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Two goals inside the first 15 minutes ensured all three points were heading back to Govan, as Rangers won 2-0. 

‘Well fans had to endure horrendous weather before the midday kick-off and their afternoon didn’t get any better as two goals from Kieran Dowell and Todd Cantwell set up the Ibrox side for a comfortable win.

And although it was a much improved, competitive performance from the Fir Park side in the second half, the damage was done and the game lost in that opening 15 minutes.

Weather wise it was anything but a Christmas Eve setting, as torrential rain and a blustery wind welcomed both teams on to an otherwise impressive looking Fir Park pitch.

However, the fans shared some festive cheers as the ‘Well Bois, bedecked in Santa hats and the Rangers fans packed in the Tommy McLean stand joined in some Christmas songs.

Stuart Kettlewell retained the same line-up which came close to ending the team’s winless run against St Mirren last week.

But the Fir Park boss was left raging as his side made a dreadful start to what should have been a tough test for Rangers.

The players might have found it difficult to adapt to the atrocious conditions, but within four minutes Philippe Clement’s men had found the back of the ‘Well net.

Harry Paton lost possession to Kieran Dowell at the edge of the box and the young midfielder raced on to a return pass from Cyriel Dessers, before firing the ball high past Liam Kelly from 12 yards.

It was the worst possible start for the Steelmen, searching first their home league win over Rangers in 21 years.

The chances of ending that statistic was all but erased after 15 minutes Rangers doubled their lead.

Poor defending in front of Kelly’s goal allowed Cantwell to swiftly tuck the ball low inside the ‘keeper’s right hand post.

Still trying to recover from that dreadful opening, the first threat on the visitor’s goal came after 20 minutes when Callum Slaterry’s 25 yard drive skidded past Jack Butland’s left hand post.

Even allowing for the difficult conditions, ‘Well’s decision making and use of the ball was poor.

Careless play from Bevis Mugabi in the centre circle allowed Dessers to race through on goal and only a fine save from Kelly kept the score at 2-0.

Biereth carried play to the other box and only Leon Balogun’s sliding tackle inside the six yard prevented the Arsenal loanee from testing Butland.

However, Kelly was by far the busier ‘keeper and it took two fabulous saves to deny Ross McCausland and Cantewell from extending the visitor’s lead before the break.

Having struggled with the conditions in the first half, Mugabi remained inside for the second, with Paul McGinn, wearing a protective face mask, taking his place in the centre of the ‘Well defence.

That coincided with a much more positive re-start from the Fir Park men.

Within two minutes Georgie Gent delivered a low tempting cross from the left and Balogun was forced to scoop the ball over his own crossbar as ‘Well fans finally had something to raise their hopes of a fightback.

And three minutes later the Steelmen came close to pulling a goal back. Biereth floated the ball towards the back of the six-yard area and Brodie Spencer’s diving header sent the ball back across goal and just beyond the far post.

Kettlewell made his second substitution after 62 minutes replacing Paton with a more attack minded Oli Shaw.

With the intention of snatching a third goal to kill the game Rangers then made a double substitution after 70 minutes but it was the Ibrox defence that looked increasingly nervous.

And in the 73rd minute Motherwell’s best move ended with Ridvan Yilmaz clumsily barging into the back of Spencer as he prepared to fire the ball across the box. VAR’s review deemed it wasn’t a penalty and a couple of minutes another review for a possible penalty was called upon.

Blair Spittal’s free kick into packed six-yard area sparked off a goal mouth melee with ‘Well players claiming for a handball but once again VAR agreed with the referee’s decision to wave play on.

Although the Steelmen pressed until the final whistle for a consolation goal to show for their second half efforts they failed to force a single save from Butland, as Kelly remained equally untroubled at the other end throughout a blustery second forty five.

Paul McGinn says the mood has been positive in the dressing room going into this weekends cinch Premiership match against Rangers. 

From watching in the stands the last few weeks, he can see that the team isn’t far away from picking up results consistently. McGinn has recovered from his cheekbone injury and has been adjusting to life wearing a protective mask in games.

Matthew Connelly has joined East Kilbride on loan until the end of the season. 

The 20-year-old keeper has had loan spells with Gretna, Falkirk and Stranraer previously.

East Kilbride have made a positive start in their Lowland League campaign and are currently seven points ahead at the top of the table.

Best of luck, Matty.

Stuart Kettlewell reacts to the news that Chairman Jim McMahon and interim Chief Executive Derek Weir will be departing the club. The manager says that the two have been supportive since he arrived at the club and have been excellent servants to Motherwell. 

He says there is scope for one maybe two players in the January window as the focus turns to the January window that opens in a couple of weeks. Kettlewell also gives his thoughts on a new look Rangers side that have started brightly under the reigns of new manager Phillip Clement.

We are looking to add coaches within our girls academy. 

The ideal candidates would have prior coaching experience and are working at UEFA B license level.

All roles within the girl’s academy are voluntary positions.

If you are interested and require further details, please contact academy coordinator Calum Ross calum.ross@motherwellfc.co.uk

We are working with Scotland’s largest autism-specific charity, Scottish Autism, to advertise their recruitment drive in Lanarkshire. 

Scottish Autism operate a number of social care services across Lanarkshire and have secured an advertising billboard at Fir Park to promote job opportunities to a wider audience.

Staff and supported people from Scottish Autism visited the club to view the advertising for themselves.

The charity is keen to recruit people who share their values, and they need not have experience in social care as full training will be provided.

We hope the advertising space will help Scottish Autism reach a different audience and attract people to apply for roles who may not have considered working in social care before now.

Find out more information about Scottish Autism online.

Motherwell are back at Fir Park on Christmas Eve to take on Rangers. 

Kick off is 12pm.

How to follow the game

– Concessions Tickets would be ages 65 and over and FT Students with a valid matric card.
– Young Adults tickets would ages 12 to 17.
– Juveniles would be 11 and under

Supporters are able to buy tickets online here or visit the ticket office at Fir Park.

Ticket Office open from 10am until 12pm. No pay gate facility.

The game will be shown live on Sky Sports.

If you are outside the UK, you can watch the game via Motherwell TV.

Should you be in the UK, it will be live commentary only.

Kit Watch

We will be wearing our home kit for this match.

Injury Update

Lennon Miller, Pape Souare and Dan Casey all remain sidelined for this match.

It was revealed last week that Casey is facing six to eight weeks on the sidelines.

Calum Butcher is a doubt and will be assessed closer to the game. Paul McGinn made his first appearance since October, after recovering from a cheekbone injury.

Motherwell’s Fortunes

Motherwell picked up their first clean sheet since September 3 2023 on Saturday against St Mirren in a 0-0 draw. It was the Steelmen’s fifth draw in seven outings but the winless run continued to 14 games as a result.

Liam Kelly saved Mark O’Hara’s spot kick.

With midweek games still to be played, Motherwell are now 11th in the table after 18 games.

Opposition Report

Rangers picked up the first piece of silverware on offer this season, defeating Aberdeen to lift the Viaplay Cup trophy.

Captain James Tavernier made it 14 goals for the season in the process of netting the winner at Hampden.

The Gers are chasing down Celtic at the top of the table, with the gap down to five points, although they have two games in hand over their old firm rivals.

The club has been informed that Chairman Jim McMahon will formally announce his intention to stand down from the role at the next AGM, currently scheduled for mid-February 2024.

He will leave the position by end of the season at latest, once a successor has been appointed and certain live projects have been completed. Jim has been a Director of the club since March 2001 and became Chairman in 2016, when the Well Society became the Club’s majority shareholder.

Jim initiated the discussions with John Boyle about how to move to fan ownership and led the work involved in framing the legal and financial structure of the Society. He was also the first 1886 member.

The club has now re-started the process to recruit a permanent CEO. Derek Weir, who took on the CEO job, on an interim basis, in April 2023, has advised that he wishes to exit the role by the end of March at the latest. Since 2010, Derek has held a number of positions, including Vice Chairman and Director of the club, the first Chairman of the Community Trust in 2011 and a Board member of the Well Society when it was founded in 2011.

He also represented the club on the SPL Board. He then agreed to become CEO when the Club’s initial attempt at recruiting a suitable, permanent replacement for Alan Burrows was unsuccessful. After he leaves the CEO role, Derek will step back from having any involvement with the running of the club.

These changes will form part of a wider Board re-structure currently being worked on. A resolution will be presented to the AGM seeking approval to increase the number of permitted Directors, with a view to increasing the size of the Board and broadening the range of experience.

“I have been a Motherwell supporter since my dad took me to my first game aged four,” Chairman Jim McMahon said.

“It has been a privilege to be the Chairman of the club I love and which has meant so much to me and my family. My key aim has always been to try to improve the long-term financial robustness of the club.

“It has become very clear over the last few years that for the club to operate on a sustainable basis, provide the manager with a competitive player budget, meet the vastly increased cost of our other activities including having a successful Woman’s Team and maintaining a fit for purpose Stadium, Training Ground and Academy facility, that it will require significant investment; funding on a similar scale to that received by many others in the SPFL.

“We have undertaken a large amount of work and held numerous discussions to explore how we could best achieve this. The final stages of a fund-raising initiative are almost complete and will be ready to be shared early in the New Year.

“It is therefore the right time for a new Executive team to work with the recently expanded Well Society Board, to take this on and put in place a long term operational and funding plan for the club.”

“Having grown up a few hundred yards from the ground and been a dedicated supporter since the mid-70s, I was grateful to John Boyle when he asked me to join the Board nearly 14 years ago,” Derek Weir added.

“Whilst working for an organisation you care passionately about can be extremely difficult, with many highs and lows, both on and off the park, I feel honoured to have had the opportunity.

“Having discussed at length with Jim, I agree the time is now right for others to take a fresh look at how the club is run and manage it through the next phase of its long history. I wish all those involved every success for the future.”

Jim and Derek will work with the remaining club Directors and Well Society Board to ensure a smooth transition to the individuals appointed to these roles. Both will be here to support and help in any way they can during that process.

The club would like to thank Jim and Derek for their dedicated service over many years and wishes them both well for the future.

Motherwell went to high flying St Mirren in search of a much needed three points. 

In heavy rain and gusty conditions, the first half passed by relatively incident free, with very few chances presenting themselves. The first big opportunity came for St Mirren at the start of the second half, when Stephen O’Donnell handled the ball in the penalty box and the hosts awarded a penalty.

Step forward Liam Kelly, who saved Mark O’Hara’s effort to keep the scoreline level. From then on, Motherwell took control.

Mika Biereth, Blair Spittal, Harry Paton and Theo Bair all had chances but couldn’t find a way past the St Mirren keeper.

It was a clean sheet for the ‘Well, their first since September 3, but the wait for a win goes on with Rangers next up.

Motherwell headed into the new year on a positive note, as the women of steel cruised past Dundee United to end their six-game winless spell at a windswept Foundation Park on Sunday.

Jo Addie converted the only goal in a promising afternoon for Paul Brownlie’s side, with the defender latching onto Sarah Gibb’s pinpoint delivery for her second goal of the 2023/24 SWPL campaign.

Head Coach, Paul Brownlie made two changes from the defeat to league leaders Rangers last weekend, with Kaela McDonald-Nguah and Carla Boyce returning to the starting XI, as summer acquisition Morgan Cross secured a place on the bench following a three-month spell on the sidelines.

Keen to replicate their dominant display over the Tangerines at K-Park in October, Motherwell started firmly on the front foot, with the visitors attacking setup forcing United into trading possession deep into their own territory.

The breakthrough almost came in the opening few minutes. Addie pickpocketed her opponent on the right flank, before chipping a dangerous delivery across the face of goal, as Boyce connected at the back post, but the strikers attempt failed to trouble the United stopper.

Moments later, Gibb’s first corner kick of the afternoon, floated precisely into the centre of the six-yard box, with Chelsie Watson’s initial attempt ricocheting off of the crossbar before falling to the feet of Louisa Boyes, who was denied on the rebound.

Less than a minute later, Watson was again denied by the woodwork. The referee adjudged a handball at the edge of the penalty area following a Bailley Collins strike, and from the resulting free-kick, Watson’s curling right-footed attempt rattled the near post.

As the half-time whistle neared, and Motherwell’s attacking frustrations continued to mount, the breakthrough finally emerged.

Gibb’s threatening delivery from the left continued to cause the hosts problems, with Addie rising highest above the United backline, to prod home at the back post.

Forward Morgan Cross returned to competitive action in the second half, and immediately impressed with her quick turn of pace. The winger teed-up teammate Bailley Collins after a driving run on the right, but Collins’ drilled effort connected with the crossbar for the third time of the afternoon.

United tried to rally late on, but the women of steel stood resolute to record a vital result, that narrows the gap to the top-six, ahead of a three-week hiatus over the festive period. Brownlie’s side will return to action in the first week of January, with a short-trip to Petershill Park to face Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup.