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The women of steel fell to defeat in Springburn despite valiantly fighting title-chasers Glasgow City to the final whistle, who cruised to an assured 4-0 victory at Petershill Park on Sunday. 

The scoreline failed to accurately reflect the intense work-rate and momentum that the squad showed in the first-half of play, as Icelandic striker Brenna Lovera broke the deadlock moments before the half-time break. Lisa Forrest made it two on the 70-minute mark, with the women of steel starting to tire and fatigue.

Polish midfielder Natalia Wrobel soon completed a brace in the latter stages of the game, with the hosts returning to the top of the SWPL table.

Head Coach, Paul Brownlie named an unchanged starting XI from the side that overcame a 2-1 deficit at half-time to defeat Aberdeen. Defender Jo Addie and midfielder Laura McCartney both returned to the matchday squad, earning a place on the bench. Rangers loanee Eilidh Austin made her second competitive start alongside Mason Clark in the Motherwell frontline, as Shannon Leishman remained in the Motherwell backline.

After sealing their top-six status over a fortnight ago, Motherwell headed to Glasgow for a post-split preview, as they looked to finish their final pre-split fixture on a high.

Motherwell fought relentlessly in the first-half of play, repelling all of City’s attacks whilst remaining relatively comfortable and assured in the backline. City’s frustrations and inability to break through the Motherwell defence was reversed three minutes from the half-time break, as Lovera’s left-footed shot sailed across the face of goal before nestling into the bottom-right corner.

Lovera turned provider in the latter stages of the second-half, teeing up Forrest at the edge of the six-yard-box, who drilled a right-footed strike into the bottom-right corner. Wrobel sealed the three points in quick succession, netting a composed finish from close-range before placing a fourth into the bottom-right corner in the final phase of the game.

Motherwell will now turn their attention to the Quarter-Final of the Scottish Cup against Boroughmuir Thistle before welcoming Celtic in the first post-split fixture of the 2024/25 SWPL campaign.

Motherwell hadn’t won a match in the league at Ibrox since 1997 when they arrived in Govan this time last year. They ended that 27-year wait, winning 2-1 on a famous day. The Steelmen repeated the feat on Saturday against Rangers when they beat the Govan side 2-1.

A blistering first-half performance, which saw Luke Armstrong and Tom Sparrow find the back of the net, had the Well two to the good at the break.

Cyriel Dessers pulled one back in the second half, but it would not be enough to stop Motherwell having another day to remember in Glasgow.

Michael Wimmer made one change to his starting 11 from the team that defeated Dundee on Wednesday night. Stephen O’Donnell came out of the squad and was replaced by Kofi Balmer.

With very little in the way of chances in the opening exchanges, it would be the visitors who got off to the better start. From the second phase of a corner, Dan Casey got control of the ball after Dom Thompson’s interception and fired a shot towards Jack Butland; the Rangers stopper couldn’t hold onto the shot, and Armstrong was there to follow in and score. The linesman’s flag was raised, but VAR would clear the goal, and Armstrong could celebrate his second goal in Motherwell colours.

Tom Sparrow was presented with the chance to double the lead; after some excellent, crisp passing by the Well midfield, Slattery slid the ball across to Sparrow, who could only find the side netting on 22 minutes.

But just eight minutes later, Sparrow would make amends. Slattery once again found Sparrow in space on the right-hand side of the box; this time the number seven made no mistake to fire past Butland and open up a two-goal advantage.

Ellery Balcombe stood firm before the break to save efforts from Mohamed Diomande, Dessers and Hamza Igamane, and the two-goal advantage remained.

With the Ibrox crowd growing ever impatient, head coach Barry Ferguson made a triple change for the second half, which saw Leon Balogun, Tom Lawrence and Nedim Bajrami all introduced.

The substitutes would seem to make an impact when, at 54 minutes, the Motherwell advantage was halved. Dessers pounced on a pass from Ridvan Yilmaz to fire beyond Balcombe and make it 2-1. Game on.

Wimmer reacted and made changes to the midfield and attack, with Moses Ebiye, Harry Paton and Davor Zdravkovski all introduced. Tony Watt was also brought on with ten minutes to go.

Motherwell looked comfortable in the latter stages, but Dessers did find the back of the net for the second time on 78 minutes, looping the ball over Balcombe; however, the Rangers forward was offside.

The closing stages would pass by, and Nick Walsh blew for full time, sparking excellent scenes in the away end, and Motherwell secured back-to-back wins at Ibrox as they moved into the top six.

Motherwell: Balcolmbe, Gordon, Balmer, Sparrow, Slattery (Paton 62), Halliday (Zdravkovski 62), Casey, Miller (Watt 72), Andrews, Thompson (Wilson 89), Armstrong (Ebiye 62)

Substitutes not used: Ward, Koutroumbis, Maswanhise, Plange

Michael Wimmer speaks following his side’s 2-1 victory over Rangers.

Luke Armstrong and Tom Sparrow netted the goals as Motherwell secured back to back wins at Ibrox.

Ellery Balcombe says Saturday’s trip to Ibrox is not a non-event for Motherwell and that his former side St Mirren showed that teams can get results there. 

He offers insight into the difference in Michael Wimmer’s approach and talks about a ‘whirlwind’ few weeks.

Midfielder Brodie Greenwood has completed a move to Lanarkshire from Hearts. 

The 18-year-old central midfielder joins the women of steel ahead of their forthcoming top-six campaign on a loan deal until the end of the season.

The Scottish youth international makes the switch to Lanarkshire after featuring for Hearts in the Scottish capital one eight-occasions since joining the Jambos from fellow SWPL outfit Dundee United.

Greenwood heads to Motherwell seeking to continue her development, as Motherwell target a successful post-split campaign.

“I’m delighted to have joined Motherwell,” Greenwood said.

“I’m excited by the playing style at the club, and the competitive nature of the team. I feel there is a lot that I can learn from the young and senior players at the club, and I’m ready to have a positive impact this season.

“I can’t wait to get started.”

The youngster joins the women of steel looking to gain a wealth of professional experience, having already featured for Hearts, Dundee United and Aberdeen.

‘We are delighted to welcome Brodie to the club,” head coach Paul Brownlie added.

“Brodie is an important addition at this stage of the season. We are looking to challenge and develop our standards in the top-six, and we felt Brodie brought the perfect dynamic to the squad that could drive us forward this season.

“Despite her age, Brodie already has a wealth of experience at this level, and technically is a very exciting player to have in the squad.”

Manager Michael Wimmer says the result against Dundee was a ‘relief’ as he analyses the performance on Wednesday night. Wimmer also believes Rangers’ European performances show the quality they have in the side. 

Wimmer offers insight into the game-plan on Saturday, with his side having less of the ball.

Motherwell travel West to take on Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday 1 March in the William Hill Premiership. 

Kick off is 3pm.

How to follow the game

Tickets can be bought online.

A reminder that the Ticket Office will open on Saturday from 10-12 noon.

Any uncollected tickets will be distributed at the turnstiles by SLO, Chris Thomson.

If you are outside the UK, you can watch the game via Motherwell TV.

Should you be in the UK, it will be live commentary only.

Kit Watch

We will be wearing our third kit for this match.

Squad Update

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Marvin Kaleta returned to training at the start of the week and will be assessed.

There are no new injury concerns.

Motherwell’s Fortunes

Motherwell ended a seven-game winless run on Wednesday night against Dundee. That 2-1 win was their first victory since 5 January against Aberdeen and made it a night to remember for manager Michael Wimmer.

The Steelmen moved up to 8th place in the table, opening up a seven-point gap to 11th and closing the gap to just two points to the top six.

Dan Casey scored a double under the Fir Park lights last time out and is returning to Ibrox for the first time since his winning goal against Rangers last season that ended Motherwell’s 27-year wait for victory in Govan in the league.

Opposition Report

It’s been a week of change at Rangers, with manager Phillip Clement departing the club last Sunday. Barry Ferguson was named head coach until the end of the season, and he got his tenure off to a strong start at Kilmarnock.

Despite going 2-0 down after 14 minutes, his side recovered well to win 4-2. Cyriel Dessers found the back of the net for the 20th time this season in all competitions in Ayrshire, with Vaclav Cerny also recording his 15th goal of the season.

It had been labelled a pivotal game for both sides, and with the added pressure of it being Michael Wimmer’s first home game, it was all set for a tense night under the Fir Park lights.

Motherwell showed ample energy and excitement in the first half and got their reward when Dan Casey bulleted home a header to open the scoring.

Wimmer was disappointed his team was only one ahead, and when Simon Murray drew Dundee level with just over ten minutes to go, hope of the perfect start to life at Fir Park was dwindling away for the new Well boss.

However, a special moment would follow when Casey found the back of the net for a second time, opening up a seven-point gap to the Dee in 11th and closing the gap to just two points to the top six.

At the helm of an historic top-six campaign, Head Coach Paul Brownlie has already led the women of steel to unprecedented success in claret and amber.

Motherwell will contest the top-six of the Scottish Women’s Premier League table for the first-time in their history, whilst also facing an enticing Scottish Cup Quarter-Final tie against Boroughmuir Thistle, with a place at the National Stadium, Hampden Park at stake.

As an emphatic SWPL title-race reaches its final dramatic chapter, Motherwell will be set to face title-chasers Rangers, Celtic, Glasgow City, Hibernian and Hearts. Despite the financial imbalance of full-time and part-time football, Brownlie insists that his side have earned their top-six place on merit, and will be looking to compete until the end of the season.

“Our season is far from over,” Head Coach Paul Brownlie said.

“We have worked tirelessly to achieve a place in the top-six, but that doesn’t mean we now down tools and look ahead to next season. We have a very motivated and competitive squad, who are capable of competing with the best in the country. We held Hearts to a goalless draw, and had chances to earn three-points, likewise in narrow 1-0 defeats to rangers and Glasgow City.

“The squad have earned the right to compete against the best in the league, and we have to prepare in the correct manner to head into the post-split campaign with the confidence that we can achieve positive results.”

Brownlie’s side confidently restored their competitive edge after a disappointing top-six push of the previous campaign. The women of steel demonstrated a strong resurgence this season, picking up 13-more points with one-game still in-hand, scoring 21-more goals whilst conceding 14-less goals. Motherwell have won almost half of their fixtures this campaign, compared to the six victories pre-split last season, with the squad facing six-less defeats.

“The squad have really understood the style, and manner in which we want to play,” Brownlie added.

“We narrowed the squad size compared to last season which we collectively felt was necessary to uphold the standards without losing quality due to constant rotation. Defensively, we’ve been resolute which has provided the forwards with the platform to play without the unnecessary pressure of having to compensate for cheap goals conceded at the back.

“We’ve recruited well in both windows. Shannon [Leishman] is an experienced addition in the backline alongside Jenna [Penman], who at 21-years-old has experienced a vast array of top-flight football. Despite returning to her parent club, Laura [Berry] really hit the ground running in her second spell, as our top goalscorer. There are so many more that I could individually praise for what they’ve added to the team, but overall I’m extremely pleased with the balance within the matchday squad.

“We have a really good core group of players. Every player, whether young and experiencing their first season in the top-flight or an experienced professional, the full team are all collectively pulling in the same direction.”

The women of steel will conclude the regular season on the road to title-chasers Glasgow City, as Motherwell face an opportunity to test their top-six status, before facing the first of their Championship group fixtures. With four sides locked on 51-points in an exhilarating title-race, Brownlie insists his side are there to compete and disrupt their opponents title hopes.

“We have to take the confidence from the regular season into the post-split campaign,” Brownlie noted.

“The four-team title-race will obviously take centre-stage in the post-split campaign, but we have an opportunity to be as competitive and disruptive to the remaining teams in the top-six. Whilst we are extremely proud to achieve a place in the top-six, we want that position and feeling to be a regular occurrence at the club.

“The only way to continually guarantee your top-six status for the future is by being able to compete with the best teams in the country on a consistent basis, and we are treating our post-split campaign as an opportunity to develop our quality and standards on the pitch.

We are pleased to confirm the date and details for our end-of-season awards dinner which will take place on Saturday 26 April at Dalziel Park Hotel.

A number of awards will be up for grabs on the night, recognising top performers across the first team, women’s team and the academy.

Hosted by Tam Cowan, the night will consist of live entertainment with songs from ‘Voice of the Town’, a three-course meal and the event will kick-off at 7pm with first-team players and coaching staff in attendance.

Individual places are available at £75 per person with tables available in multiples of ten.

To book, please call the events team on 01698 338 011 or you secure your space online.