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[tab:Match report]

On a weekend for disguises Motherwell were unrecognisable from the team that lost to Inverness CT on Wednesday night. Two goals in each half and a couple of efforts off the cross bar earned ‘Well an emphatic victory over SPL strugglers Ross County.

And after the let down in midweek, the experienced players responded brilliantly. Scott McDonald and a rejuvenated Lionel Ainsworth were rewarded with a goal each, along with a first for the hard working Richard Tait. County full back Kenny Van Der Weg, who will have recurring nightmares of Chris Cadden powering past him, also had the misfortune of claiming an own goal.

Facing their second Highland visitors in four days Mark McGhee made three changes from the midweek defeat to Inverness. McDonald returned to partner Louis Moult with Ainsworth, in his first start since August, aiming to support the front two and claim a permanent place in the team. Following a superb 80 minutes and standing ovation from the Fir Park fans it would be difficult to deny him a start at Dundee next week.

Keith Lasley’s broken toe meant a league debut for Lee Lucas who has had to wait patiently for a starting place after being injured in the cup tie at Annan in July. However, his partnership with Craig Clay in the middle of the park was impressive.

Following the disappointing performance and lack of fire power in midweek Motherwell set out to test a County side with the poorest goal difference in the SPL.

And it took Motherwell only seven minutes to breach the leaky Staggies defence.

Chris Cadden, who had the measure of Kenny Van Der Weg throughout the game, burst past the County fullback only to be tripped 10 yards from the goal-line. Ainsworth’s measured free kick was perfect for the unmarked McDonald to stoop and nod the ball home for his 3^rd of the season.

Suddenly ‘Well’s passing was crisp and accurate as the visitors were left chasing the ball and the game.

Van Der Weg was still chasing Cadden and another burst from the ‘Well midfielder took him to the opposition box. His pass found Moult who laid the ball off for McDonald but he dragged his shot agonisingly beyond the post from 10 yards.

There was no respite for the over worked Dingwall defence and after stretching to reach Ainsworth’s cross, Moult’s touch carried the ball just over the bar.

Scott McDonald was next for a strike at goal, turning at the corner of the penalty box before driving the ball over the bar.

A second goal was overdue and it arrived on the half hour mark. McDonald fed in Moult and he cleverly worked his way along the goal line before cutting the ball back for the waiting Cadden only for Van Der Weg’s touch to deflect the ball over his own goal line.

Local lad Ian McShane gave notice that County weren’t out of it with a 20-yard drive that skimmed narrowly past with Craig Samson at full stretch.

The visitors were soon on the back foot again and Van Der Weg’s first half got worse when he was cautioned after yet again tripping Cadden.

On the stroke of half-time and with County gaining in possession around the home box, Ben Heneghan’s brave and timely block prevented Michael Gardyne’s shot hitting the target.

Jim McIntyre’s thoughts that his team might stage a second half fightback were erased seven minutes after the restart.

Richard Tait’s trademark race down the right carried him into the box but rather than cutting the ball back the full back elected to unleash a thumping drive which Scott Fox could only parry inside his left hand post.

It was then a question of whether Motherwell had an appetite for more goals and Ainsworth proved he was in the mood two minutes later with an audacious free kick from fully 35 yards, casually curling the ball off the top of the cross bar.

The ‘Well wide man was not to be denied though, and after 63 minutes claimed the goal his performance earned. McDonald did well to hold off former teammate Paul Quinn before slipping the ball inside. With Fox advancing from his goal Ainsworth sped past the ‘keeper before calmly stroking the ball over the goal line.

Two minutes later Ainsworth came within inches of adding another, volleying Cadden’s cutback across the face of the goal and just beyond the far post.

Craig Samson then produced his first save of the game rising to his right to push Alex Shalk’s stinging drive away from his goal.

The Fir Park men looked the more likely to add to the scoring add after carrying the ball from his own half Ainsworth’s drive from the middle of the box was deflected over the cross bar.

The Staggies continued to chase a goal and were rewarded 13 minutes from time when Shalk whipped a low shot past Samson to make it 4-1.

‘Well hadn’t given up thoughts of making it five and Lee Lucas almost capped an very impressive league debut setting himself up 20 yards from goal before curling a fabulous effort which Fox touched onto his bar.

Minutes later Lucas left the field to the applause of the home fans as 18-year-old Allan Campbell made his first team debut.

And shortly after that, Ainsworth left the park to a similar reception from the jubilant home support.

It was just the response that Motherwell fans would be hoping for, and they were treated to a good afternoon of football of football too at Fir Park.

[tab:As it happened]

 Lewis Irons at Fir Park

FT: Motherwell 4 – 1 Ross County
Superb stuff from Mark McGhee’s men, with goals from McDonald, OG, Tait and Ainsworth!

90′ | 4-1
Two minutes added on.

86′ | 4-1
Final Motherwell sub, Ainsworth off for MacLean

83′ | 4-1
Motherwell sub, Campbell on for Lucas.

82′ | 4-1
What a save by Fox to deny Lucas his first goal!! Tipped his 25 yard curler over the bar!

MATCH ATTAX | Young ‘Well fan? Vote for your Man of the Match now. Tweet us your name, age, choice & #MatchAttaxMOTM.

78′ | 4-1
Goal – County pull a goal back, Schalk firing home from a cross. 4-1.

76′ | 4-0
Ball falls into McDonalds path about 25 yards out. He spins and gets a shot off but it’s easy for Fox.

74′ | 4-0
So close again! Ainsworth runs from his own half and dribbles inside past Quinn but his shot is deflected over the bar!

67′ | 4-0
Schalk straight into action, forcing Samson into a good save with a powerful left-footed shot from range.

66′ | 4-0
Ross County sub, Boyce off for Schalk

65′ | 4-0
Nearly 5!! Cadden powers in a cross which takes a touch off Ainsworth but it flashes just wide of the far post.

62′ | 4-0
It’s 4!!!! McDonald slides in AINSWORTH who takes a touch past Fox and cooly slots it home!!! COYW!!!

GGOOOAAALLL!!!

53′ | 3-0
Quinn booked for wrestling down Moult. Free-kick about 30 yards out…..Ainsworth strikes the bar!! Inches away from 4!!

51′ | 3-0
It’s TAIT with his first Motherwell goal! Overlapped down the right, and fired a powerful shot past Fox. 3-0 to the Steelmen!!!

GGOOOAAALLLL!!!

48′ | 2-0
Booking for Heneghan. Clumsy tackle on Dow after a loose first touch.

McDonald gets the second 45 underway.

Ross County sub at half-time, Curran on for Gardyne

HT: Motherwell 2 – 0 Ross County
Excellent first 45 from the Steelmen!
43′ | 2-0
Davies heads Wood’s corner wide of the post. Samson, so far,
….From that free-kick, Fox gathers Ainsworth’s delivery with ease.

39′ | 2-0
Van Der Weg finally into the book, after Cadden bursts past him. Free-kick in a dangerous area….

37′ | 2-0
Inches past the post from McShane there, a powerful low drive from 20 yards. Close.

35′ | 2-0
First sniff at goal there for County as Davies rises highest to meet a cross but it’s well over the bar.

30′ | 2-0
It’s 2-0!! Moult gets down the left, twists, turns puts the ball across goal and it ends up in the net via Davies!!! COYW!!!

GGOOAAALLLL!!!

29′ | 1-0
Close! Loose ball lands at McDonald’s feet and he opts for the half volley on his left foot but it flashes just over the bar.

27′ | 1-0
Lovely stuff again there as ‘Well carve open County again but Davies blocks Cadden’s low cross into the box.

22′ | 1-0
From that corner, Moult’s effort goes just past! Really positive start from Motherwell!

22′ | 1-0
Moult gets past Davies but the County man gets a foot on it and it goes out for a corner.

19′ | 1-0
Chance!! Cadden again gets down the right, clips it in to Moult who squares to McDonald but he drags his shot inches past the post

7′ | 1-0
From the free-kick, Ainsworth sticks it right on McDonald’s head and he makes no mistake, powering past Fox. COYW!!!!

GGGOOOAALLLL!!!

7′ | 0-0
Nice turn of pace there to skip past Van Der Weg on the right. Hauled down, no booking.

Ross County get the game underway. COYW!!!

[tab:Reaction]

Motherwell manager Mark McGhee:

Ross County manager Jim McIntyre:

[tab:Man-of-the-match]

[poll id=”293″]

Motherwell host Ross County in an all important league clash at Fir Park tomorrow afternoon.

And for Mark McGhee’s side, the match comes with added importance after the 3-0 home defeat on Wednesday night.

The Steelmen are in need of three points to put an end to their run of matches without a win, but manager Mark McGhee is confident and determined in equal measure, that his team will put things right.

He said:“I actually think that up until that second half in the Inverness game our form has been good in terms of performances, just results haven’t been.

“It’s only a couple of weeks ago that had we beaten Hearts we could have gone second and that’s the nature of this league, so from all that perspective – points, league position and stuff – I think it’s all irrelevant at the moment. We’ve got 23 games to get ourselves in to the top six.”

He added: “As far as the other night goes, my concern is more or less always about performance cause you can actually play really well and get beat, so the performance is the overriding thing.

“The second half performance, certainly in the last half hour after we conceded the first goal was poor.”

Looking forward, the boss is hopeful of bouncing back to winning ways and admits the squad will be able to click in to gear soon.

[pullquote]We’re determined to put that right and play well for an entire 90 minutes, which is where we went wrong the other night.[/pullquote]

He said: “We’ve got a mixture here of very good experience, ability and also of good, energetic young players.

“We’ve got another home game against a team who are in the same area as ourselves and they’ll have watched us against Inverness the other night and will perhaps fancy their chances tomorrow.”

He added: “We’re determined to put that right and play well for an entire 90 minutes, which is where we went wrong the other night.”

The Staggies travel down to Fir Park just one point ahead of the Steelmen having played an extra game.

Motherwell will be without the injured Carl McHugh and Joe Chalmers, while skipper Keith Lasley has until tomorrow morning to prove his fitness after injuring his toe.

Louis Moult is one of the top scorers in the top flight and is a hugely important player in the Motherwell dressing room.

However, the striker is without a goal in his last four matches, which is making the 24-yearold hungry and excited for Saturday.

‘Well fans will be looking on with intent to see their top scorer in action, hopeful of him netting his sixth league goal of the season.

The striker said: “I think it’s a blessing in disguise that we have a match coming up so quickly.

“It feels like this season has been stop/start and personally I was injured at the start then we’ve had a game, then a weekend off with international breaks and then what happened with the Aberdeen game another weekend off too.”

He added: “I’m really excited that we have a game on Saturday, so soon after Wednesday.”

With December offering the striker a number of games in quick succession, this is something that Moult admits he prefers.

He said: “I certainly prefer it, but I’m used to it from my time down south where games came thick and fast.

“It is nice to get a break once in a while but when you get a chunk of games together and a run of goals together it does help.”

The 24-year-old also hopes he can grab a goal soon after a run of games without finding the net.

He said: “Things started with my goal against Ross County and then the four against Hamilton.”

He added: “As unbelievable as that was we’ve had some difficult games after that and it’s been stop/start like I said, but hopefully we can get some rhythm going now and get something from the game on Saturday.”

Ross County enjoyed a solid start to the 2016/17 season, after winning two of their opening four games, but since Jim McIntyre’s side drew 1-1 with the Steelmen back at the start of September, their form has dropped off.

The Staggies are certainly capable, and will be more than hungry, to pick up points at Fir Park tomorrow.

Currently sitting on 10 points and one spot ahead of the Steelmen, the northerners will be hungry to follow up on last season’s terrific top six finish.

It makes for an interesting encounter tomorrow afternoon, with both sides sharing the same aspirations of a top-half spot meaning there is added emphasis on the outcome in Lanarkshire.

When McGhee’s men travelled north to Dingwall in the fifth game of the Ladbrokes Premiership season, the two sides couldn’t be separated as Louis Moult cancelled out Liam Boyce’s opener.

Before the season started, it was a big summer for the Staggies who looked to follow up on their brilliant season, highlighted by their League Cup triumph against Hibs at Hampden back in March.

One of the main threats to the Steelmen is Northern Irish striker Liam Boyce, who opened the scoring earlier in the season in the 1-1 draw at the Global Energy Stadium.

Ross County have scored eight goals in the league this season, and Boyce has been involved in seven of them, scoring six and assisting once.

At just 25-years of age, keeping hold of Boyce was a shrewd bit of business from the Staggies over the summer, after the forward scored 15 goals and provided 7 assists in the Premiership last season.

If he keeps going at this rate, he’ll have improved on that tally before Christmas, making him an obvious threat to the Steelmen this afternoon.

Another threat the Staggies have in their side is international star Chris Burke, who at 32-years-old is a great coup for the club after penning a deal as a free agent late in September.

Having only played 50 minutes of action for his new club, the fact he is already off the mark in front of goal shows signs of the midfielder’s capabilities.

And what a crucial goal it was from the Scot too, coming off the bench to draw Ross County level in the 95^th minute away to Partick Thistle.

They are now without a victory in eight matches after their mid-week loss against Celtic, but Burke’s injury-time strike last weekend at least put an end to their goalless streak which was minutes away from being five matches.

The absence of striker Liam Boyce through injury certainly hurt the Staggies and McIntyre will be happy to see his star man on the way back to full fitness.

The 4-0 scoreline  on Wednesday flattered Celtic somewhat, due to the fact they scored three goals in the last eight minutes of the match.

With both sides hungry to get back to winning ways tonight, this afternoon’s match makes for an interesting clash.

The ‘Signing Zone’ continues this week prior to tomorrow’s fixture against Ross County.

So why not come to Fir Park tonight where Ryan Bowman and Dom Thomas will be in The Well Shop’s ‘Signing Zone’ from 12:45pm until 1:15pm to meet fans, sign autographs and pose for selfies.

Fans have the opportunity to meet striker Ryan Bowman who signed in the summer and Dom Thomas who graduated from the academy.

Each week, two different players will take their seats as the season progresses as part of the developing fan engagement programme here at Fir Park.

Share your pics on twitter @motherwellfc using #MFCSigningZone or facebook.com/motherwellfc

The club shop is situated at the Cooper Stand and is open from 9.30am.

Motherwell FC can today confirm that negotiations between the ‘Well Society and Les Hutchison have been successfully concluded and the club has now transferred into fan ownership.

You will recall back in January of 2015, after fourteen years, John Boyle sold his majority shareholding in the club to Les Hutchison for £1 (as a guarantor) to instigate the transition to fan ownership.

At the recent Well Society Annual General Meeting and subsequent Q&A session, the Society Board reported that they would only agree to terms and conditions that would allow them to take ownership and at the same time maintain the sustainability of the club.

The basis of the now signed agreement is that the Society would purchase Les Hutchison’s 76% shareholding for the £1 he purchased it for, and the club will be responsible for repaying any outstanding money.

As well as governance of the operation, the on-going responsibility of the Well Society will be to generate additional income for the running of the business through the monthly direct debit payments of £10 or more, a cornerstone for financial stability over the coming years.

The Society wish to acknowledge and to thank Mr Les Hutchison for his valuable input to the club in terms of financial support and business experience, and for assisting in our drive towards fan ownership.

They would also like to thank Mr John Boyle for his huge service over the years as majority shareholder and continuing support and assistance in concluding this successful transfer agreement.

And finally, to the loyal, dedicated, passionate Motherwell supporters, without whom, none of this would have happened.

[pullquote]This is a historic day for all involved with the Motherwell FC, and we are delighted that the outcome we all wanted as members of the Society has now been achieved.[/pullquote]

Jim McMahon, Motherwell Football Club Chairman and a founder member of the Society commented: “The last two years have been dramatic and challenging for the club.

“Having triumphed in the play offs we all hoped that the next period would be more settled and allow us to move gradually to fan ownership over the five year timescale envisaged.

“Instead the opportunity arose almost immediately and it is a credit to the Well Society that they have been able to deal with the abrupt change. I agreed to act as Chairman during that transition and it is an honour to serve the club that I have supported all my life.

“I appreciate there have been different views expressed in meetings, online and on social media about the validity of fan ownership, but it is now up to us to make this work – for our part, we will aim to become more open, change the governance structure and listen to all and any ways to help. This is a real chance to do something special”

Douglas Dickie, Well Society Joint Chair, said, “Our aim of fan-ownership has been, at times, a challenging road, but it has been achieved by a great amount of effort by Well Society members, fans and volunteers.

“It has also been made possible by a number of people who have given their expertise and commitment over a period of time to reach a satisfactory conclusion to our goal. We are now entering a new phase in our history.

“Fan ownership has responsibilities and we all need to realise that continued and growing financial support from all fans will be required. Together we can maintain, strengthen and be proud of the qualities and values of this great Community Club. The future is what we make it!”

To read the ‘Well Society update, click here.

Striker Louis Moult is “excited” to get back to action on Saturday and admits that he enjoys matches in quick succession.

Speaking to the press this morning, the forward echoed his managers feelings that the season has been rather stuttered with all of the breaks so far.

But he hopes the Steelmen can find their rhythm with another match so soon after Wednesday’s defeat.

Moult said: “I think it’s a blessing in disguise that we have a match coming up so quickly.

[pullquote]It feels like this season has been stop/start and personally I was injured at the start then we’ve had a game, then a weekend off with international breaks.[/pullquote]

“It feels like this season has been stop/start and personally I was injured at the start then we’ve had a game, then a weekend off with international breaks and then what happened with the Aberdeen game another weekend off too.”

He added: “I’m really excited that we have a game on Saturday, so soon after Wednesday.”

With December offering the striker a number of games in quick succession, this is something that Moult admits he prefers.

[pullquote]It is nice to get a break once in a while but when you get a chunk of games together and a run of goals together it does help.[/pullquote]

He said: “I certainly prefer it, but I’m used to it from my time down south where games came thick and fast.

“It is nice to get a break once in a while but when you get a chunk of games together and a run of goals together it does help.”

The 24-year-old also hopes he can grab a goal soon after a run of games without finding the net.

He said: “Things started with my goal against Ross County and then the four against Hamilton.”

He added: “As unbelievable as that was we’ve had some difficult games after that and it’s been stop/start like I said, but hopefully we can get some rhythm going now and get something from the game on Saturday.”

‘Well boss Mark McGhee insists his side are determined to put things right after suffering a disappointing loss on Wednesday night.

And with Ross County next up for the Steelmen at Fir Park, the manager is hoping for a much needed positive result.

But it has been a tough recent run for the Fir Parkers, including clashes with Hearts and Celtic, and McGhee admits performances have been better than results suggest.

He said: “I actually think that up until that second half in the Inverness game our form has been good in terms of performances, just results haven’t been.

[pullquote]Points, league position and stuff – I think it’s all irrelevant at the moment. We’ve got 23 games to get ourselves in to the top six.[/pullquote]

“It’s only a couple of weeks ago that had we beaten Hearts we could have gone second and that’s the nature of this league, so from all that perspective – points, league position and stuff – I think it’s all irrelevant at the moment. We’ve got 23 games to get ourselves in to the top six.”

He added: “As far as the other night goes, my concern is more or less always about performance cause you can actually play really well and get beat, so the performance is the overriding thing.

“The second half performance, certainly in the last half hour after we conceded the first goal was poor.”

[pullquote]We’re determined to put things right and play well for an entire 90 minutes, which is where we went wrong the other night.[/pullquote]

Looking forward, the boss is hopeful of bouncing back to winning ways and admits the squad will be able to click in to gear soon.

He said: “We’ve got a mixture here of very good experience, ability and also of good, energetic young players.

“We’ve got another home game against a team who are in the same area as ourselves and they’ll have watched us against Inverness the other night and will perhaps fancy their chances tomorrow.”

He added: “We’re determined to put things right and play well for an entire 90 minutes, which is where we went wrong the other night.”

The eighth issue of the Steelmen matchday magazine is on sale ahead of tomorrow’s league clash with Ross County at Fir Park.

Here, we take a look at what can be found inside the 68-page programme.

Centre-back Stephen McManus will be key as Mark McGhee’s side look to bounce back to winning ways after Wednesday’s defeat, with his experience hugely important to the squad.

Regular pieces including the pre-match column from manager Mark McGhee and club captain Keith Lasley, along with ‘5 Fast Facts’ and ‘Getting to Know You’ – where Stevie Hammell is profiled – all remain in the eighth issue.

The all-new feature exclusive to the programme called ‘Well in Numbers’, where feature writer Andrew Paterson looks at some of the key numbers in Motherwell history, continues as well.

‘Future Steel’ is an inside look at the next generation of players waiting patiently to break in to the first team and this week, 19-year-old Dylan Mackin is profiled.

As part of the clubs aims to work closely with the Motherwell FC Community Trust and The ‘Well Society, regular updates are included in the programme.

This week’s main features on tonight’s opposition remain, including an in-depth look at Ross County as well as this season’s new ‘Tactics Board’, where we profile Jim McIntyre’s starting eleven.

Our match reports section looks back on the Fir Parkers 3-0 loss at home to Inverness on Wednesday night.

An update on Stephen Craigan’s U20s side is included too, reporting on the youngster’s results against St Johnstone, Dunfermline and Hibs and Ross County.

Get all the latest from the Ticket Office as well as an in-depth look at tomorrow’s match-officials.

All this and more is available for £3 and is on sale from the Club Shop as well as the usual sellers located in and around the ground pre-match.

You can also order back editions or take a subscription to the magazine for the rest of the season by visiting the website of our publishers, Curtis-Sports.

Referee for Saturday’s Ladbrokes Premiership match against Ross County at Fir Park is Nick Walsh.

And it marks the referee’s second ‘Well appointment of the 2016/17 campaign, after he officiated the Betfred cup 3-1 victory over Annan Athletic back in July.

The young official took charge of his very first Premiership game last season, and it involved this afternoon’s visitors – a 1-0 victory for Ross County at home to Partick Thistle.

However, in his days as a fourth official, Walsh sent McGhee to the stands which resulted in a one match ban for the manager.

His assistants this afternoon are Kylie McMullan and Willie Conquer, with Andrew Dallas on Fourth Official duties.