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The women of steel return to South Lanarkshire this weekend encouraged by their emphatic display over newly-promoted Queens Park, as they prepare for the first Lanarkshire derby of the 2024/25 SWPL campaign.

The women of steel cruised to a comfortable six-goal advantage over the Glasgow side, with deadline day addition Laura Berry finding the target four-times alongside a Bailley Collins double to complete a resoundingly positive performance at Ochilview last weekend.

The Tale of the Tape 

Motherwell 

Motherwell return to competitive action following a convincing victory over the Spiders last weekend, as the women of steel prepare for their first matchday in the Sky Sports Cup in a second-round encounter against local rivals Hamilton in the first Lanarkshire derby since the Accies relegation to SWPL2 last season.

The women of steel will look to retain their derby day dominance when they take to the K-Park turf this Sunday after two assured performances over Hamilton last season, with Paul Brownlie’s side cruising to a 4-0 and 4-2 victory respectively.

Hamilton

The Accies have found a resurgence in form since adjusting to life in the Scottish second-tier, remaining unbeaten in their opening five league games, picking up five victories and one draw throughout that time.

Ticket information 

Cash & card payments are also available for this fixture.

• Adult – £8.
• Concession – £3.
• Under-11s – 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. Kick-off from K-Park at 4PM.

Manager Stuart Kettlewell has provided another fitness update ahead of Saturday’s match against St Mirren. 

Stephen O’Donnell came off holding his shoulder early in the second-half against Dundee United, with Kettlewell confirming the injury is not as bad as first feared.

“Stephen hasn’t trained this week,” he said.

“We’re hopefully it isn’t too bad. It needs to be accessed over the next two day, but it’s not as bad as we first feared.”

With John Koutroumbis and Shane Blaney edging closer to their return, the manager also provided some detail on the duo, as well as some of our other injured players.

“Koutroumbis is back into full contact training,” the manager confirmed.

“Shane Blaney comes into full contact training today [Thursday], all the long-term injured players are making good progress.

“Sam Nicholson is making good progress. Callum Slattery is in a good place and is hitting all his milestones. Ross Callachan has the leg brace off after the operation he had.

“Harry Paton is a couple weeks out from getting into full contact training.”

We are now in a position where can provide an update on the pricing of semi-final tickets. 

The club have been given an initial allocation of 7,500 tickets, with the potential of up to 14,000 depending on sales. Motherwell fans will be in sections of the South and East stands at Hampden Park.

The price of tickets can be viewed below:

We are expecting the delivery of physical tickets next week, and will look to go on sale thereafter. It will be physical tickets only for this match, however a link will be made available to buy online prior to the game. Collection and postage will be available.

The club will be running hospitality packages at Fir Park, bus to and from Hampden and returning to Fir Park.

We will also be running a number of coaches from the Cooper stand.

At our last semi-final match back in 2018, we sold 7,500 tickets. We would love to see if we can at least match that number this time round.

Further timelines, bus details and our sales plan will all be announced in due course.

St Mirren are the visitors to Fir Park on Saturday 28 September in the William Hill Premiership. 

Kick off is 3pm.

How to follow the game

What else is happening?

12 noon – Cooper Bar will open for food and drinks before the match and one-hour post-match

12.30 – Beer Garden will open – drink only and open to home fans.

Hospitality

Availability in all areas.

Season ticket holders can upgrade to hospitality from as little as £49pp in the Centenary Suite or £79pp with an inclusive bar option in the 91 Lounge. To book, please call 01698 338003 or email hospitality@motherwellfc.co.uk

Kit Watch

We will be wearing our home kit for this match.

Injury Update

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos made his return from injury on Friday night against Dundee United. Tony Watt is available for selection, after being ineligible for the Dundee United cup tie.

Jack Vale will be missing for at least 10 weeks with a calf injury. Stephen O’Donnell was substituted at the start of the second-half against Dundee United and will be a doubt for this match.

Shane Blaney and Johnny Koutroumbis edge closer to full fitness and are doubts for this game.

Callum Slattery, Harry Paton, Ross Callachan and Sam Nicholson remain out for this game.

Motherwell’s Fortunes

It was a night to remember for Motherwell last week as they returned to winning ways against Dundee United, to reach the semi-final of the Premier Sports Cup.

Zach Robinson got off the mark with a sensational first-half strike, before Lennon Miller slotted home a stoppage-time penalty.

A narrow defeat against undefeated Aberdeen in the league two weeks ago ended Motherwell’s three game winning run.

Opposition Report

St Mirren have also made a fast start to the league campaign. Joint second highest scorers in the league, with only Celtic ahead of them, they are fifth in the table on eight points, just one point ahead of the Steelmen.

They defeated Hearts 2-1 in their last match in Paisley. That was their first win in seven games in all competitions.

Toyosi Olusanya has hit the ground running this season. The forward has four goals in the league, scoring in each of the last three games. Netting twice in Europe, Olusanya is only one goal away from levelling his 2023/24 season tally.

Motherwell will face Ross County in round three of the SFA Youth Cup. 

The tie will take place on Tuesday 1 October at Fir Park. Kick off is 3pm.

Entry to the match will be free, with all supporters being housed in the Phil O’Donnell Stand.

Jack Vale has picked up a calf injury and will be missing for 10 to 12 weeks. 

The forward has now returned to his parent club Blackburn Rovers to begin his rehabilitation.

Speedy recovery, Jack.

I wanted to take this opportunity to say a few words after a fantastic Friday evening under the lights at Fir Park. 

Firstly, I want to offer my deepest condolences to Graham Kerr’s friends and family after his sad passing. It was a lovely tribute in the 57th minute of the match, and I want to thank the Motherwell & Dundee United supporters for the minute’s applause.

Within the build-up to Friday, there was a huge amount of effort and long hours put in by many in the lead-up to the game. When the draw was made and we put ourselves forward for the Friday night fixture, we all sensed an opportunity for us to draw in a bumper crowd. The Well Society Board and the Club met to align their promotional campaigns, and the work immediately commenced.

We had the Well Society Board and so many volunteers delivering 7,500 leaflets around the local area, plus local businesses displaying match posters. I feel those efforts epitomised the community spirit going into the game. In the end, we saw 8327 supporters attend the match, which we believe to be the highest non-old firm, domestic match attendance at Fir Park in 13 years.

That was a sensational effort from everyone to attend and support the players.

Thankfully, you were all rewarded with the perfect ending to the game. The noise when that winning penalty hit the back of the net was spine-tingling.

It was great to see Fir Park bouncing and now we have a semi-final at Hampden to look forward to. However, there are a lot of important games before then, starting on Saturday at home to St Mirren.

We hope that those who came along on Friday, especially those who aren’t regular attendees, can make another effort to attend not just on Saturday, but for future games. There is a special feeling around the club at present, with everyone working together and in tandem. I stated that was my intention when I first arrived at Motherwell in April, but we need to continue that work, with the club, Well Society, and the fanbase all working in partnership to support the club on and off the pitch.

Finally, I just want to reiterate my gratitude to all 8327 people who were here on Friday and to those who were supporting from afar. We will continue to work hard at building relationships with everyone and bringing us all together. It’s been a good start, and there’s more to come.

Brian Caldwell

Chief Executive

We will face Rangers in the semi-final of the Premier Sports Cup on Sunday 3 November. 

Kick off will be 3pm at Hampden Park.

Ticket information will be communicated in due course.

We will face Rangers in the semi-final of the Premier Sports Cup.

The tie will take place at Hampden, on either Saturday 2 November or Sunday 3 November.

Aberdeen face Celtic in the other semi-final.