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We can confirm we have submitted an appeal for the red card shown to Dan Casey in our Premiership match against Kilmarnock on Friday 20 December.

The outcome of this appeal will be communicated in due course.

It was festive Friday night football in ML1, with Motherwell looking to make it three wins on the spin against Kilmarnock. 

Liam Gordon got the Steelmen off to a flyer, netting his first goal in the claret and amber. Former Motherwell man Liam Polworth made his mark, striking Killie level in the second-half.

And then, once again, refereeing decisions would be at the centre of attention. With Dan Casey shown a red card, bizarrely, by referee Chris Graham for an altercation with Danny Armstrong, VAR recommended the referee come to the monitor.

With it seemingly an easy decision to overturn, the referee stuck with the red card, and Casey was told to exit the field. Motherwell stuck in there, with chances presenting themselves in the closing stages, but the game would end 1-1.

Motherwell concluded their final domestic fixture of 2024, holding high-flying Hearts to a goalless stalemate at K-Park on Sunday.

It proved not to be a contest for the footballing purist, as both sides evenly matched each other in a defensively resolute performance that conceded very few opportunistic chances on goal.

Head Coach Paul Brownlie named two changes from the side that were defeated in the Scottish capital by Hibernian last weekend. Defender Rachel Todd and and midfielder Lucy Ronald both returned to the starting XI, with Ronald making her first competitive start since an injury setback against Spartans last season ruled the 22-year-old out of action for over a year. Chelsie Watson and Sienna McGoldrick both settled for a place amongst the substitutes.

Few chances of note troubled both Emily Mutch and Rachael Johnstone across either half, with Bailley Collins coming closest after curling a hopeful left-footed effort across the face of goal, but the versatile defenders attempt fell narrowly beyond the far post.

Collins again came close to breaking the deadlock in the second-half after looking to capitalise on Johnstone’s high starting position, clipping an audacious finish from distance, but the shot strayed wide of the target. Katie Rice’s bending free-kick from the edge of the Hearts’ penalty area had Johnstone scrambling in the Hearts goal, but the experienced defender couldn’t find the top-left corner.

Motherwell head into the winter break two-points clear of closest-rivals Partick Thistle in the SWPL table, with the women of steel set to return to action in January.

Ten-man Motherwell had to settle for a point as Kilmarnock came back from a goal behind at Fir Park on Friday night. 

In a dull first half, Liam Gordon’s headed goal had the Steelmen ahead until Liam Polworth levelled the scores just before Dan Casey was bizarrely red carded after facing up to Danny Armstrong.

Although the Ayrshire men tried to push home their numerical advantage, the game was evenly balanced as both teams chased a late winner.

Following Saturday’s exciting win over Dundee United, Stuart Kettlewell made one change for Kilmarnock’s Friday night visit to Fir Park.

For a fixture that is usually a tight encounter, the Well boss brought back the experienced Tony Watt at the expense of Tawanda Maswanhise.

The Steelmen were hoping to replicate the flying start they made against United and within 30 seconds had tested the Killie keeper.

Lennon Miller’s free kick found Gordon, and his header found Kieran O’Hara leaping to his right to beat the ball away before play was stopped for offside.

After 18 minutes, the Fir Park men grabbed the lead.

Marvin Kaleta’s high ball to the back of the six-yard area was headed back across goal by Casey. The keeper pushed the ball off his line but only as far as Gordon, who slammed it through a ruck of players to make it 1-0.

Sadly, that was about it for first-half goalmouth action as the ball spent an inordinate amount of time in the air as neither team took a commanding hold of the game, with both sides untidy in possession.

Kilmarnock did create one chance, on the half hour mark, when Aston Oxborough made a smart save low to his left to deny Kyle Vassell an equaliser.

In the first decent build-up of the second-half, Motherwell created an opening.

Kaleta carried the ball down the right before passing inside to Watt. His ball into the box found his striking partner Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, who found enough space for a shot that sailed over the bar.

Six minutes later, Oxborough produced another diving save to block Vassell’s firm drive.

With 68 minutes played, Kettlewell made a double substitution, bringing on Tom Sparrow and Davor Zdravkovski.

However, it was Killie’s double substitution that had an immediate impact on the game when Danny Armstrong’s cross fell for Vassell. But once again, Oxborough denied the striker, forcing his shot around the post.

From the resultant corner, the ball found its way to Polworth, and although Oxborough got his hands to the ex-Well man’s powerful drive, he couldn’t prevent it sneaking inside his right-hand post.

Things got worse for the Steelmen a couple of minutes later when they were reduced to 10 men. Following a VAR check, Casey was shown a red card, incredibly, for violent conduct.

The Well boss then bravely went for three points, bringing on the attack-minded Maswanhise and Moses Ebiye.

Immediately Ebiye was heading towards the box only to be tripped by Joe Wright.

The resultant free kick from Miller had some fans on their feet as his curled effort rippled the side netting with O’Hara scurrying across his goal line.

As the fourth official indicated eight minutes of additional time, the game became an end-to-end affair as both teams pressed for a win.

However, although Motherwell looked the more likely to score until the final whistle, they had to settle for a point to reinforce their hold on fourth place in the league table.

Stuart Kettlewell gives his thoughts on a 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock which was marred by a controversial red card for Dan Casey.

Our match against Celtic will now take place on Sunday 2 February 2025. 

Kick off is 3pm at Fir Park.

The match will be shown live on Sky Sports.

Flair, versatility and a keen eye on goal are simply few of the traits within the repertoire of talents that the K-park faithful have become accustomed to whilst watching Laura Berry leading the line. 

The striker burst into the Scottish Women’s Premier League, netting 8-goals in 12-appearances after joining the club on an initial season-long loan deal from Glasgow-outfit Rangers. A Champions League debut for the Gers followed, facing European titans Atletico de Madrid and Arsenal, but the youngster sought to continue her development elsewhere – returning to the club for her second consecutive loan deal.

Berry has quickly rediscovered her form this campaign, scoring seven-goals in eight-appearances, including four against newly-promoted SWPL2 champions Queens Park in only her second game. The international ranks haven’t fazed the forward, with Berry completing a first-half hat-trick against the Netherlands before scoring a double against Hungary the following week.

“I’ve loved my time at the club,” Berry noted.

“I really wanted to continue the progression of my own game, and my first stint at the club last season allowed me to make significant strides on the pitch. The coaching staff at the club work tirelessly to ensure progression on the pitch collectively as a squad, but they also are focused on developing yourself individually as a player.

“The squad are incredibly supportive, and have created a really positive environment fir young players to thrive. We have a really perfect balance of experienced and young players in the squad that has been fundamental to our performances on the pitch this season. I’ve been able to take what I’ve learned at the club to the Scotland youth squads and develop my standards on the international stage.”

Her impression on the Scottish footballing scene hasn’t gone unnoticed, with the 17-year-old forward receiving the Scottish Women’s Football Young Player of the Year award. The striker was nominated alongside Rossvale’s Sophie Ambrosini, Hearts’ Jessica Husband and Ross County’s Keira Syrjanen, but after initially being shortlisted by a supporters vote, Berry was awarded the ‘Young player of the year’ by a selected judging panel.

“It has been a dream come true,” Berry emphasised.

“It was an absolute honour and a privilege to be nominated in my first season of professional football, especially alongside so many talented players. Being recognised as the Young Player of the Year is a really proud milestone for myself and something that I haven’t taken for granted.

“It has been a whirlwind experience. I still feel relatively new to the league and fairly inexperienced at this level, but having my first full season under my belt and trying to replicate those performances this season as an established first-team player has been important to my development.

“Ultimately, my main focus is to support the team to success on the pitch, but individually as a player, I’m always looking to improve and add to my game, so to receive the recognition from the SWF is a real motivator for me to continue with the hard work both on and off the pitch.”

The women of steel remain firmly in the ascendency, as they chase their long-awaited and evaded ambition of a top-six finish in the Scottish Women’s Premier League table. Motherwell have maintained an advantage over their closest rivals Partick Thistle for much of the 2024/25 SWPL campaign, after a 1-1 stalemate in the last meeting between the sides.

Paul Brownlie’s side confidently secured their place in Round Four of the Scottish Cup, defeating SWPL2 side Rossvale with an assured seven-goal victory before closely-battling league leaders Rangers at a sub-zero K-Park. Despite not finding the target, Berry showcased her creativity, teeing up her teammates on three-occasions.

“The SWPL is a difficult league,” Berry explained.

“Part-time squads are facing opposition who are well-rested, training full-time, and solely focused on football. The challenges can be unpredictable, but as a squad, we’ve approached each game in a professional manner – training regularly with great attention to detail and always with an ambition to compete at the top-end of the table. We’ve proven how efficient and competitive we can be – losing by one-goal margins against both Rangers and Glasgow City demonstrated our standards, as we were capable and deserving of taking points in both of these matches.

“We’ve made it no secret that a top-six finish is our ambition this season, but we don’t focus too much on the league table. It can often sound like a cliche in football, but we are simply taking each game at a time, and the league table will take care of itself.”

Some of the Motherwell squad, including manager Stuart Kettlewell and Assistant Manager Stephen Frail, carried out their annual visit to Children’s Ward at Wishaw General Hospital this week.

Trying to spread some festive cheer to those who are going through a difficult time, the players handed out Motherwell FC Teddy Bears donated by the Motherwell FC Community Trust, as well as free tablets from TCL for the children to play with.

The women of steel will cross the Edinburgh divide this weekend, with Motherwell set to take on Hearts after facing fierce rivals Hibernian the previous week, as Motherwell prepare to close-out their final fixture of 2024 at K-Park on Sunday. 

Motherwell will look to rectify their performance after a frustrating display in the Scottish capital last weekend, as the women of steel were dealt a bitter blow in the second-half, with Hibs coasting to an unmatched four-goal advantage despite a competitive first-half performance at Meadowbank.

The Tale of the Tape 

Motherwell 

Paul Brownlie’s side will conclude their final SWPL fixture of the calendar year, as they return to South Lanarkshire to face Hearts this weekend. The women of steel’s last victory over the Jambos came in 2022, with Motherwell looking to get back to winning ways against the visitors on Sunday, with Paul Brownlie’s side defeated in their last three meetings between the sides.

The women of steel can secure their place in the top-six until the new year with a victory this weekend, as their women of steel attempt to maintain their current one-point advantage over closest-rivals Partick Thistle in the SWPL table.

Motherwell have sought to strengthen their home advantage, with the K-Park side picking up three-wins from three in East Kilbride – defeated only by title-chasers Rangers and Celtic.

Hearts

The Gorgie-side are unbeaten in their last three, defeating Aberdeen and Spartans, whilst being held to a goalless stalemate against league leaders Glasgow City. Eva Olid’s side have impressed on the road, recording six-consecutive victories – scoring on 22-occasions whilst defensively maintaining an impeccable clean sheet.n

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 1PM.

Vice Captain Stephen O’Donnell made his return from injury last weekend against Dundee United. The full-back has been impressed with how the team have been playing but insists there is still room for improvement. 

He says that hitting a points total that will keep Motherwell safe in the division is the first priority and anything beyond that will be assessed if it’s achieved.

O’Donnell is looking forward to playing on the Friday night, although he insists that competition for places is high in the squad and he’ll need to work hard to get back in the team.