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Motherwell started the season with a clinical 1-0 victory over Queen’s Park in the Premier Sports Cup group stage.

Steven Lawless’ goal in the first half was the difference against the League One side, who caused trouble but were wasteful when faced with Liam Kelly.

Youth graduate Dean Cornelius was given his first start, with Darragh O’Connor and Kaiyne Woolery also making their debuts in the first XI.

But on the 14th minute mark, Motherwell took the chance when it arrived for them.

A loose ball on the edge of the box saw Maguire react quick to drive in, skip inside and fire a ferocious effort at goal, which was parried away.

Maguire recovered the situation and backheeled to Watt, whose pass inside found the waiting Lawless.

Under pressure, he showed all the composure needed to turn his man and fire into the bottom-right corner of the net from 12 yards.

Undeterred, the hosts ploughed on and Simon Murray carved out a whole host of chances for his team which he failed to take, while Kelly had to react fast to chest away a Robson drive from distance.

The League One side ended the first half perhaps aggrieved they weren’t at least level, having broke into the Motherwell box plentiful times but proving wasteful in front of goal.

The Spiders would again look the more likely in the early exchanges of the second half.

Kelly again was at the rescue 10 minutes in. Brown’s surging run through the middle against a retreating defence saw him slip in Murray on the left.

One-on-one with the goalkeeper from 15 yards, he picked his spot but Kelly reacted brilliantly to get down low and stop the equaliser.

There was a welcome return in midfield from Liam Donnelly after almost a year out injured, while Kevin van Veen also got late minutes to make his first appearance in claret and amber.

Motherwell would threaten as the game wore on, with Maguire and Watt both seeing shots saved, while the hosts’ danger subsided near the end as Graham Alexander’s men returned to Fir Park with all three points.

The first episode of Inside Motherwell for the 2021/22 season is here.

The return to pre-season training can be a gruelling one for the players, even if the actual break is shortening in length.

Mark O’Hara made sure he kept himself in good shape over the summer, although even he found the going tough in the first day “yo-yo” running test.

A new season needs a new kit. Step forward defender Ricki Lamie to model our new away strip for the campaign.

We caught up with the defender behind the scenes on the shoot to find out how his return to action was going, and find out if he has an second career in modelling ahead.

Stephen O’Donnell didn’t return at the same time as the rest of the squad for pre-season training. And rightly so, with the important defender involved with the Scotland national team at EURO 2020.

Criticised as part of the team’s loss to Czech Republic in the opening match, he answered all the critics with an outstanding performance against eventual finalists England, in which he almost netted a memorable and famous winner.

Darragh O’Connor is the latest addition to the Motherwell squad.

The Irish defender has signed an initial one-year deal, arriving after departing Leicester City. His move is pending international clearance.

“Darragh is a young centre-half who has been with us for the last couple of weeks,” manager Graham Alexander said.

“We really like what we’ve seen with his attitude and commitment to the game.

“He’s a young player with a lot of potential, but we also think he’s got the capability to break into our first team and compete with our more senior players.

“We’re delighted to have him on board.”

O’Connor made six appearances for the Foxes in the EFL Trophy over his two seasons with the club, as well as featuring 15 times in Premier League 2.

Born in London before moving back to his native Republic of Ireland at an early age, he also featured at youth level for Shamrock Rovers and in the Irish First Division with Wexford.

Motherwell have completed the signing of winger Nicole Cairney.

Returning for her second spell at the club, Cairney left the Steelmen for Lanarkshire rivals Hamilton in January 2020.

After helping Hamilton secure promotion to the top flight in the last campaign, the forward has rejoined the women of steel.

“Nicole will bring experience, good quality on the wing and can play across the three on the front,” head coach Paul Brownlie said.

“I’ve worked with Nicole for several years so I know what she can bring to this team.”

The Motherwell boss looks ahead to the Premier Sports Cup opener away against the League One side.

Stephen O’Donnell silenced a nation of critics with his performance against England at EURO 2020.

After a barrage of unwarranted comments on the first match against the Czech Republic, the Motherwell right-back responded with a head-turning performance at Wembley, almost netting the winning goal and also being part of the only defence to keep a clean sheet against the eventual finalists.

Now back in ML1, O’Donnell has his sights set on lifting the Steelmen up the Premiership table with a strong start to the campaign.

Paul Brownlie has finalised his backroom staff for the SWPL1 season.

The head coach has brought in Leanne Crichton as his number two, Forfar midfielder Craig Slater as first team coach and Conor O’Boyle as a goalkeeping coach.

“I am delighted to finalise my staff group with Leanne, Craig and Conor,” Brownlie said. “I believe I have real quality coaches and people.

“One thing that’s been clear from day one is we are pulling in the same direction. We all have similar thoughts on the game and the direction we want to take Motherwell this season and beyond.”

Leanne Crichton

Coming in as a player/assistant manager, Leanne Crichton is one of the most recognised names within Scottish women’s football.

Having amassed more than 70 caps for her country, multiple league titles with Glasgow City and played in the Champions League, Crichton brings a wealth of experience to the Motherwell dressing room.

“Leanne was someone I was desperate to get in as assistant manager,” Brownlie added. “She is a vastly experienced player both domestically and internationally, and she knows the standards required.

“Leanne has been a serial winner throughout her career. She understands the demands of the modern game, and how professional athletes should act both on and off the pitch.”

Craig Slater

Former Partick Thistle, Colchester and Kilmarnock player Craig Slater comes in as a first team coach.

“Craig is someone I’ve known for several years and brings vast experience having played at all levels of the game, here in Scotland, England, and international level with the under 21s national team squad,” Brownlie said.

“He’s a fabulous addition to our coaching staff and I believe the players will benefit from his knowledge and guidance.”

Featuring for Scotland under 21s and still playing for League One outfit Forfar Athletic still today, Slater has played over 150 games domestically.

The midfielder came through the ranks at Kilmarnock before earning a move down south to Colchester United. He then had a brief loan spell with Dundee United, before permanently coming back to Scotland with Partick Thistle.

In 2020 he joined Queen’s Park and then moved onto his current club Forfar in May of this year.

Conor O’Boyle

Coming in as the new goalkeeping coach, former Queen’s Park keeper Conor O’Boyle will be looking after the goalkeepers this season to complete the backroom staff.

Coming through the youth setup at Hibernian, O’Boyle has turned out for Stenhousemuir, Queen’s Park and St Roch’s, before hanging up his gloves in 2017.

“I’ve worked closely with Conor before and I know how knowledgeable he is on the pitch, and the level of experience he’ll bring to our staff group,” Brownlie said.

“It is clear to see the rapport he’s building with the goalkeepers during our pre-season preparation, he is a fantastic addition to a strong staff group.”

A new thriller, set in Lanarkshire with scenes at Fir Park, has been written by Motherwell FC chairman Jim McMahon.

Parallax, published by Austin Macauley, is told through the eyes of two main characters and is a gripping tale of painful truths and deadly consequences.

You can buy a copy of Parallax from the publisher here and receive a discount using the promo code AUTHOR0721.

Fatal accidents are rarely caused by a single mistake but are often the result of a series of errors.

A chain of poor decisions leaves Ian White – golf professional and happily married father of two teenage daughters – with a hellish choice. Should he report the death of Katerina Wysklow, a hitchhiker whom he accidentally kills?

If his shame becomes public, it will destroy his family. If he conceals the truth, he must find a way to deal with the horror and his guilt.

The mounting evidence points to her boyfriend’s father – a close friend of White’s – and Katerina’s last known contact on the day she vanished. Will the wrong man be charged? Will White be exposed? Will his conscience intervene? Or will the reckoning come from another direction entirely?

“The bits of the book that are set in Carluke and in Motherwell are redolent of my growing up,” explains Jim.

“It’s easy to write about Motherwell and like everyone my formative years, my family, my locale influenced who I am today. Lanarkshire shaped me, my family – my dad in particular – and Hamilton Academy.

“The detective in Parallax is a Motherwell supporter. There is a lot of stuff about taking his wee boy to his first game and I have memories of my dad taking me to my first game at around the same age.

“The first game I ever went to was Motherwell v Airdrie. This was in the 50s. As you know, memories are imperfect, you don’t have memories, you recreate them every time you think of something.

“But in those days, we had a tiny seven-inch telly, black and white, one channel. Everything seemed monochrome, we were still rationing at the time and then suddenly I was at a football ground with 20,000 people and Motherwell in brilliant claret and amber. There was the noise, Airdrie with their V-diamonds on their strips, for me it felt like I was in the Colosseum. It was brilliant, so exciting, full of life and so different. And it was my time with my dad.

“My father worked in the post office, he got back from work at lunchtime on a Saturday and changed into his suit. We would walk out to Carluke Cross and got on the Law and Carluke Motherwell Supporters’ Club bus, which was mainly full of miners – I think my dad and I were the only two folk on the bus who didn’t smoke.

“We then went down to the game and that was my Saturday, that was my time with my dad. I look back on it so fondly and that’s why I did the same with my kids. The detective has the same feelings about his own son, who has his Motherwell top and thinks that Louis Moult is the best player in the world. There is a chunk of that in there.

“I don’t think the main character is a bad guy. I think he’s a good guy, a family guy, one who makes a mistake that soon becomes a catastrophic one. He then has to deal with the outcome and part of the way he does this is by writing a diary to try and piece it all together.

“The story runs in two parts, told through his eyes and the eyes of the investigating detective. The two stories run out of time set until they meet at the end, which is when it becomes a Parallax. It’s two different approaches to the same incident which eventually meet and cross over.”

The 2021/22 season starts with a trip to face Queen’s Park in the Premier Sports Cup.

The group stage match at Firhill on Wednesday 14 July kicks off at 7.45pm.

Watch live

If you’re in the UK or Republic of Ireland, you can watch the game live on Premier Sports.

Overseas-based fans can watch via their normal subscriptions at live.motherwellfc.co.uk.

Unfortunately, tickets are not available for Motherwell supporters to attend the game in person.

Tale of the tape

The two sides last met in the opening game of the 2017/18 edition of this competition, with the Steelmen running out 5-1 winners at Hampden.

Goals from Chris Cadden, Craig Tanner, Louis Moult and a Ryan Bowman double secured the opening victory, with Motherwell later returning to the national stadium for the final.

The other match within the last decade between the two teams came at Fir Park in the 2011/12 Scottish Cup.

Jamie Murphy scored twice, with Omar Daley and Henrik Ojamaa adding in a 4-0 victory.

Form guide

‘Well have faced two tests prior to the start of the season.

An opening match at Dumbarton saw 24 players see action in a 1-0 defeat, before a 2-0 loss against Millwall on Saturday.

Newly promoted to League One, Queen’s drew 2-2 with Raith in a friendly before opening their Premier Sports Cup group stage campaign with an 1-0 win at Queen of the South at the weekend.

How to watch on Premier Sports

Coverage begins at 7.15pm on Premier Sports 1 with Darrell Currie, Stephen Craigan, Shelley Kerr and Rory Hamilton bringing fans all of the coverage.

You can watch via Sky channel 412, Virgin channel 551 and online via the Premier Player.

New customers can subscribe from just £12.99 per month (one-month minimum term) with no connection fee.

Premier Sports customers on Sky will also receive free access to the Premier Player by registering here

To watch online (Web, iOS App, Android App): head to the Premier Player and subscribe from just £12.99 per month (one-month minimum term) with no connection fee.

If using the app, please set up an account first on you web browser before downloading.

Virgin customers can watch Premier Sports channel 551. You can subscribe for £12.99 per month via the provider with no connection fee or minimum contract. Call 0845 840 7777 or set up viewing via box. (Press Home > Apps and Games > All Apps > TV Upgrades.)

Premier Sports offer paid subscription services. Payments for subscriptions to Premier Sports via Sky or the Premier Player streaming service will automatically recur monthly or annually dependent on your chosen package unless notice is given to cancel. The auto-recurring price will be at the standard rate.

Cancellations must be made by phone or email and must include a minimum five days’ notice prior to the next bill. No cancellations accepted within 48 hours of subscribing. The minimum subscriptions period is dependant (and matches) on your chosen package. Terms and conditions apply. For full terms and conditions visit www.premiersports.com.

Motherwell lost out in a tough test against English Championship side Millwall in their final pre-season test on Saturday.

After Liam Kelly performed heroics from a shot hit at him from three yards away, he could do nothing to stop Millwall opening the scoring after six minutes.

Malone’s surge down the left saw him get in behind and flash the ball across the face of goal, with Thompson arriving at the back post to steer into the net.

Motherwell grew into the match after a difficult opening spell, with Tony Watt in particular impressing higher up the pitch, and Liam Donnelly looking back to his assured best as he continues his comeback.

Barry Maguire’s long-distance effort stung the palms of the Millwall keeper as the half wore on and Watt flashed an effort across the face of goal, but the first 45 ended with the hosts having controlled the ball for the most part.

Max Johnston and a trialist were introduced at the break for O’Donnell and Donnelly and the first chance of the second half would fall immediately at Motherwell’s feet.

With the ball bouncing around in the box, Maguire got to it and tried to stab home into the net from close range, only for his goalbound shot to be blocked on the line.

Millwall had changed the entire team around at the break and the imposing, six foot six inch tall striker Smith would double their advantage close to the hour mark.

A deep cross from the left saw him rise between two ‘Well defenders, nodding down into the bottom-right corner of the net.

With chances at a premium, a trialist saw a close-range header from a right-sided corner go past the post for ‘Well, and Lawless saw a low shot easily gathered by Long.

The hosts enjoyed the bulk of the possession, with Graham Alexander giving more valuable minutes to players as the game wore on.

Motherwell: Kelly, S O’Donnell (Johnston 46), Trialist (Lamie 60), Trialist, Carroll, Donnelly (Trialist 46), Maguire, Cornelius (Crawford 69), Woolery (Amaluzor 69), Watt, Van Veen (Lawless 60).

Subs not used: Fox, Morrison, McLeod, C O’Donnell, Trialist, Trialist, Wilson.