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The women of steel fought defending champions Celtic to the end, but were narrowly defeated by a single goal, as the visitors scraped through to end their dismal six-game winless run. 

Maria McAneny netted the breakthrough shortly after the hour-mark, curling a magnificent free-kick into the top-right corner from the edge of the penalty area, converting the visitors only clear opportunity on the Motherwell goal. Motherwell nullified the defending champions attacking threat, with Celtic creating few opportunities from open-play, but Motherwell couldn’t capitalise on their momentum in the tie.

Head Coach Paul Brownlie returned to the Motherwell technical area after serving his two-game touchline suspension. The women of steel made three changes from the side that were narrowly defeated by Hearts in the Scottish capital on Wednesday evening. Skipper Gill Inglis replaced defender Shannon Leishman, with Chelsie Watson and Brodie Greenwood also earning a place in the starting XI. Mason Clark and Rachel Todd both settled for a place on the bench.

There were few chances of note for both sides in the opening 45-minutes, with Celtic proving to be wasteful in possession, and Motherwell holding firm at the backline. The first key opportunity fell to Eilidh Austin, who tried to curl an audacious finish towards the top-left corner, but the forward couldn’t gain enough momentum on the ball as the strike fell wide of the target.

The visitors broke the deadlock midway through the second-half, with McAneny curling an unstoppable free-kick around the Motherwell wall, leaving Emily Mutch with no chance in goal.

Bailley Collins came close to equalising seconds from time, breaking through the Celtic high-press, but the forward’s drilled effort landed agonisingly wide of the top-right corner.

Motherwell will come away from K-Park feeling aggrieved to be leaving empty-handed, but will be encouraged and motivated by their impressive display against the defending champions.

Motherwell will regroup and put their league campaign to one side, as they prepare for their Scottish Cup Semi-Final tie with Glasgow City at Hampden Park next Saturday.

Motherwell swiftly move onto their third matchday of the week, as they return home to East Kilbride to face Celtic at K-Park on Sunday evening. 

The women of steel will be looking to earn a positive finale to the week after enduring defeats to both Glasgow City and Hearts.

Paul Brownlie’s side will have their sights set on earning their first points of the top-six campaign.

The Tale of the Tape 

Motherwell 

The women of steel headed to the Oriam National Performance Centre on Wednesday evening and battled the full-time side closely, but an unfortunate deflection and an incredible strike from distance proved to be the difference, as Hearts narrowly merged with the three points.

Motherwell will be determined to earn their first points against the Hoops since a 0-0 stalemate in 2023 which secured Motherwell’s first-point against Celtic since 2019.

Midfielder Brodie Greenwood, who missed out against her parent club Hearts, will be eligible to return to the matchday squad. Celtic loanee Sienna McGoldrick will be unavailable.

Celtic

Defending champions Celtic have yet to emerge from a turbulent domestic campaign, with the Glasgow-side sitting fifth in the SWPL table, nine-points behind bitter rivals Rangers at the top of the league.

Ticket Information 

Adult – £8.

Concession – £3.

Under-11s – FREE TO ENTER.

Kick-off from K-Park at 4PM.

Tom Sparrow arrived in the summer of 2024 in ML1, with many only knowing the 22-year-old from his stint just down the road with Hamilton.

Admitting that he was never the best player in his age group at Stoke City in his early years, Sparrow’s approach has always been about giving 100% at all times and leaving nothing out on the pitch. That professional mindset has led him from playing National League North football with Chester in 2023/24 to playing with Motherwell in the top flight of Scottish football the following year.

Show work ethic and adaptability; Sparrow has been deployed as a wing-back more than his natural central midfield role, something he relishes. Learning every day, he has impressed new manager Michael Wimmer quickly and was handed a new contract lasting until 2028.

With his future secure, it’s straight back to work for Sparrow, as he has his eyes firmly set on his next target on the international stage.

The women of steel fought full-time Hearts closely, but couldn’t find the deserved breakthrough, as the hosts narrowly earned a two-nil victory at the Oriam on Wednesday evening. 

Lizzie Waldie’s deflected strike wrong-footed goalkeeper Emily Mutch for a fortunate opener before a stunning effort from Naomi Powell completed the three points under the floodlights.

Amidst a touchline ban, Head Coach Paul Brownlie was confined to the stands of the Oriam performance Centre, as Assistant Colin Crichton undertook duties in the Motherwell technical area. The women of steel named 10-changes from the side that were defeated by Glasgow City last weekend.. Emily Mutch returned between the sticks, with Shannon Leishman, Jenna Penman, Rachel Todd, Katie Rice, Sophie Black, Louisa Boyes, Lucy Ronald, Mason Clark and Bailley Collins all returning to the starting XI. Midfielder Brodie Greenwood was unable to face her parent club.

Motherwell certainly had the more promising opportunities on goal throughout the entirety of the first-half. Katie Rice’s whipped free-kick from distance swirled invitingly across the face of goal, forcing an impressive save from the Hearts stopper. A drilled corner-kick moments later flashed across the six-yard-box, with defender Jenna Penman agonisingly missing the ball by a few centimetres.

Into the second-half, Sophie Black curled an enticing strike around the far post, as Motherwell continued to force the Hearts backline towards heir own-goal. However, moments later, Waldie’s strike from the edge of the penalty area took a huge deflection off of former Jambo Penman before wrong-footing Mutch in the Motherwell goal.

Motherwell tried to rally a response, but Powell’s exceptional strike from distance sailed into the top-right corner, leaving Motherwell empty-handed un the Scottish capital.

The women of steel will have to regroup before facing Celtic at K-Park on Sunday.

As we kick off our post-split fixtures, season ticket holders are able to bring a friend for £5 to our match with St Johnstone on Saturday 26 April.

This offer will be in operation in the John Hunter, Davie Cooper and Phil O’Donnell stands.

To take advantage of this offer, please follow the online steps below:

• Visit our ticketing platform here
• Sign-in
• Select ‘All Events’ at the top right-hand side of the page and then ‘All Matches’
• Select your seat.
• Add ‘Bring a Friend’ ticket to your basket.
• Complete the checkout process.

Your additional ticket will be sent via email for you to pass to your chosen friend.  Alternatively, you can print at home.

Luca Ross has agreed a two-year contract extension, which will see him remain at Fir Park until the summer of 2027. 

The young winger made his debut against Rangers back in 2022 and notched up five first team appearances before joining Annan Athletic on loan for the 24/25 campaign where he has made 24 appearances and scored one goal.

“Luca is a talented young player,” manager Michael Wimmer said.

“He has had a very successful loan spell this season which has aided his development. We want to try and bring as many young players through the system here.

“We hope Luca can continue to develop into a first-team player and I’m looking forward to the staff here helping him achieve that.”

Luca added, “I’ve came through the academy here and have made some appearances for the first-team so I’ll be looking to add more to that.

“It gives me confidence that the manager has seen enough to extend my contract and recently I’ve been training with the first-team which is a great experience.

“I’m really glad to sign the deal and hopefully I can kick on when I return from my loan at Annan and make a positive impression next season.”

Voting for all the awards up for grabs at our 2025 Player of the Year event are now open. 

You can now have your say on who you think is our Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, the Goal of the Season and the Women’s Player of the Year.

You can cast your votes below.

Player of the Year:  VOTE HERE

Young Player of the Year:  VOTE HERE

Goal of the Season:  VOTE HERE

Women’s Player of the Year: VOTE HERE

Kai Andrews has had to deal with a lot thrown at him in the last three months. Since his arrival on loan from Coventry in January, the 18-year-old has had his fair share of challenges and experiences.

This loan move to Motherwell was for him to go through these moments, however, and as such, the midfielder is pleased with how things have panned out in North Lanarkshire so far.

“It’s been frantic,” Kai Andrews laughed.

“A lot has happened in such a short space of time, but I feel like every challenge that has been thrown my way, I’ve stepped up to it. I’m really enjoying my football.

“With everything that has gone on recently, there is no doubt I’m a more mature man and player as a result. I’m in a first-team environment consistently, playing in the first-team, and getting proper experience of a first-team match day. It’s been a big step up for me from academy football, so you’ve got to mature as it goes.

“I was training with the Coventry first-team players every week. Since I got my first call-up at 16, I’ve trained with them onwards. It’s just that game time and experience I wasn’t getting, so this loan move felt like a necessity for me.”

The loan move has certainly provided Andrews with ample experience of life as a professional player. He’s experienced tough opposition, big crowds and manager alterations.

But all of that will stand him in good stead for the future, and the change from academy football has been noticeable for the Welshman.

“Coming here was all about getting experience and minutes,” he stated.

“There’s only so much you can learn from academy football, so you do need to play men’s games. That’s where I want to go in the future, so just getting a consistent run of games, playing in front of the big crowds and playing better opposition has been a learning curve.

“Physically, I feel like I’ve dealt with it all very well. My body has felt fine throughout the games I’ve played, whether that’s been 90 or 20 minutes. I’ve avoided injuries, which is great. The main thing for me is just keeping up with the speed of the game mentally.

“It’s mature, proper football, which is a lot different from academy football. People’s jobs are at stake here; that’s been my biggest challenge, but I’ve adapted to that well.”

In many respects, Andrews has had to learn the hard way. He made his debut against Kilmarnock back in January, under the previous manager, who had scouted and convinced him to join the club. Not long after that, Michael Wimmer would take the reins, and Andrews would have to impress if he wanted the loan to be a success.

“Recently at Coventry, we had a change of manager,” Andrews explained.

“So, I have experienced this before, but at Coventry, I wasn’t in the team playing, so this was a little different. I guess when I came here, it was because Stuart Kettlewell had already watched me and already had that sense of trust with me. That new change of manager creates a sense of doubt in your head and a bit of worry, but I feel like the new manager has come in and done well.

“I really like the philosophy he is trying to instill, and I enjoy the way he wants to play football. With this change, it’s just another experience I’ve had.

“At the gaffer’s first game against Dundee United, I didn’t come on, so I was a bit frustrated. But I took in the sense that that’s just another motivator and that I needed to push harder. So, during that next training week, I trained even better and got my chance to start against Dundee.

“I think I did well in that game, and it got me a run of starts. My favourite moment so far was winning at Ibrox. It’s got to be!

“The atmosphere on such a big occasion, with the away fans that travelled, was like nothing I’d ever experienced in football. It was the best I’ve felt playing football.”

Andrews received plenty of praise for his brave performance against Rangers that day, as did all the players. Online, Coventry fans were also shouting his praises as they kept an eye on one of their own.

But it’s not just the fans closely monitoring his progress; a number of the staff at Coventry, including manager Frank Lampard, remain in contact constantly.

“There are a lot of staff that keep in contact with me from Coventry,” he added.

“They like to keep tabs on me and are watching closely. I spoke to Frank Lampard recently, who is also watching my games. All of the feedback has been good so far, so I just want to keep impressing while I’m here and then take it back to Coventry in the summer.

“The whole vision is I’ve grown up playing for Coventry; they’re my boyhood club, and I’ve been there since I was 11, so my dream is to be a player there. To go back there and be a first-team player is the goal, but as of right now, my focus is Motherwell. The here and now is so important, and we’ve got a lot of important games before the season is finished.”

But the experiences and challenges faced haven’t all been difficult to handle. In amongst this whirlwind few months, Andrews earned his maiden call-up to the Wales first-team squad in March at just 18 years old.

“Initially, I got the news a week prior to the squad release day saying that I was on standby,” he noted.

“Even then, that was surreal. I didn’t feel like anything would happen, but then I got the call to say I had got a full call-up. I didn’t know what to do or how to handle myself, to be honest.

“I called my mum and told her the news. I pulled up on the side of the road because I was so lost for words. She was crying down the phone to me. Honestly, from then on, my phone went crazy with every family member and all my friends calling me.

“When I arrived at the camp and started to walk through the doors, I saw Craig Bellamy standing there waiting for me. The photographer was also there, so I tried my best to hold my smile in so I could look calm and composed.

“All the players were really welcoming. There were a few players who I had already encountered. Jay Dasilva is at Coventry, and Lewis Koumas I’d played with in the academy. They were especially welcoming and helped me settle in. The rest of the lads were top also. It’s quite a young group overall, and that helped me settle in.”

Although Andrews didn’t receive his first cap during the international window, he has come away from that camp feeling even more positive about his game having worked alongside some of the best in the business.

“The intensity and standard throughout training are a different level,” Andrews said.

“You have to adjust quickly to it; the first day I was just chasing shadows. Being able to train beside those players helps you learn a lot. Not just on the pitch, but off it too. Just watching the way they conduct themselves and carry themselves.

“It shows how they’ve got a career in the game; that’s my aim too. It was a privilege to play alongside players of that calibre. With the camp, it was an opportunity for Bellamy to see me and for me to try and impress.

“Over the course of the camp, he did seem impressed. I had a few conversations with him where he said that I’d handled myself well. I’m hoping that gives me enough to get invited to another camp in the future. Going out there and training with the likes of Brennan Johnson and Dan James, who are massive names in football who have had a career for years at the highest level in football, gives me confidence because I know I can handle myself with them.

“Now, I want to bring that confidence back here and put it out on the pitch. I was eligible to play for Wales, England and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The latter is where my dad is from, and I grew up there from a young age; mind you, I can’t remember much. My heart has always been with Wales, however, especially because that’s from my grandma’s side.

“She’s not with us anymore, but I wanted to make her proud. I’ll keep working hard to do just that.”