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The women of steel battled relentlessly till the end in their maiden top-six encounter, but ultimately couldn’t repel the rampant Rangers frontline, as the visitors secured a comfortable 0-8 victory at K-Park on Sunday. 

A Katie Wilkinson hat-trick, braces from Camille Lafaix and Kirsty Howat, with a single-goal from Rio hardy secured a harsh victory for Rangers.

Head Coach Paul Brownlie named three changes from the side that defeated Boroughmuir Thistle to confirm their place in the Semi-Final of the Scottish Cup last weekend. Goalkeeper Rebecca Cameron replaced Emily Mutch between the sticks, as Shannon Leishman and Lucy Barclay both earned their place in the starting XI. Captaining Gill Inglis and Sarah gibb remained available from the bench. Recent acquisition Brodie Greenwood also featured in her first matchday squad since signing on loan from Hearts, with the midfielder amongst the substitutes.

Rangers swiftly got off the mark, as Wilkinson’s drilled delivery across the face of goal ricocheted through the path of Cameron before nesting comfortably inti the back of the net. Motherwell were somehow denied a penalty-kick moments later, as Louisa Boyes defeated Jenna Fife in their race to the ball, with Fife clattering aimlessly through the midfielder deep within the Rangers penalty area, but the referee incredibly waived play-on; much to the understandable frustration of the Motherwell technical area.

Lizzie Arnot teed up LaFaix moments later, with the American midfielder smashing home an unstoppable strike. The 23-year-old completed her brace minutes later, converting Kathy Hill’s delivery. Howat soon lashed home a fourth moments before the break, leaving Motherwell with much to reflect on at half-time.

Wilkinson continued Rangers’ persistent goalscoring form five minutes after the restart, with Howat making it six shortly after. Wilksinon claimed her hat-trick and Rangers’ seventh in the final stages of the game, as Hardy made it eight in the final few minutes from the penalty spot.

Motherwell will return to action in a fortnight’s time when they face Hibernian at K-Park at the end of March.

Michael Wimmer gives his thoughts on the 2-2 draw with St Mirren.

Callum Slattery scored a double as the Steelmen came from behind to take a point at home.

Despite Motherwell going two goals behind, Michael Wimmer’s side battled back valiantly to earn a point in the Fir Park sun.

A deflected goal from Caolan Boyd-Munce and a smart finish from Killian Phillips gave Saints a two-goal lead, before Callum Slattery’s well-measured strike reduced the leeway before half-time.

Slattery’s equaliser in an injury-strewn second half, including a serious one to Saints’ Boyd-Munce, was enough to see both sides having to settle for a share of the points.

Michael Wimmer made two changes from the side which won at Ibrox two weeks ago. Stephen O’Donnell returned to the back three, while striker Luke Plange was given his first start up front in place of the injured Luke Armstrong.

It should have been the perfect start for the Steelmen. With only a minute on the clock, a defensive mix-up at the edge of the Saints box allowed Tom Sparrow to race through on goal. But as Zach Hemming advanced from his line, the Well wide man lifted the ball over the keeper and his open goal.

The home goal had a narrow escape 22 minutes in when Dom Thompson’s poor clearance forced O’Donnell to head the ball off his own goal line.

The Well captain was less fortunate a minute later when the Paisley men took the lead. Although Boyd-Munce’s shot from 25 yards was on target, O’Donnell’s head sent the ball into the opposite corner of Balcombe’s goal. 0-1.

While Lennon Miller and Slattery pushed forward at every turn to support Plange, the ball never stayed up front for long.

And after 33 minutes, the Buddies doubled their lead with a well-taken goal. A cross into the box found Phillips, who chested the ball down before his half volley sent the ball flying past Balcombe from 16 yards.

Well’s response was immediate. Straight from the restart, Balcombe’s long ball was worked towards the visitor’s penalty area by Slattery, where he sidestepped Alex Iacovitti before steering the ball with the outside of his right boot inside Hemming’s right-hand post for a superb finish.

With renewed confidence, the Steelmen then had a period of sustained possession and pressure in the final third of the pitch.

A couple of minutes from half-time they almost found the equaliser with a swift attack. O’Donnell’s long diagonal ball found Thompson racing towards the box, and after he stretched to pull the ball back for Miller, the 18-year-old could only fire wide of target.

Eleven minutes into the second half, the Well boss brought on the experienced Harry Paton and Tony Watt at the expense of Kai Andrews and the hard-working Plange, who had a difficult shift against the physical presence of Saints central defenders.

All too often, play was broken up with a series of clumsy challenges.

On the hour mark, Iacovitti’s robust challenge took out several players, including his teammate Boyd-Munce. After a lengthy treatment on the touchline, the Saints midfielder was stretchered off wearing a neck brace.

It took Well only a couple of minutes after the long stoppage to find their feet and the equaliser.

Watt’s touch at the edge of the box inadvertently set up Slattery, who smacked the ball low and hard into the right-hand corner of Hemming’s goal to make it 2-2.

A minute later the game was halted again after a head knock between Liam Gordon and Toyosi Olusanya forced another substitution with Kofi Balmer coming into the Well central defence.

Not surprisingly, play became rather ragged and hurried as both teams chased a winning goal.

Another high challenge from Olusanya, this time on Dan Casey, earned the Saints striker a second yellow, reducing the visitors to 10 men for the final 20 minutes.

All of that added up to 14 additional minutes and sufficient time for Well to press home their extra man.

With 96 minutes showing on the stadium clock, Wimmer threw on another forward, Moses Ebiye replacing Andy Halliday, but a winner for a third consecutive game never came.

Motherwell Team: Balcombe, Sparrow, O’Donnell, Gordon, Casey, Thompson, Halliday, Slattery, Miller, Andrews, Plange.

Motherwell Subs: Oxborough, Balmer, Wilson, Zdravkovski, Paton, Koutroumbis, Ebiye, Dickson.

A dedicated and loyal addition to the Motherwell backline, defender Katie Rice entered the 2024/25 campaign ready to mark her sixth consecutive season at the club by earning a place in the top-six of the Scottish Women’s Premier League. 

As the final pre-split fixture came to a close, the women of steel can firmly set their sights on the top-six when they welcome title-chasers Rangers to K-Park on Sunday. Rice acknowledged the effort to reach this milestone, but remained adamant that the squad aren’t there to make up numbers.

“We are in the top-six to compete,”Rice explained.

“We have earned the right to compete amongst the best by becoming highest performing part-time team in the country. Whilst we’re all incredibly proud to reach the top-six, the hard-work doesn’t suddenly stop.

“We want the top-six to be a regular occurrence for the squad, and we need to be consistent to achieve this. To be consistent, you have to perform against the full-time teams and we want to showcase what we’re capable of this weekend.

“Rangers will always be a difficult test, they have an incredibly talented squad who understand that every single point matters for them at this stage of the title race. We know what to expect, but ultimately we can only focus on ourselves and ensure we can carry out our gameplan effectively.”

Preparations swiftly resumed following last weekend’s Scottish Cup Quarter-Final victory over Boroughmuir Thistle, as the women of steel secured their place in the final-four at Hampden. Louisa Boyes broke the deadlock midway through the first-half before a Boroughmuir Thistle own-goal doubled Motherwell’s advantage moments later. Captain Gill Inglis sealed victory shortly before the half-time break, as the experienced defender curled home a magnificent right-footed effort into the top-left corner.

“We certainly celebrated the night of the game,” Rice added.

“It was a massive moment for the squad to get back to Hampden for the first-time since 2022, so we made sure to celebrate after the game, but once Monday came around; we were straight back into our preparations for the game this weekend.

“Training has been really positive this week. We’ve had the girls, who represented Scotland under-17s back involved, and there has been a really friendly atmosphere amongst the squad. There is a real bond between the players in the dressing room, we all want to support each other to drive our standards and performances forward, and we will be ready to start our top-six fixtures this weekend.

A familiar face will line-up against the women of steel this weekend, as striker Laura Berry returns to K-Park for the first-time since departing Motherwell to return to her parent club in January, after countless impressive display in a Motherwell jersey; netting 11-goals in 11-appearances. Rice is relishing the opportunity against her former teammate.

“It will be great to face off against Laura,” Rice joked.

“Laura was an exceptional player throughout the season, and an absolutely pivotal part in achieving a top-six finish, but we’re on either side of the pitch now. Once we hear the first-whistle, we’ll be looking to capitalise on our knowledge of her style of play and will try to nullify her game as best as we can.

“It’s going to be incredibly tough to cope with the immense talent at their disposal, but we’ve prepared in the correct manner, are feeling positive heading into this weekend, and are ready to make K-Park a difficult venue for teams to visit.

The K-Park faithful have backed the women of steel both home and away this season, leading the squad to the top-six and a place in the Scottish Cup Semi-Final, and Rice hopes their following can guide Motherwell to a successful post-split campaign.

“The support we’ve received this season has been excellent,” Rice said.

“The crowds at K-Park have continued to grow season upon season, and with our position in the top-six and our Scottish cup run, we’re really keen to hopefully see these attendances grow. We’re really excited by the challenges at this stage of the season, and we hope to see you all supporting us through each game.

“I can’t wait to see you all backing us from the first whistle to the last this Sunday.

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos has been ruled out for at least eight weeks with a fractured wrist, which has required surgery.

After thorough assessment, it became clear that he would be unable to play and will missing for at least two months.

Speedy recovery, Apostolos.

Lennon Miller was delightfully surprised at his inclusion in the latest Scotland squad, saying he was expecting his Under 21 call-up only. Miller is looking forward to joining up with his Scotland teammates, so he can learn as much as possible from the experienced players within the ranks of Steve Clarke’s squad. 

Miller remains grounded and is looking forward to trying to match his father’s total number of caps.

Manager Michael Wimmer was thrilled to see Lennon Miller called up to the senior Scotland squad, and believes that the 18-year-old is more than ready for the step up in class. 

Wimmer is aware of the talent he has and has already picked up on the maturity he shows. The manager was also pleased to see Kai Andrews receive his first senior call up to the Welsh national side.

Tawanda Maswanhise has earned a call-up to the latest Zimbabwe squad.

The Warriors will continue their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign later this month.

They will play two matches during this international window. First up is Benin on Thursday 20 March at home, with the game being played in South Africa, before travelling to face Nigeria on Tuesday 25 March.

Maswanhise and Zimbabwe will hoping to get their campaign back on track, as they currently sit bottom of their group on two points after four games. However, with three teams joint top on seven points, they know a couple of positive results can get them up the table.

• Zimbabwe v Benin 
• Thursday 20 March
• Kick Off 4pm
• Moses Mabhida Stadium, South Africa

• Nigeria v Zimbabwe 
• Tuesday 25 March
• Kick Off 4pm
• Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Nigeria

Kai Andrews has been named in the senior Wales squad for the first time. 

The 18-year-old arrived in January and has been a pivotal part in Michael Wimmer’s side. Having represented at the youth levels for Wales, Craig Bellamy has included the 18-year-old in his squad that will take part in two World Cup Qualifiers.

They will face Kazakhstan on Saturday 22 March at home, before travelling to face North Macedonia on Tuesday 25 March.

These are the first fixtures in Group J, with Wales in a group alongside Belgium and Liechtenstein also.

• Wales v Kazakhstan 
• 7:45pm Kick Off
• Saturday 22 March
• Cardiff City Stadium, Wales 

• North Macedonia v Wales 
• 7:45pm Kick Off 
• Tuesday 25 March
• Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje

Ewan Wilson will travel to Spain with Scotland’s Under 21 side later this month.

Scot Gemmill has assembled a young squad ahead of the new Under-21 cycle. They will play two friendly matches whilst in Spain, taking on Republic of Ireland on Friday 21 March, before facing Iceland on Tuesday 25 March.

These two friendlies will act as preparation for the EURO 2027 qualifiers which get underway later this year.

• Scotland v Republic of Ireland 
• Friday 21 March 
• 7pm Kick Off 
• Pinatar Football Arena, Murcia, Spain

• Scotland v Iceland
• Tuesday 25 March  
• 1pm Kick Off
• Pinatar Football Arena, Murcia, Spain