| 3 | Rangers | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 23 |
| 4 | Dundee United | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 20 |
| 5 | Motherwell | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 19 |
| 6 | St Mirren | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | -4 | 18 |
| 7 | Dundee | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 15 |
Stephen Robinson believes his side showed more to their game than just physicality as they picked up a 3-1 win over Dundee.
Goals from Danny Johnson, Gaël Bigirimana and Allan Campbell capped an impressive showing for the Steelmen.
And a pleased manager reflected on his side’s first league win of the campaign.
“It was a terrific performance,” he said. “We are a difficult team to play against but with some very, very good footballers. If I was a fan, I’d be proud of them.”
Motherwell notched their first league victory of the 2018/19 Ladbrokes Premiership campaign with a convincing 3-1 win over Dundee.
Goals from Danny Johnson, Gaël Bigirimana and Allan Campbell capped an impressive claret and amber performance at Dens Park.
It was an unchanged side which started proceedings against bottom of the table Dee, and despite a goalless first half it was an entertaining encounter.
And it was one largely dominated by the Fir Park side, going close through Andy Rose and Curtis Main but failing to find the breakthrough in the opening 45.
In form Johnson made no mistake though, when the hard work of substitute Elliott Frear teed up the forward to finish neatly beyond Jack Hamilton just 10 minutes after the restart.
Another player hot in form doubled the deficit, and it was the cleverness of Bigirimana which looked to have put the game to bed in the 68th minute.
Conceding a freekick on the edge of their box, Dundee watched on helplessly as the Burundi midfielder reversed his freekick cleverly in to the bottom left corner.
That sparked a revival from the hosts though, who pulled one back from a corner just three minutes later. Benjamin Kallman rose highest to nod last Trevor Carson, at the start of a period of Dundee attacks.
But they were met with a resolute defence, and a scintillating Carson between the sticks, who denied the hosts with two instinctive saves to hold on to the scoreline.
And in brilliant fashion, Motherwell broke up the park and scored a third, with another well worked freekick falling for young midfielder Campbell to lash home and wrap up all three points.
After the dramatics of last weekend’s draw with Rangers, the Steelmen head for Dens Park on Saturday.
Despite Neil McCann’s side failing to notch a point on the board yet this season, ‘Well face a tricky encounter against Dundee.
With Dundee sitting bottom of the table, just one point separates the hosts from Stephen Robinson’s side in 11th.
And it will make for an extremely tricky encounter for the Fir Park side, who will face a side determined to get up and running on their own patch.
Former Livingston boss Kenny Miller signed a two-year deal with the Dens Park side this summer, after a brief spell as player-manager at Livingston.
The 38-year-old bolsters the striking options for Neil McCann, and certainly brings bags of experience.
In their eight games this season, Dundee have kept three clean sheets and look to have tightened up defensively.
Even in the games they’ve lost this term, it’s been by narrow margins, including two 1-0 defeats against Aberdeen and St Johnstone.
Motherwell take on Dundee on Saturday, as the Steelmen go looking for their first Ladbrokes Premiership victory of the season.
Here’s the game in numbers.
The number of points accumulated by both sides so far in the league.
Dundee have lost their opening three matches, going down to Aberdeen, St Mirren and St Johnstone. The Steelmen meanwhile have lost to Hibernian and Hamilton, before their 3-3 draw with Rangers last weekend.
Both teams may find themselves further down the table but their defensive records are still decent.
From eight games this season, both have kept three clean sheets. All of Dundee’s came in the Betfred Cup group stage, while Motherwell got two in the group stage and one in the second round at Livingston.
The goals have been shared about by Motherwell so far in 2018/19, with seven different scorers netting.
Elliott Frear, Richard Tait, Curtis Main, Peter Hartley, Conor Sammon, Danny Johnson and Carl McHugh have all got on the scoresheet across the eight competitive games so far.
The number of clubs new striker Kenny Miller has accumulated in his career, having joined Dundee in midweek.
The 38-year-old has already faced the ‘Well this campaign when at Livingston but failed to hit the net in a 1-0 victory for the Steelmen.
Motherwell take on Dundee on Sunday as they travel to Dens Park in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Here’s the key information you need to know ahead of the match.
Motherwell had a 100% record at Dens Park in the 2017/18 campaign, with Craig Tanner, sadly absent on Saturday, netting in all three matches.
The Steelmen have won six of their last 10 outings away to Dundee, drawing one and losing three.
Motherwell fans will be located in the Bob Shankly stand at Dens Park and if you buy your ticket in advance, you can get an Under 12 into the ground for £2.
Adult tickets are priced at £24, while over 65s and students can get in for £16. Tickets for Under 18s will cost £10.
Juveniles aged under 18 and under 12 who have pre-purchased and arrive unaccompanied will not be permitted to enter the stadium. Similarly, over 18s arriving without children will not be permitted access to the family area of the stand.
Supporters should be aware that if they have purchased a ticket at the concession price, the ticket holder may be required to show proof of age or student status at any time on request from Dundee staff.
If you’re outside the UK and Ireland, you can watch the game live via our new subscription service. Head to tv.motherwellfc.co.uk, subscribe and you’ll be able to watch all Motherwell home games and the majority of away fixtures in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Both of Motherwell’s next trips to Glasgow to face Celtic and Rangers have been put back by a day.
Due to both teams’ involvement in the UEFA Europa League, matches at Celtic Park and Ibrox have been moved.
Motherwell will now face Celtic on Sunday, 28 October. The kick off time is still to be confirmed.
Our trip to face Rangers two weeks later will now take place on Sunday, 11 November. The kick off time is still to be confirmed.
Motherwell travel to Dundee for their fourth league game of the campaign and you can watch the match live thanks to our new streaming service.
Viewers outside of the UK and Ireland can subscribe to our new service by heading to tv.motherwellfc.co.uk, scrolling down and choosing your package.
Fans in the UK can subscribe to listen to audio commentary direct from Dens Park.
This week’s Friday quiz has a Dundee theme as we prepare to take them on for the first time in the 2018/19 Ladbrokes Premiership.
All you have to do is name all the goal scorers in the last 10 games between the two sides in which there have been goals scored.
Elliott Frear is full of positivity ahead of Saturday’s trip to Dens Park.
The winger is taking confidence from last season’s clashes against Dundee, and believes ‘Well are heading in to the fixture on the back of some solid performances.
“We feel good,” the Englishman said. “We know what we’ve got to do there. We got good results there last season and we know what we’ve got to do to win.”
Stephen Robinson spoke to the press ahead of his side’s trip to Dens Park in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
And following on from a dramatic 3-3 draw with Rangers, the ‘Well boss hopes to see his side take their strong form in to Saturday’s game.
“It was just a normal week. I mean we just got on with our jobs and we had a good result, one I felt that we should have won to be honest. Having watched it back and we dominated large parts of the game so it’s time to take that form again and we’ve got a tough game against Dundee and we just have to concentrate on the football.”
“It sort of felt like a win, and I know we only got one point from it so it obviously isn’t a win and we know that. It would have been difficult for me to go in to that dressing room had we not got anything out of it considering how well we played against a top, top team. So it was good, the atmosphere around the place has been very, very good and we feel that’s our best performance and very much like we were last season.”
“I think they’re a good side. I went to see them against St Johnstone and they’ve got a lot of very good technical players who can dominate large parts of the game. So we’re well prepared and it’s not something we’ll take lightly.
“We’ve only played three games and we’re talking about teams at the bottom and teams struggling, but nobody is struggling at this stage, this is people finding form and getting into a little bit of a rhythm as we are as well and and I’m sure Dundee will go on and and put a run together but hopefully that doesn’t start against us.”
“I think he’s a good signing for them, Kenny’s a good player. We’ve ready played against him once this season with Livingston so we’ll be well aware of Kenny’s threats.”
“I don’t think that plays a part. As I said, I think the media has to fill every page seven days a week and make a big thing out of three games and no points. But we’re just three games in to a season and you can see that with ourselves as well.
“It’s very, very early for everybody and we’re wary of every team we play against. We’re well aware of their strengths and we know that they’ve got many, and we’re well aware of their weaknesses as we are with every single team.”
“Well we’re in the quarterfinals of a cup, we’ve just outplayed and drew with a team that have spent millions of pounds and everybody fancies, potentially, for the league. So yes, we’ve done okay so far.
“We didn’t get results in the first two league games and we’re still having to chop and change slightly with losing Cedric Kipre and Charles Dunne who were mainstays of a defence than didn’t concede a goal in 20 games last season so we’re still getting that together, but I see big signs of improvement and I thought some of our performance have been excellent.”
