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The mood was high in the Motherwell camp after their last outing, a 2-1 win over Rangers at Ibrox. But the focus shifted quickly to the next challenge and that was Aberdeen at Fir Park.

In a game that was huge for both sides, it was the visitors who got off the mark after Clarkson slotted home when the ball fortunately fell to the midfielder off the post.

Motherwell created openings with Nicholson and Casey going close but, it would appear they drew level through Lennon Miller. The 17-year-old knocked the ball goal-wards and it eventually found it’s way over the line. However, in a bizarre turn of events, VAR recommended an review at the monitor after they judged Theo Bair to have handled the ball. Despite the striker not scoring the goal, the rules of the game seemed to be ignored and the goal was ruled out.

The second period saw Bair, Halliday and Spittal all have chances but they couldn’t convert.

In stoppage time, Shinnie seemed to have handled the ball in the area but despite a VAR review, the penalty wasn’t awarded and Motherwell left the game empty handed.

We have six players away on international duty this month, across the world. 

Liam Kelly

Liam Kelly was one of four goalkeepers named by Steve Clarke ahead of two international friendlies this month.

Fighting against Angus Gunn, Zander Clark and Craig Gordon for a spot between the sticks, Scotland travel to the Netherlands on Friday 22 March. Kick off is at 7.45pm at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.

Scotland then return home for a home friendly match against Northern Ireland at Hampden on Tuesday 26 March. Kick off is 7.45pm.

The two friendly matches provide Steve Clarke with a final look at players ahead of his next squad selection, which is for the Euros in Germany.

Bevis Mugabi

Having cemented his position in the heart of the defence in the last few games for Motherwell, Mugabi earned another call up for the Cranes as Uganda have two matches.

They will be based in Morocco and are in action twice.

First up, is a friendly against Comoros at Stade de Marrakech on Friday 22 March. Kick off is 9pm.

Mugabi and the Cranes will then round off this camp with a match against Ghana at Stade de Marrakech on Tuesday 26 March. Kick off for that one is 4pm.

These matches will provide preparation for Uganda under new coach Paul Put, ahead of qualifiers in the summer.

Theo Bair

He made no secret of wanting to return to the Canadian setup when arrived at Motherwell in August, but after a four year absence, Bair was called up by his country.

It doesn’t get much bigger for Canada also, as they face Trinidad and Tobago in the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League Playoff.

The match takes place on Saturday 23 March at 8pm in Texas. The winner of the match will earn a spot in the CONCACAF tournament this summer. Should they progress to the tournament, they will be in Group A alongside Argentina, Peru and Chile. Canada would open the tournament against Argentina.

Canada are aiming to qualify for the Copa America for the first time.

Davor Zdravkovski

Another player who had hoped to work his way back into the international fold, Davor Zdravkovksi is back in the North Macedonia squad for the first time since September.

The midfielder has become a regular starter for Stuart Kettlewell and has caught the eye of his national side.

North Macedonia have a training camp based in Turkey, where they will be in friendly action twice.

They will face Moldova first on Friday 22 March at 2.30pm at the Mardan Sports Complex. Montenegro will be the opponents for their second match on Monday 25 March a the Mardan Sports Complex. Kick off is 5pm.

Should Zdravkovski play, he will earn his first cap for his country. Having not qualified for the Euros in Germany, North Macedonia will have another round of friendlies in June ahead of kicking off their Nations League campaign this September. They are in Group C alongside Armenia, Latvia and Faroe Islands.

Lennon Miller

Scotland’s Under 19 side are off to Italy for to kick off their UEFA Euro Under 19 qualifying campaign.

In Group E, Scotland will face all three of their group rivals Italy, Georgia and Czech Republic, with all games taking place at Stadio G. Teghil. It’s Italy up first on Wednesday 20 March at 2pm.

It’s an 11am start against Georgia on Saturday 23 March before rounding off the qualifiers against Czech Republic on Tuesday 26 March at 1.30pm.

The finals take place in Northern Ireland this summer, with the seven group winners qualifying for the finals.

Adam Devine

Adam Devine and Scotland’s Under 21’s have just the one match during this international window.

Kazakhstan travel to Paisley to face Scot Gemmill’s side in a EURO Under 21 qualifier. Five games into the group matches, Scotland are currently in second place. With three wins from their first five matches, they are 10 points, three off the top.

The match takes place Thursday 21 March at 7pm, at the SMiSA Stadium.

A rampant first-half display over local-rivals Hamilton ensured that the women of steel secured their second Lanarkshire Derby triumph of the 2023/24 SWPL campaign at a rainswept New Douglas Park.

Louisa Boyes continued her exceptional recent goalscoring pedigree, rifling a low-shot beyond the reach of the Accies goalkeeper to fire the visitors into the ascendency within the opening phases of play. Lifelong Well supporter Amy Anderson punished the hosts defensive complacency shortly before the half-hour mark, prodding home Katie Rice’s whipped corner-kick.

Morgan Cross made it three less than 10-minutes later, with Bailley Collins rounding off a complete first-half performance soon after, netting a decisive fourth before the break.

Head Coach Paul Brownlie made three changes from the comprehensive four-goal victory over Spartans in the Scottish capital over a fortnight ago. Amy Anderson and Katie Rice both returned to the starting XI, with recent acquisition Brooke Nunn making her first competitive start since joining the club on loan from Hibernian.

Determined to overcome their recent derby day frustrations, Motherwell started firmly on the front foot, with the breakthrough coming within the opening phases of play. Nunn skilfully worked her way past her marker with ease before teeing up teammate Boyes at the edge of the penalty area, and the midfielder accurately netted her third SWPL goal in the past two games, drilling a low-strike beyond the reach of the Hamilton keeper.

The on-loan Hibernian winger continued to cause the hosts problems, shifting the ball through the Hamilton backline before curling a precise effort across the face of goal, but the Accies stopper reacted well to parry Nunn’s attempt beyond the reach of Cross.

Motherwell’s persistence was soon rewarded, with Anderson escaping her marker to latch onto Rice’s whipped corner-kick, and the experienced midfielder calmly doubled the women of steel’s advantage with an accurate close-range finish.

Motherwell continued to threaten the Hamilton defence, with Nunn finding space on the left before clipping an audacious 20-yard through ball to Kayla Jardine who coasted to the byline before teeing up Cross, who converted from close-range.

The fourth and final goal of the afternoon came shortly before the break, with Nunn again the provider, cutting in from the left and picking out Jardine at the edge of the penalty area, before eventually falling to the feet of Collins, who fired an accurate strike into the top-right corner.

The women of steel remain six-points behind nearest league rivals Aberdeen in seventh, with the two sides set to meet in East Kilbride at the end of the month.

Motherwell’s optimistic route to the top-six was left undermined, with a frustrating display over Aberdeen distancing the Steelmen from Hibernian in sixth-place, as the visitors secured the three points at a rainswept Fir Park in a game overshadowed by refereeing inconsistency.

Leighton Clarkson fired the Dons ahead with the only goal of the contest midway through the first-half, latching onto the ball deep inside the Motherwell penalty area after Bojan Miovski’s close-range effort rattled the near post, with the midfielder placing the rebounded effort beyond the reach of Liam Kelly in the Motherwell goal.

Manager Stuart Kettlewell made one change from the historic victory over Rangers at Ibrox last weekend, with Sam Nicholson retuning to the starting XI and Davor Zdravkovski settling for a place on the bench.

Motherwell struggled to find their rhythm in the opening phases of play, with misplaced passes for both sides the key theme in the opening 15-minutes. Theo Bair sought to tee up teammate and strike-partner Jack Vale after breaking through the high Aberdeen backline, but the forward lost his footing as he attempted to find the Welshman in the visiting six-yard-box.

Skipper Liam Kelly was called into action moments later, with Miovski threatening the Motherwell defence with a powerful effort from the left-hand side of the box, but the Scotland international reacted superbly to parry the North Macedonian’s effort over the crossbar.

The decisive goal came midway through the first-half, with Clarkson reacting quickest to prod home Miovski’s drilled strike that ricocheted kindly off the post to the feet of the 22-year-old.

Lennon Miller restored Motherwell’s momentum shortly before the break, with a precise finish into the bottom-left corner, but the celebrations were drawn to a close, as following consultation with VAR; referee Willie Collum ruled against the equaliser for a suspected handball.

Motherwell rallied in the dying stages of the game in the desperate attempt to salvage a late equaliser, and looked destined to receive a spot-kick after the ball ricocheted off the arm of Graeme Shinne in a clear unnatural position, but despite briefly stopping play, the full-time whistle was blown in a frustrating and disappointing afternoon for the Steelmen.

Stuart Kettlewell gives his reaction to the 0-1 defeat to Aberdeen

• Nobody gets pass marks
• Baffling refereeing decisions
• International break

“Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration.” (UNESCO)

Many of you may recall that in 2016 Motherwell fans received questionnaires to collect their views on what a Club heritage project might look like. And now we’re looking to update that with a special event in April to collate thoughts and gauge interest in such a project.

The key findings from the 2016 questionnaire were:

• 100% of respondents thought the heritage of Motherwell Football Club is either very important (78%) or important (22%) to the local community
• 100% of respondents agreed that the heritage of Motherwell Football Club should be collected, preserved and made available to the community and future generations
• 85% of respondents would like to see a permanent exhibition of the Club’s heritage at Fir Park;
• 62% would like to see a Heritage Trail at Fir Park.

So much has changed since then.

But one thing remains the same. A desire to develop a vision for all things ‘Heritage’.

Over the past year or so, building on studies undertaken pre-pandemic, a volunteer Heritage Working Group has been tasked with assessing the feasibility of establishing a range of ‘heritage experiences’ throughout Fir Park Stadium.

Why does our heritage matter?

Brian McCafferty from the Working Group explains: “Most families have a heritage; a sense of our identity bound by stories from generations past and present – inherited possessions, photographs, and artefacts that can shape the hopes and aspirations for new arrivals.

“So too with a football club like ours. For many fans, our club is a part of our family, and a cornerstone of our local community, in which we take great pride.”

Many clubs at home and abroad have developed a variety of projects to curate, record, preserve and celebrate their history, making their heritage accessible to people far and wide.

“We have the opportunity to follow suit, preserve what we have – physical objects, documents, films, original records – and keep these safe for future generations,” added Brian.

Football heritage is not just limited to artefacts. It also includes knowledge and understanding passed from generation to generation, such as tales from memorable matches, players’ performances as well as identifying common themes that have prevailed throughout the Club’s long history.

Heritage working group

In response to the key findings of the questionnaires and extensive research, including from home and abroad, the group has now developed an outline concept plan of what might be possible.

Brian concludes: “Before setting anything in stone, we’ll seek input from Well Society members, fans and other stakeholders and their views will inform a more detailed concept plan for further consultation.”

Initially, an evening event is being proposed, hopefully in April where the group will present their design ideas and take-in suggestions. The bar will also be open. Watch out for further news on this.

Bevis Mugabi is happy to have made his family proud once again by being named in the Ugandan national side for their matches later this month. 

The centre-back, who claims this has been a good run of games personally for him, says the team are looking after themselves, game by game, in the season run in.

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell says in the world of football, life moves quickly and that the result against Rangers has now been put to bed and the team are fully focused on replicating performance levels this Saturday against Aberdeen in the cinch Premiership. 

Kettlewell provides an update on the fitness of Jon Obika, the recent call ups of Liam Kelly and Theo Bair. Bair was named in the Canadian side for the first time since 2020 earlier this week.

The Lanarkshire derby back is back at the forefront of the domestic calendar, with the women of steel facing a highly-anticipated trip across the River Clyde in the first post-split fixture against local rivals Hamilton at New Douglas Park.

The return to SWPL action after a two-week hiatus follows an exceptional  victory over Spartans in the Scottish capital, with Motherwell firing four past the Edinburgh side to narrow the gap to Aberdeen in seventh.

With preparations underway, the expectations have been set for the squad, with the meeting in ML3 the first step in preserving the visitors SWPL status.

The Tale of the Tape

Motherwell

Paul Brownlie’s side coasted into the post-split with ease after securing a hard-fought but deserving three points in a momentum-building league victory over Spartans at Ainslie Park.

Jo Addie got the women of steel off the mark inside the opening 10-minutes, with midfielder Louisa Boyes marking her return to the starting XI with a clinically-taken brace. Striker Morgan Cross also prodded home a close-range effort  in a comfortable four-goal cushion and assured performance over the nearest league rivals.

Striker Laura Berry will be unavailable, with the forward currently on international duty with Scotland in a triple-header of U17 Euro qualification matches against Denmark, Poland and North Macedonia.

Hamilton

After defeating the women of Steel at New Douglas Park in February, the Accies have picked up one point in the SWPL since, with a 92^nd-minute Spartans equaliser denying Accies their first back-to-back victories this season.

Hamilton then travelled to Links Park to face league rivals Montrose, but despite being held to a stalemate at the break, the Gable Endies resurged late on to secure a comfortable seven-goal victory.

Ticket Information

Cash & card payments are also available for this fixture.

• Adult – £8
• Concession – £5
• Under 16s – Free to enter

How to follow the action

Supporters can follow Sunday’s encounter on Twitter @motherwellwomen, with a full report of the action available post-match.

Davor Zdravkovski has been named in the North Macedonia squad for the first time since September.  

The midfielder has been absent in the October and November squad but makes his return off the back off his game time in recent months.

Since being subbed on at half time against Ross County at the start of December, Zdravkovski has been named in the starting 11 for the last 16 matches.

Zdravkovski is yet to make his debut for his country.

North Macedonia are travelling to Turkey for a warm weather camp, where they will play two matches in their time there.

They face Moldova on Friday 22 March before a match against Montenegro on Monday 25 March.

• North Macedonia v Moldova
• Friday 22 March
• Stadium TBC (Turkey)
• 3.30pm Kick Off 

• North Macedonia v Montenegro 
• Monday 25 March 
• Stadium TBC (Turkey)
• Kick off time TBC