-6pm
Lanark Mini Steelkids: Lanark Grammar School, 6-7pm
Fir Park Football Development Centre: Fir Park astro turf, 6-7pm and 7-8pm
Lanark Football Development Centre: Lanark Grammar School, 7-8pm
The Fir Park office will close at 1pm.
Community
Muir Street After School Club: Muir Street Primary School, 3-4pm
Dalziel After School Club: Dalziel High School, 5-6pm
Community
Bellshill Mini Steelkids: Sir Matt Busby Centre, 4-5pm
Bellshill Football Development Centre: Sir Matt Busby Centre, 5-6pm
Fir Park Mini Steelkids: Fir Park astro turf, 6-7pm
Football
The first team host Dundee in the Ladbrokes Premiership. Kick off at Fir Park is at 3pm.
Admission prices are as follows:
| ADULTS | £23/£19 |
| CONCESSIONS | £16/£15 |
| JUVENILES | £12/£9 |
Events
Our Christmas Party nights continue on Saturday and we still have availability if you want to have your party at Fir Park. To book, click here to buy online or give the events team a call on 01698 333333.
Community
Fir Park Mini Steelkids: Fir Park astro turf, 9-10am and 10-11am
Saturday Club, Fir Park astro turf, 12-1pm and 1-2pm
No events planned.
Highlights from Rugby Park as Motherwell lose 1-0 to Kilmarnock.
Images from this afternoon’s 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Snaps courtesy of SNSPix
[svgallery name=”kilmarnock161217″]
‘Well boss Stephen Robinson was determined to look at the positives following his sides defeat against Kilmarnock.
The Fir Park boss was frustrated with the result at Rugby Park but reflected on yet another dominant ‘Well performance.
Speaking to MFC TV at full time, the Northern Irishman singled out some impressive performances during the Ladbrokes Premiership encounter.
[pullquote]We got a lot of chances and some of our football was excellent at times so I’ve got to take real positives out of that because there were some super performances out there.[/pullquote]
He said: “It’s a wee bit different from Wednesday night because I thought we were excellent from the first minute to the last and I’d go as far as saying it was probably our best away performance.
“Obviously everyone’s emotions are dictated by the result and when you make a mistake it’s blown out of proportion but we’ve played very well today and we haven’t come out with anything which is frustrating.”
He added: “We got a lot of chances and some of our football was excellent at times so I’ve got to take real positives out of that because there were some super performances out there.”
[tab:Match report]
Grant Russell at Rugby Park
Motherwell again slumped to defeat in an evenly-contested contest at Rugby Park, losing 1-0 thanks to Scott Boyd’s first half strike.
Kilmarnock had goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald in particular to thank for keeping them in the lead, as he kept out a succession of golden chances for the Steelmen.
Trevor Carson, Peter Hartley, Chris Cadden and Louis Moult continued to miss out through injury, and they were joined on the sidelines by Elliott Frear.
Steven Hammell, Gael Bigirimana, Alex Fisher and Craig Tanner came in from the start as manager Stephen Robinson rang the changes from the 3-2 loss at Partick Thistle. Andy Rose, Allan Campbell and Deimantas Petravicius dropped to the bench.
New goalkeeper Gennadios Xenodochov came in on the bench, filling the need for a replacement the team had been lacking at Tynecastle and Firhill.
Within 11 minutes, the visitors carved out the first clear chance of the match.
After patient build-up play, Bigirimana’s cross from inside on the right was perfectly floated over the heads of the centre backs to be met by Tanner, but the forward’s header was well blocked by MacDonald.
Twelve minutes later, Kilmarnock had their first response. Youssouf Mulumbu tricked his way past three players before laying the ball right to Chris Burke. The winger’s cross found the head of Eamonn Brophy, but the ball went high over the bar.
The majority of the rest of the first half saw the ball changing possession on plenty occasions, with both sides only carving out half chances with balls into the box that failed to come to much.
But Motherwell arguably should have taken the lead with five minutes left until the break. Tidy play on the right between Tait and Bowman saw the ball break to Fisher 12 yards out. But, on his left foot, he couldn’t steer the ball far enough wide of the goalkeeper and his shot was blocked.
The hosts then took their opportunity in immediate response. Burke’s corner from the left caused havoc in the six yard box. Griffiths was blocked coming to collect and the ball bounced around until it was poked home by Scott Boyd.
Neither sides made changes at the break but Motherwell were forced into one within a minute of the restart. A head knock for Grimshaw led to him being replaced by Rose.
The first chance fell to the Steelmen. After Rose’s initial shot was blocked in the area, Fisher’s shot on the turn was well kept out by MacDonald.
Motherwell continued to knock on the door. Dunne’s header from a corner bounced wide as the visitors cranked up their pressure. And a constant stream of Bigirimana crosses went begging in the box.
Sixty-six minutes in, Kilmarnock thought they had their second. The home fans were on their feet as Jordan Jones’ deflected shot looked to have sent the diving Griffiths the wrong way. But the ‘keeper just managed to get his legs to block the ball and keep it out of the net.
Six minutes later, Newell came within a whisker of a first goal for the club. The substitute burst down the right and, at an angle, just narrowly missed seeing his shot creep inside the far post.
Motherwell continued to push but struggled to create the late effort to get them a point and the match ended in another defeat for the Lanarkshire side.
Motherwell: Griffiths, Tait, Dunne, Kipre, Hammell, Grimshaw (Rose 47), McHugh, Bigirimana (MacLean 80), Tanner, Fisher (Newell 63), Bowman.
Subs not used: Xenodochov, Livingstone, Campbell, Petravicius.
Kilmarnock: MacDonald, Taylor, Broadfoot, S Boyd, O’Donnell, Power (Jones 55), Dicker, Mulumbu, Burke (Erwin 85), Brophy (Kiltie 75), K Boyd.
Subs not used: Bell, Waters, Hawkshaw, Thomas.
[tab:As it happened]
Alastair Reilly at Rugby Park
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[tab:Reaction]
Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson:
Motherwell Football Club have signed goalkeeper Gennadios Xenodochov on a short-term deal.
The Greek stopper has put pen to paper on a temporary contract that will keep him at the club until the middle of January.
Xenodochov has been brought in to provide competition to Russell Griffiths in goals, with Trevor Carson still sidelined with a shoulder injury.
“I feel good,” said the 29-year-old on his arrival at Fir Park, “When the team called me I didn’t think about anything. I said yes straight away, got on the plane and got here to help.”
Xenodochov started his career with OFI Crete. After loan spells at lower league clubs in Crete, he moved to the mainland to play for Thrasyvoulos and Doxa Drama.
Moves followed to Zakynthos and Larissa, the latter at which he received brief worldwide attention for scoring a header from a corner kick in the 96th minute in a match to earn his team a draw.
In the 2016/17 season, he made 17 appearances in the Greek Superleague, keeping clean sheets against both Olympiacos and Panathinaikos.
Motherwell have had to go without a recognised goalkeeper on their substitute bench for their last two matches, with SPFL rules blocking the return of Peter Morrison from a loan at Clyde despite the club having a recall option.
Xenodochov will go straight into the squad for the trip to face Kilmarnock on Saturday afternoon.
The Steelmen will be aiming to bounce back from three consecutive defeats as they travel to Rugby Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Fir Park side turned around a poor opening 30 minutes on Wednesday night to come within a goal of salvaging a point against Partick Thistle.
But it was a case of too little too late for the side in claret and amber, who paid the price for some crucial mistakes in a rocky first half hour.
Steve Clarke’s Kilmarnock, in contrast, are unbeaten in their last three games as they look to continue their strong run of form in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
The Ayrshire outfit picked up their first home win in style with a 5-1 victory over Partick Thistle and are back at home for tomorrow afternoon’s encounter.
With four points separating ‘Well in sixth from Killie in eighth, victory could be crucial for either side this weekend as Motherwell look to extend their lead and hold on the top six while Kilmarnock will be aiming to close the gap to a single point.
And Fir Park manager Robinson believes his side can bounce back if they turn up and produce a performance he knows they’re capable of.
The Northern Irishman looked ahead to tomorrow’s clash with Kilmarnock in an interview with MFC TV.
He said: “We’re looking forward to it, obviously Steve Clarke has come in and he’s turned [Kilmarnock’s] form right around and they’ve only lost two games in nine.
“We’re well aware of their threats and I’ve said it continually to our boys that if we turn up and we produce the performances that we can, it’s all about us and we must focus on that.”
[pullquote]We know we’re missing players and if you take out the four players we’re missing it is going to make us weaker. But it’s up to people – step up to the plate now.[/pullquote]
“There are some positives though, we scored again so we’ve now scored in 21 games out of 25 so there’s not a problem there.”
One player who stepped up to the plate in the second half against Thistle was Gaël Bigirimana.
The midfielder is a player Robinson hopes can make big strides over a busy December spell.
And the Burundian insists ‘Well cannot dwell on the positives of the season so far and hopes to see a strong run of form ahead of the winter break.
The 24-year-old spoke to MFC TV ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Kilmarnock and admitted that the club are in for another tough game.
Bigirimana impressed on Wednesday night at Firhill but admitted competition for places has been both a blessing for the team and a challenge for the individuals.
“For me it’s important that when I have a good game the next one comes quickly so I can build momentum and get that game time and that buzz from a match day,” the 24-year-old said. “I’m looking forward to it and hopefully I can help the team to get a victory.”
“I’ve always said that competition is good for a team but sometimes individually it can be a challenge but that’s what footballers are paid for – to challenge ourselves, to do well for the club and for our own careers.
“It’s been a brilliant start to the season and hopefully we can keep that going because it’s not about how good you start but how good you finish and that’s the most important thing – how we end the season and how we maintain that standard the staff have set for us.”
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Kilmarnock V Motherwell |
 |
Saturday 16th December 2017 |
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3.00pm |
 |
Rugby Park, Kilmarnock |
 |
Tickets on sale from the Fir Park Ticket Office and cash turnstiles at Rugby Park |
Admission prices are as follows:
| ADULTS | £20 |
| STUDENT | £15 |
| OVER 65 | £15 |
| UNDER 21 | £15 |
| UNDER 16 | £5 |
If you can’t make it tomorrow, don’t miss the action by tuning in to mixlr.com/motherwellfc for live commentary or follow the match on Twitter @MotherwellFC
You can see the match highlights on MFC TV’s YouTube channel, as well as full reaction and a match report right here on the official website.
‘Well boss Stephen Robinson believes his side can bounce back if they turn up and produce a performance to the best of their ability.
The Northern Irishman looked ahead to tomorrow’s clash with Kilmarnock in an interview with MFC TV.
The Fir Park manager said: “We’re looking forward to it, obviously Steve Clarke has come in and he’s turned [Kilmarnock’s] form right around and they’ve only lost two games in nine.
[pullquote]We’re well aware of their threats and I’ve said it continually to our boys that if we turn up and we produce the performances that we can, it’s all about us and we must focus on that.[/pullquote]
“We’re well aware of their threats and I’ve said it continually to our boys that if we turn up and we produce the performances that we can, it’s all about us and we must focus on that.”
He added: “There are some positives though, we scored again so we’ve now scored in 21 games out of 25 so there’s not a problem there – but we know we’re missing players and if you take out the four players we’re missing is going to make us weaker. But it’s up to people – step up to the plate now.”
Robinson also looked ahead to the January transfer window, and discussed the outbound Louis Moult, who is set for Preston North End after two-and-a-half seasons in claret and amber.
