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Assistant manager Stephen Frail speaks following Motherwell’s 4-3 victory over Dundee United in the William Hill Premiership.

Motherwell produced a wonderful attacking performance to edge out Dundee United in a seven-goal thriller and leapfrog the Tannadice side to claim fourth spot in the William Hill Premiership table.

Goals from Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Sam Dalby inside the first five minutes set the scene for an action-packed afternoon. Two quickfire goals from Halliday and Stamatelopoulos set up the Fir Park men for a thoroughly merited 3-1 lead at the interval.

A slice of fortune then allowed Dalby to narrow the gap before Tom Sparrow came off the bench to make it 4-2. The points looked safe until Louis Moult pulled one back for United, leaving eight minutes of pulsating action before ‘Well could deservedly claim all three points.

With last week’s match winner, Tony Watt, unable to face his parent club; Tawanda Maswanhise came in to partner Apostolos Stamatelopoulos in the ‘Well attack.

The United front line was led by the former Fir Park goal hero, Louis Moult, who scored against the Steelmen on his last visit in September.

But the home side made the perfect start, finding the net after only 47 seconds.

Marvin Kaleta worked a quick exchange on the right-hand side of the box before sweeping the ball into the six-yard box, where Stamatelopoulos nipped in front of Declan Gallagher and prodded the ball past Jack Walton.

Before the Steelmen could build on that lead, though, United were level thanks to VAR’s intervention.

Referee Nick Walsh saw nothing wrong with Liam Gordon’s challenge as the defender cleared the ball before colliding into Moult. But after the referee reviewed the incident on the trackside monitor, he pointed to the penalty spot. Dalby converted with a side-footed effort into the net, sending Aston Oxborough the wrong way to make it 1-1.

‘Well had an early chance to restore their lead when Andy Halliday fed the ball through to Harry Paton. With the goal begging 12 yards away, Emmanuel Adegboyega’s sliding challenge robbed the Canadian midfielder of a strike.

United’s reply was a close-range effort from Dalby, which Oxborough reacted superbly to push the ball round the post.

That was the only relief on the visitors goal as ‘Well pressed United into their own half.

Lennon Miller’s pass allowed Maswanhise to turn at the edge of the box before driving the ball across Walton and beyond his far post.

A couple of minutes later, the home side came close again. Halliday swept the ball from the right into Stamatelopoulos’ path, who drilled his shot narrowly past the other post.

Finally, after 33 minutes, the Steelmen found the target again. Maswanhise wriggled clear on the right before crossing the ball beyond the far post. Steve Seddon took a touch and then fired the ball low back across the box for Halliday to force it into the net.

Jim Goodwin’s men had no time to reply before falling two behind.

Miller slipped the ball to Halliday, and his lofted pass towards Walton’s goal found Stamatelopoulos rising unchallenged, and the Australian guided his header high past the ‘keeper to make it 3-1.

And it might have been a fourth in additional time when Luca Stephenson’s high boot caught Paton inside the box, but on this occasion the referee and VAR decided it was not a penalty.

The second half started with Motherwell showing the same intent.

A neat move after 51 minutes found Kaleta on the right, and his ball across the box gave Stamatelopoulos a chance to test Walton with a low shot.

Two minutes later, though, United were back in the game. Glenn Middleton’s high cross into the six-yard area enticed Oxborough from his line. But when the ‘Well ‘keeper failed to connect, the ball bounced off Dalby and into an empty net.

As the visitors chased an equaliser, the play became rather frantic, and Stuart Kettlewell freshened things up, bringing on Tom Sparrow and Ewan Wilson.

However, it took two miraculous saves from Oxborough to atone for his error and preserve his side’s lead.

Moult was the provider in the 64th minute when his cross was met by Dalby, whose downward header was brilliantly palmed away from his goal line by the ‘keeper’s left hand.

Two minutes later, Moult almost added to his haul of goals at Fir Park, but his thumping drive was superbly touched on to the face of his crossbar by Oxborough.

That proved a crucial save as a minute later, ‘Well regained their two-goal advantage.

Stamatelopoulos gathered the ball at the edge of the box and rolled it in front of Sparrow, who deftly drilled it low past Walton to make it 4-2.

Two more changes from the home bench saw Stephen O’Donnell return from injury and Moses Ebiye join the attack.

And with his first touch, the Nigerian striker’s low drive forced a diving save from Walton.

With Sam Nicholson making another late appearance on his comeback from serious injury, the points looked safe and secure until United pulled another goal back four minutes from time.

Middleton’s corner was firmly met by Holt, who powered home his header and set up a nail-biting finish.

Given the explosive opening to the game, four minutes of additional time provided action for more goals.

Well had the chance to make it five, and round off a wonderful game when O’Donnell broke from his own half. But with four in claret in amber racing towards the United goal Walton raced from his line to end the threat but unable to deny the Steelmen a terrific win.

Motherwell team: Oxborough, Kaleta, Casey, Gordon, Blaney, Seddon, Halliday, Paton, Miller (C), Maswanhise, Stamatelopoulos.

Motherwell subs: Hegyi, O’Donnell, Balmer, Zdravkovski, Sparrow, Nicholson, Wilson, Ebiye, Tavares. 

Moving swiftly to acquire the signature of highly-rated youth prodigy Georgie Robb, Motherwell fought off competition north of the border to attract the 19-year-old to Lanarkshire; unveiling the Scottish youth international in claret and amber in August.

Robb, who departed Dundee United following the conclusion of the 2023/24 SWPL campaign, racked up 54-top-flight appearances in the City of Discovery before trading Dundee for North Lanarkshire, as the youngster sought to aid the women of steel’s ambitions of a top-six finish this season.

However, injuries have curtailed Robb’s long-awaited start at K-Park, with the creative attacking midfielder featuring twice against Hearts and Partick Thistle after making her debut against Celtic in September.

“It hasn’t been the start that I had envisaged,” Robb explained.

“A contact-injury after the first month caused a problem that we weren’t aware of initially, but it continued to cause a problem whilst I was training. Once we realised that the injury was slightly worse than we initially anticipated, I had to stay on the sidelines.

“It’s frustrating, as when you move to a new club, you want to immediately make an impact and earn your place in the matchday squad. The injury has meant that I’ve not had that opportunity to showcase what I’m capable of. The squad have been performing really well, sitting two-points clear in the top-six, and I want to get back as soon as I can to support the squad.”

Despite only featuring three-times in the 2024/25 SWPL campaign, Robb has taken to life in Lanarkshire, settling into the club culture at the club.

“I’ve absolutely loved my time at the club so far,” Robb emphasised.

“There were a lot of new faces, myself included in the summer transfer window, but everyone in the squad whether new or from the season before have really welcomed me into the squad. It’s a great environment for any player to develop, the coaching staff work hard behind the scenes to bring the best out of you on a matchday collectively, whilst simultaneously looking to develop yourself individually as a player.

“The club have brought through and developed several young players in recent years, by giving them a platform to express themselves and earn minutes in a competitive first-team environment. When you look at the current squad, you have several talented young players to follow in the footsteps of. Lucy Ronald picking up the player of the year award at 21, Laura Berry receiving numerous accolades in her first couple seasons, Louisa Boyes scoring two hat-tricks last month alone, Mason Clark scoring her first goal for the club and so many more.”

“I really want to follow in their footsteps. Despite not being able to get that time on the pitch so far, I’ve really enjoyed my time at the club, and am focused on getting through this stint on the sidelines by working towards regular matchday action.”

“I’m really looking forward to the games ahead,” Robb added.

“The time on the sidelines is hopefully coming to a close, and I’m working hard behind the scenes to get myself mentally and physically prepared for what will be a difficult run of fixtures until the new year. There’s still so many important games left in the season, but we are taking each game at a time and I’m looking forward to playing my part.

“The support we have received from the supporters in the past few weeks have been valuable. We work hard to maintain our standards on the pitch and reward the encouragement we receive from the stands.”

Motherwell have a number of players out on loan at present. Below, we take a look at how they got on in the last four weeks. 

Matty Connelly

Matty Connelly is now on 20 appearances for East Kilbride this season. An impressive 2-0 win over Celtic B has put Kilby at the top of the Lowland League tree at the weekend, and they followed it up with a comfortable 4-1 win over Broomhill midweek.

It’s been an exciting month for Connelly. He started and played every minute since our last report, despite a short spell back at Motherwell to cover the absence of Krisztián Hegyi.

Connelly played the full 90 as Championship side Falkirk knocked East Kilbride out of the Scottish Cup. They still have a semi-final tie in the Challenge Cup against Queen’s Park to look forward to.

Max Ross

Max Ross is up to eight appearances for Albion Rovers. He had started all of the last eight games for Rovers but missed out in their most recent match against Tranent.

Albion Rovers are on 27 points after 18 games. They’re seventh in the table.

Brannan McDermott

With matches postponed, Brannan McDermott has only played two game since our last loan report.

That was a 3-2 defeat to Stirling University and a 4-1 defeat midweek against East Kilbride. He played the full 90 in both matches.

Olly Whyte

Olly Whyte has now played 22 games for Cowdenbeath as he continues to impress in the middle of the pitch.

Since the last loan report, Cowdenbeath have exited the Scottish Cup. Brechin won 4-1 after extra time, where Whyte played the full 120.

That has been one of three games since the last report. In the other two, Whyte has started and played the full match. He netted a brace against Linlithgow Rose last Saturday, helping his side towards a 2-0 victory.

That was Cowdenbeath’s third victory in the Lowland League, moving them five points ahead of bottom.

Dylan Wells

After a delayed start to the action for Edinburgh City, Dylan Wells has now made his debut and has played three times.

Edinburgh City are flying in the league, winning all four of their last four matches in League Two.

Wells made his debut against Peterhead. He came on at half-time and played the second-half. He was then a substitute for his second appearance against Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup, where the Citizens fell to a 2-1 defeat.

Having impressed from the bench, he was handed his first start on Saturday against Stirling Albion, where he scored after 38 minutes. City won 3-0 with Wells coming off in stoppage time.

Filip Stuparevic

Filip Stuparevic has made one further appearance since our last report. The Serbian netted a double against Raith Rovers in November, taking his goal tally to four for the season.

He has picked up a knock and missed out on their most recent match against Livingston.

Luca Ross

Luca Ross has made two further appearances for Annan, having recovered from a minor injury.

The winger was brought into the action on Saturday against Cover Rangers for the last ten minutes. Annan drew 1-1.

With Dumbarton and Inverness both receiving 15-point deductions for entering administration, Annan are 10th in the table, eight clear of Inverness.

Mark Ferrie

Mark Ferrie has now played nine games for Bonnyrigg Rose this season, with their match being postponed last Saturday against Spartans.

Ferrie has started three out of the last four games, with Bonnyrigg’s last loss in the league coming back in early October.

Despite a six-point deduction, Bonnyrigg are only three points off of the promotion playoff spots.

Having made his first appearance of the season against St Mirren last weekend, Sam Nicholson reflects on what he describes as his most frustrating injury in his career, and talks about how good it feels to be back in action. 

Admitting he still needs to build up fitness and sharpness, Nicholson is determined to build up his minutes in a Motherwell shirt this season and also explains how the tightness of the group helped him through his darker days.

Assistant Manager Stephen Frail will be leading in the dugout this weekend due to manager Stuart Kettlewell serving a one-game touchline ban but insists that this won’t alter any pre-match messaging and says the manager will be in constant contact during the game. 

The Motherwell number two discusses the fitness of Paul McGinn, Ross Callachan and Callum Slattery, as well as explaining the thought process behind playing Jair Tavares in a slightly different position.

Ahead of our match against Aberdeen in the William Hill Premiership, we plan for a minute’s silence to take place for Motherwell fans who have passed away in 2024. 

We are asking fans to submit names of family or friends who have sadly passed away this year. Their names will be displayed on the scoreboard for the minute silence, and will be commemorated in the match programme.

To submit, email memorial@motherwellfc.co.uk with the first and second name of the person you’d like to be remembered, as well as their year of birth.

The deadline for this is Monday 30 December at 5pm.

The women of steel fought valiantly against title-chasers Rangers, battling till the final whistle in an intense physical contest, but their efforts were left unrewarded as Rangers’ defensive backline held out for the three points under the thick fog at K-Park. 

Head Coach Paul Brownlie named four changes to the side that completed a seven-goal advantage over SWPL2 outfit Rossvale in the Scottish Cup last weekend. Goalkeeper Emily Mutch and Katie Rice both returned to the starting XI, with Rebecca Cameron and Bailley Collins both taking their place on the bench. Despite three key first-team players ineligible – namely Laura Berry, Mason Clark and Sophie Black – against their parent club, Motherwell maintained their standards in an assured and competitive performance over the league leaders.

Rangers opened the scoring after only seven minutes, with Katie Wilkinson’s glancing header finding the target after escaping her marker to prod home Lizzie Arnot’s dangerous delivery across the face of goal. From that point, Rangers’ early dominance subsided, and the hosts started to find a foothold in the game. Rachel Todd’s ambitious effort from distance had Jenna Fife scrambling in the Rangers goal, but the Gers were able to maintain their lead as the half-time whistle blew and the freezing cold temperatures continued to drop in East Kilbride.

As the second-half resumed, Motherwell were firmly in the ascendency, pinning the Rangers backline deep into their own half in an assured passage of play from the hosts. An enticing through ball had Louisa Boyes darting through the centre of the Rangers final third, but the midfielder couldn’t find a clean connection on the ball; sending her attempt over the crossbar.

Motherwell continued two threaten, with second-half substitute Lucy Barclay coming close to a dramatic late equaliser, sending her powerful low effort past the post. Motherwell will be motivated by their performance, when they travel to the Scottish capital this weekend to face fellow top-six side Hibernian at Meadowbank.

The women of steel will return to league action this evening after embarking on their route to the historic Women’s Scottish Cup at the weekend, with Motherwell comfortably defeating SWPL2 outfit Rossvale at the Kirkintilloch Community Sports Complex on Sunday. 

Motherwell, who were the defeated finalists to Hibernian in 2018, placed seven-goals past the hosts in an assured performance that secured their place in the Quarter-Final stage, where they will meet another SWPL2 side in Bonnyrigg Rose after being drawn together on Monday evening.

The Tale of the Tape 

Motherwell 

Paul Brownlie’s side return to league action this weekend, looking to replicate their impressive attacking display against title-chasers Rangers. There were seven different goalscorers on the scoresheet, as Sophie Black netted her second Motherwell goal, with Bailley Collins also netting in the first-half to provide the women of steel with a two-goal cushion at the break.

Louisa Boyes continued her remarkable goalscoring form, converting a third shortly after the restart, with Jenna Penman lashing one into the top-right corner from distance soon after. Second-half substitutes Lucy Barclay, Sienna McGoldrick and Mason Clark all found the target, as Motherwell coasted to a productive seven-goal advantage.

The women of steel will look to continue from where they left off when they face title-chasers Rangers this evening, and will be keen to redeem themselves after a frustrating performance against the Glasgow-side knocked Motherwell out of the Sky Sports Cup last month. Motherwell will be without striker Laura Berry, midfielders Mason Clark and Sophie Black, who are all ineligible to face their parent club.

Rangers

Like Motherwell, Rangers also secured their place in the Quarter-Final of the Scottish Cup, dispatching 24-goals past lower-league side West Dyke FC in a clinical display. They travel to K-Park this evening, seeking their sixth successive competitive victory after hitting Dundee United for six in their last league meeting in November.

Ticket information

Supporters can purchase tickets on matchday, with the clubs turnstile in operation.

• Adult – £8.
• Concession – £3.
• Under-11s – Free to enter.

How to follow the action 

Supporters can follow Sunday’s encounter on X formerly Twitter @motherwellwomen, with a full report of the action available post-match. Kick-off from K-Park at 8PM.

Motherwell welcome Dundee United to Fir Park on Saturday 14 December in the William Hill Premiership. 

Kick off is 3pm.

How to follow the game

What else is happening?

Shelter Scotland will be at Fir Park on Saturday, with pop-ups in the Cooper Car Park and away turnstiles.

They are looking for good-quality, pre-loved clothing and accessories. These can be any clothing items, including coats, jackets, jumpers, scarves, gloves, and hats, which are all especially welcomed at this time of year. The link below also outlines the full list of what items they can and can’t accept to their shops.

For more, click here.

Spotlight Shotts are on hand collecting money for a bucket collection.

They help residents of Shotts and surrounding districts to be able to enjoy plays, world-class music, comedy shows, children’s theatre, puppets, and storytelling without having to spend time and money on train and bus fares or worrying how to manage the bus and train journeys.

For more information, please visit their website.

Kit Watch

We will be wearing our home kit for this match.

Squad Update

Paul McGinn, Callum Slattery, Jack Vale, Ross Callachan, Tom Sparrow and Zach Robinson remain out for this game.

Stephen O’Donnell was fit enough for the bench on Saturday against St Mirren. Tony Watt is ineligible.

Stuart Kettlewell will be serving a one-game touchline ban for an accumulation of yellow cards.

Motherwell’s Fortunes

Motherwell got back to winning ways last time out against St Mirren. Tony Watt’s late winner put an end to a three-game losing run and closed the gap to fourth to just two points.

After 15 games last season, Motherwell were on 14 points. The Steelmen are eight points better off this time round.

These two teams have met twice already this season, once in the league and once in the Premier Sports Cup. Both times, Motherwell won 2-1.

Opposition Report

Dundee United currently occupies fourth place in the table after a strong start to the season.

The Tangerines are unbeaten in their last five matches, winning two and drawing three. Their last defeat came against Motherwell at Tannadice at the end of October.

Sam Dalby is the man in form in the division. The 25-year-old has scored six goals in the last eight games, including a run of four games where he scored consecutively. The Welshman picked up the SPFL Player of the Month award for November.